No grades in the grade book

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the OP-
I'm a long time high school teacher, and here's my perspective.
If the AP classes are in graduation requirements (AP Bio, AP Lang, AP US, etc), then I would say that teachers should have grades in by this point. I've taught those types of AP, and I was well aware of the need to keep grades up to date as much as possible. I would say that your student should talk to the teacher. If that doesn't get a resolution, then you should email the teacher. Plus, you don't know exactly what is going on. It could be that Canvas is not syncing up properly with Synergy or some other explanation as to why you're not seeing grades online. Best to check in with the teacher first.
If the class is an elective AP, I would say let the student follow up and be patient. In those classes, teachers tend to get the grades in slower since the students want to be there and most likely know the teacher ahead of time. We still should have grades in at this point, but sometimes getting the grades published drops as a priority behind other demands of the teacher's time, especially if they're teaching multiple preps. I've been in this situation before, and I just come clean with the kids. Eventually, I get things right with plenty of time for the kids to make adjustments.
Hope that helps

AND... all of time spent answering anxious parents is less time spent grading. Be patient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By HS I never followed up with teachers. That was my kids’ job and they usually seemed to know how they were doing in classes. If they didn’t and I thought it was important, I had them follow up with their teacher. It seems extreme for a parent to be contacting the teacher absent special needs.

You sound like a checked out parent.

DP. That’s not a checked out parent. That’s a parent teaching their children to advocate for themselves. That’s an important life lesson. If you continue to step in and fix things for them, how will they learn?

If your kid will advocate great but the teachers not grading don’t respond either.

Some teachers figure the 10th graders actually care and will respond faster than to a parent.

They don’t respond to the kids, which is the problem. They don’t post grades, etc.

Has the student actually spoken to the teacher during class. Don’t just rely on email.

[Anonymous]

Be patient. Sooner or later AI will be used for grading. That should be a tremendous help to teachers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be patient. Sooner or later AI will be used for grading. That should be a tremendous help to teachers

Its aready being used especially by english teachers. There is autograde if its multiple choice or other stuff as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be patient. Sooner or later AI will be used for grading. That should be a tremendous help to teachers

Its aready being used especially by english teachers. There is autograde if its multiple choice or other stuff as well.

Are MCPS English teachers told they can use AI to comment on papers? My district is 100% against it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be patient. Sooner or later AI will be used for grading. That should be a tremendous help to teachers

Its aready being used especially by english teachers. There is autograde if its multiple choice or other stuff as well.

Simply assigning multiple choice doesn’t teach students how to write well. Writing to explain thinking in the specific discipline (even in math) should be a regular occurrence in secondary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be patient. Sooner or later AI will be used for grading. That should be a tremendous help to teachers

Its aready being used especially by english teachers. There is autograde if its multiple choice or other stuff as well.

Are MCPS English teachers told they can use AI to comment on papers? My district is 100% against it.

No, MCPS doesn’t endorse that. There’s been some begrudging support for using AI to design assessments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Normal, I would. Teachers make all kind of excuses but it’s absurd.

150 essays at 15 minutes each takes 37.5 sustained hours of grading. That’s 37.5 extra hours of unpaid work to get done in 10 days.

I don’t call that an excuse. I call it an explanation. And I agree it is absurd. It’s absurd that we consider that workload acceptable.

Maybe misunderstanding the contracts teachers have with MCPS but how is that unpaid work? I thought teachers were salaried with job duties which included grading.

The workload does seem unreasonable in either case, but unclear if "unpaid" is correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Normal, I would. Teachers make all kind of excuses but it’s absurd.

150 essays at 15 minutes each takes 37.5 sustained hours of grading. That’s 37.5 extra hours of unpaid work to get done in 10 days.

I don’t call that an excuse. I call it an explanation. And I agree it is absurd. It’s absurd that we consider that workload acceptable.

Maybe misunderstanding the contracts teachers have with MCPS but how is that unpaid work? I thought teachers were salaried with job duties which included grading.

The workload does seem unreasonable in either case, but unclear if "unpaid" is correct.

It is. Why wouldn’t it be. It’s time outside of the contracted hours. Teachers are paid for the time spent in the building plus one hour outside of their duty day. Duty day = 7 hours for full time staff plus 1 hour to equal 8 hours total. Teachers are paid by the hour. If teachers choose to work summer school, they are paid their hourly rate. No overtime. So yes. It’s unpaid if it goes over 5 hours a week outside of their duty day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Normal, I would. Teachers make all kind of excuses but it’s absurd.

150 essays at 15 minutes each takes 37.5 sustained hours of grading. That’s 37.5 extra hours of unpaid work to get done in 10 days.

I don’t call that an excuse. I call it an explanation. And I agree it is absurd. It’s absurd that we consider that workload acceptable.

Maybe misunderstanding the contracts teachers have with MCPS but how is that unpaid work? I thought teachers were salaried with job duties which included grading.

The workload does seem unreasonable in either case, but unclear if "unpaid" is correct.

It is. Why wouldn’t it be. It’s time outside of the contracted hours. Teachers are paid for the time spent in the building plus one hour outside of their duty day. Duty day = 7 hours for full time staff plus 1 hour to equal 8 hours total. Teachers are paid by the hour. If teachers choose to work summer school, they are paid their hourly rate. No overtime. So yes. It’s unpaid if it goes over 5 hours a week outside of their duty day.

By definition they are salaried becuase they don't get an hourly rate, even though an hourly rate is used to determine their salary. If they were hourly, they would be able to get overtime. They are not.

Same with my job. I'm salaried, so no overtime/comp time, but they use an hourly rate to determine my salary.

-DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Normal, I would. Teachers make all kind of excuses but it’s absurd.

150 essays at 15 minutes each takes 37.5 sustained hours of grading. That’s 37.5 extra hours of unpaid work to get done in 10 days.

I don’t call that an excuse. I call it an explanation. And I agree it is absurd. It’s absurd that we consider that workload acceptable.

Maybe misunderstanding the contracts teachers have with MCPS but how is that unpaid work? I thought teachers were salaried with job duties which included grading.

The workload does seem unreasonable in either case, but unclear if "unpaid" is correct.

It is. Why wouldn’t it be. It’s time outside of the contracted hours. Teachers are paid for the time spent in the building plus one hour outside of their duty day. Duty day = 7 hours for full time staff plus 1 hour to equal 8 hours total. Teachers are paid by the hour. If teachers choose to work summer school, they are paid their hourly rate. No overtime. So yes. It’s unpaid if it goes over 5 hours a week outside of their duty day.

By definition they are salaried becuase they don't get an hourly rate, even though an hourly rate is used to determine their salary. If they were hourly, they would be able to get overtime. They are not.

Same with my job. I'm salaried, so no overtime/comp time, but they use an hourly rate to determine my salary.

-DP

That doesn’t mean unlimited hours. That’s why teachers have a contact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Normal, I would. Teachers make all kind of excuses but it’s absurd.

150 essays at 15 minutes each takes 37.5 sustained hours of grading. That’s 37.5 extra hours of unpaid work to get done in 10 days.

I don’t call that an excuse. I call it an explanation. And I agree it is absurd. It’s absurd that we consider that workload acceptable.

Maybe misunderstanding the contracts teachers have with MCPS but how is that unpaid work? I thought teachers were salaried with job duties which included grading.

The workload does seem unreasonable in either case, but unclear if "unpaid" is correct.

It is. Why wouldn’t it be. It’s time outside of the contracted hours. Teachers are paid for the time spent in the building plus one hour outside of their duty day. Duty day = 7 hours for full time staff plus 1 hour to equal 8 hours total. Teachers are paid by the hour. If teachers choose to work summer school, they are paid their hourly rate. No overtime. So yes. It’s unpaid if it goes over 5 hours a week outside of their duty day.

By definition they are salaried becuase they don't get an hourly rate, even though an hourly rate is used to determine their salary. If they were hourly, they would be able to get overtime. They are not.

Same with my job. I'm salaried, so no overtime/comp time, but they use an hourly rate to determine my salary.

-DP

That doesn’t mean unlimited hours. That’s why teachers have a contact.

*contract

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be patient. Sooner or later AI will be used for grading. That should be a tremendous help to teachers

Its aready being used especially by english teachers. There is autograde if its multiple choice or other stuff as well.

Simply assigning multiple choice doesn’t teach students how to write well. Writing to explain thinking in the specific discipline (even in math) should be a regular occurrence in secondary school.

It can help with reading comprehension and preparing for SAT, MAP, and other tests.

It should start in elementary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be patient. Sooner or later AI will be used for grading. That should be a tremendous help to teachers

Its aready being used especially by english teachers. There is autograde if its multiple choice or other stuff as well.

Are MCPS English teachers told they can use AI to comment on papers? My district is 100% against it.

No, MCPS doesn’t endorse that. There’s been some begrudging support for using AI to design assessments.

It makes sense to use AI to make lesson plans, handouts, assignments, etc. as MCPS teachers either refuse to use the textbooks given or they aren't given textbooks (it seems like its a mix).