Do you ask to see midterm grades when your kids come home for Thanksgiving break?

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Wait for the semester. Actually, I wait for DC to tell me, and that’s when she does.

Midterm grades usually represent less than 1/2 the work reflected in the final and are never computed by the prof. So not reliable/meaningful.


+1 I'm a university prof and the formal grades in the gradebook wouldn't tell you very much about final semester grades at this point. At the end of the term, they get 25% participation grade (they've gotten subjective feedback at this point but don't know their 'score'), final exam (25%) and final paper (25%).

If you are concerned, you can ask your kid if they are feeling okay about their classes. Anything worrying them. Maybe encourage them to (on their own) make a plan for finishing the last few weeks, which can be stressful and jam-packed. (In these conversations, you might take note of their stress level as much as their specific answers to how they are doing.) Encourage them to attend class (honestly, the kids with lots of absences tend to be surprised with low grades at the end of the term) and not leave term papers til the week before it is due. Maybe give them a chance to lower your expectations if they know a class isn't going so well.


Great advice and thank you. Unfortunately I just hit the couch after delivering him! Especially love the last point. Mine tends to trumpet the successes and get quiet when it’s going differently.
Anonymous
What exactly are you going to do if they're bad? The kid can just say there's a semester curve to blunt the shock of a D or C and they'll study more. Womp, womp. It's not like you can control what they do when they got back to college.
post reply Forum Index » College and University Discussion
Message Quick Reply
Go to: