Grades Lowered - Homework Not Graded

[Anonymous]

NP, and I’m feeling some sympathy for OP, but with reservations.

Sounds like OP’s kid was accused of plagiarism and grades reflected that, but without the teacher reaching out to OP.

I, too, would be upset if my kid got a D for plagiarism if I thought it was incorrect. I, too would be very upset if it was proven to be incorrect and no one was willing to change the grade. Is that what happened?

CES teachers have an insane grading workload. Insane. As a CES parent, as much as I loved the program, I wish the kids had half the written assignments so that teachers and students had more time to work on relevant feedback and revisions. As it is, it can feel like pretty rapid fire assignments and unless it is a super organized teacher, the grades can lag by several weeks or even months, so a child doing poorly doesn’t necessarily know it until there is a long backlog of incorrect papers. The grading can feel opaque at times.

OP, it sounds like you have fought the good fight, but for your child’s sake, move on. The stress in your posts is alarming. Since grades are a factor in MS magnet admissions, definitely send the information you have about the grading problem in with your appeal, but maybe stop talking about it with your kid. There are lots of kids with straight A’s and high scores who didn’t get into the magnet programs. MS is a big change and your child needs your support and calm going forward, no matter what school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP, and I’m feeling some sympathy for OP, but with reservations.

Sounds like OP’s kid was accused of plagiarism and grades reflected that, but without the teacher reaching out to OP.

I, too, would be upset if my kid got a D for plagiarism if I thought it was incorrect. I, too would be very upset if it was proven to be incorrect and no one was willing to change the grade. Is that what happened?

CES teachers have an insane grading workload. Insane. As a CES parent, as much as I loved the program, I wish the kids had half the written assignments so that teachers and students had more time to work on relevant feedback and revisions. As it is, it can feel like pretty rapid fire assignments and unless it is a super organized teacher, the grades can lag by several weeks or even months, so a child doing poorly doesn’t necessarily know it until there is a long backlog of incorrect papers. The grading can feel opaque at times.

OP, it sounds like you have fought the good fight, but for your child’s sake, move on. The stress in your posts is alarming. Since grades are a factor in MS magnet admissions, definitely send the information you have about the grading problem in with your appeal, but maybe stop talking about it with your kid. There are lots of kids with straight A’s and high scores who didn’t get into the magnet programs. MS is a big change and your child needs your support and calm going forward, no matter what school.

OP all you are doing here is feeding the MCPS PR machine. Get an advocate or a lawyer and advocate for your child. No one else will, especially not anyone in MCPS. As you can see here MCPS administrators hate children. You are teaching your child how to stand up for herself and that is a lifelong lesson that will help your child as she grows up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, and I’m feeling some sympathy for OP, but with reservations.

Sounds like OP’s kid was accused of plagiarism and grades reflected that, but without the teacher reaching out to OP.

I, too, would be upset if my kid got a D for plagiarism if I thought it was incorrect. I, too would be very upset if it was proven to be incorrect and no one was willing to change the grade. Is that what happened?

CES teachers have an insane grading workload. Insane. As a CES parent, as much as I loved the program, I wish the kids had half the written assignments so that teachers and students had more time to work on relevant feedback and revisions. As it is, it can feel like pretty rapid fire assignments and unless it is a super organized teacher, the grades can lag by several weeks or even months, so a child doing poorly doesn’t necessarily know it until there is a long backlog of incorrect papers. The grading can feel opaque at times.

OP, it sounds like you have fought the good fight, but for your child’s sake, move on. The stress in your posts is alarming. Since grades are a factor in MS magnet admissions, definitely send the information you have about the grading problem in with your appeal, but maybe stop talking about it with your kid. There are lots of kids with straight A’s and high scores who didn’t get into the magnet programs. MS is a big change and your child needs your support and calm going forward, no matter what school.

OP all you are doing here is feeding the MCPS PR machine. Get an advocate or a lawyer and advocate for your child. No one else will, especially not anyone in MCPS. As you can see here MCPS administrators hate children. You are teaching your child how to stand up for herself and that is a lifelong lesson that will help your child as she grows up.

???
I am a parent, not MCPS. I am complaining a bit about CES grading, too. And I am sympathetic to OP, but encourage her to maintain some perspective here. These are 4th grader grades and there is a difference between standing up for what is right and obsession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - 02/02/2020 22:31, 02/02/2020 23:03, 02/02/2020 22:58 - to each their own - again, throwing out opinions in an attempt to discredit fact is certainly your option to anonymously post.

02/02/2020 22:55 - your statement is a mixture of truth and falsehood. Please check Maryland Law. In fact, I would encourage more parents to file FOIA requests to see their children's grade breakdown by assignment if they suspect something like this happened to their child. Never know whether this was an isolated incident or not.

Very Trumpian, OP. You address peripheral concerns but never explain the heart of the issue. This is why people don't believe you, or think you're crazy.

WHY did the teacher insist on keeping the lower grade? You have not answered this crucial question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone experienced assignment grades lowered after-the-fact without telling parents or had homework not graded and the Principal and Superintendent of Schools not correct it when it was pointed out to them (with the evidence)? I think this affected DC's admission into 6th Magnet this year.

Don't post here. Get a lawyer or education advocate. All you are going to get here is anonymous responses from the MCPS public relations department. They are paid to do this 24/7.

I post here all the time and I'm not an MCPS PR person. What's your evidence that they're paid to monitor DCUM 24/7?

[Anonymous]

OP is the best! Responding to each individual post and highlighting key phrases? What a way to get me through a tough morning! So glad I decided to take this time out in the bathroom!

[Anonymous]

NP

OP - sorry to hear what you are going through. Based on our experience, couple of things:

1. Problems like these are not very common, but yes, they do happen. Be prepared for bat shit crazy folks calling you bat shit crazy because they have not experienced anything similar. Ignore them.

2. Since these are not very common, it will be very easy to identify who you are if you give out many details in a public forum. This adds to problem 1 since there will be busybodies/concern trolls for whom no amount of detail will be enough anyways. Again, ignore them.

When we experienced something along these lines, (but what we experienced was not as serious as what you are facing) we wanted to make sure certain systemic issues that were the cause would be fixed and would not be repeated again. Guess what, there was absolutely no way to make sure they got fixed - we just had to take the word of an MCPS official that they would get fixed. In your case, may be it will be different. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP -

Sounds like OP’s kid was accused of plagiarism and grades reflected that, but without the teacher reaching out to OP.

Of course, it would be a plausible defense for an adult to "blame the child" or make a counter-accusation. I would personally welcome the opportunity to examine each and every line of any such accusation attempt.

WHY did the teacher insist on keeping the lower grade? You have not answered this crucial question.

I'm not sure what you meant by "keeping the lower grade", but I don't know either. The evidence was provided. No response as to why was given.

it sounds like you have fought the good fight, but for your child’s sake, move on. The stress in your posts is alarming.

I didn't realize you're feeling "alarm" - and definitely had no intent to cause you stress. Please skip over this post the next time you see it please.

02/03/2020 10:11 - from our family to yours - we sincerely appreciate your support and kindness. Given the evidence provided, we hope to achieve a different outcome.

TO ALL:
Sigh. Honestly, I never thought I'd be the "activist" type. Normally I just sit quietly at home in the evenings, but here I am typing...

There are many parents who claim to be "activists" or "fight for justice" for things such as World Peace or the environment, or Whales, etc. Yet when it comes to something close to home, such as their children, their frail and timid nature surfaces. Folks, this is your school paid for by your taxpayer dollars. I understand the fear of standing up and saying anything - and from the earlier comment about my child having it rough the next seven years - it's a well-founded fear. The school is free to explain whatever they wish to, and I will listen - however, any adult who can do these things to a child (and yes, there are many more things not said here..) needs to be called out into the Light of Day. I hope this makes sense - and that I'm not just a tree in the woods... soapbox over. I wish everyone a pleasant (and "alarm-free") evening.