HS teacher not grading papers for two straight semesters. Does FCPS have a policy on this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on the teacher comments above about what’s changed, schools either need to drop open enrollment and the endless re-do’s OR they need to budget for a FTE. Grader for the class level. This could be for all English 9 at a school for instance so not a 1 to 1 with each teacher.

OMG i can't imagine the person who would want to be a full time grader. What a painful job. I'd be thrilled to outsource it though.

But yes, dropping open enrollment, retakes, and smaller class sizes would fix the majority of the issues I have with my job lately.

(Home sick before anyone fusses at me for posting during the day)

[Anonymous]

No, I meant squeaky parents are whiny over an issue that isn't as widespread as people say.

I think it's absolutely ridiculous how many hours of overtime teachers are expected to work.

It may not be that widespread--but, if your child is in an AP class and not getting feedback, there is a problem.

I am not OP.

The teacher needs to figure out how to meet the need. The need may not require personally grading each assignment. It would require grading samples from every student.

I remember having a teacher that would take samples and write responses as a class. She gave examples of good responses and poor ones before doing this. And, why they were good or poor.

But, certainly, it is not asking too much to grade sample work of every student. It sounds like OP's kid has had nothing graded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ Has this always been how it is in the teaching profession…or has something changed to make it harder to grade? For the teachers responding that have taught for the last 25 years…have you been doing this crazy work life balance that long? Or has something changed? ”

This is the fundamental question. What’s been added to teachers’ plates now that parents could try to lobby gets taken back off to create time for grading.

It’s a combination of things, but I’d say increased class sizes and more responsibilities during planning periods are the biggest culprits.

I’ve been teaching for over 20 years. I think student behaviors are also a part of the problem. I used to be able to get a bit of grading done while students were working independently. Many of today’s students can’t work independently, and I find myself always redirecting focus, answering questions, etc. There’s a dependency among the students that wasn’t there 2 decades ago. Even simple assignments need an extreme amount of hand-holding, which means there’s no point during a class at which I can sit at my desk and tackle the piles of papers.

I used to be able to grade while the kids weee working, this is no longer the case. Teachers spend the entire time redirecting behaviors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for open enrollment, students can sign up for whatever class they want in every subject? If they do poorly, can they be sent back to a lower level class?

Yes, they can sign up for any class. Get a D in math 7? Skip math 8 and take algebra in 8th grade! Get a D in algebra? Go to honors geometry!

No, I cannot force any child to drop the class, ever.

That’s completely ridiculous. Why is this allowed? My kid at a private school has to prove he can handle a higher level class by getting an A in the previous class. Either that or have high entrance test scores and even that may not guarantee he stays in the higher level class. He would still need an A to stay in that level the following year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for open enrollment, students can sign up for whatever class they want in every subject? If they do poorly, can they be sent back to a lower level class?

Yes, they can sign up for any class. Get a D in math 7? Skip math 8 and take algebra in 8th grade! Get a D in algebra? Go to honors geometry!

No, I cannot force any child to drop the class, ever.

That’s completely ridiculous. Why is this allowed? My kid at a private school has to prove he can handle a higher level class by getting an A in the previous class. Either that or have high entrance test scores and even that may not guarantee he stays in the higher level class. He would still need an A to stay in that level the following year.

Even a B would feel like a fine bar to me. I think the issue is schools expecting teachers to "reach" all the struggling kids rather than it being kids' responsibility to keep up or seek help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for open enrollment, students can sign up for whatever class they want in every subject? If they do poorly, can they be sent back to a lower level class?

Yes, they can sign up for any class. Get a D in math 7? Skip math 8 and take algebra in 8th grade! Get a D in algebra? Go to honors geometry!

No, I cannot force any child to drop the class, ever.

That’s completely ridiculous. Why is this allowed? My kid at a private school has to prove he can handle a higher level class by getting an A in the previous class. Either that or have high entrance test scores and even that may not guarantee he stays in the higher level class. He would still need an A to stay in that level the following year.

Yep, private schools very heavily gate keep classes. My kid is in a Big3 private and was not allowed to take an AP class because he received a 94 in the previous class in the series. Admission to the subsequent AP required a 95.
We asked the academic dean about bumping him up (kid had a personal interest in this subject) and the dean said no.

[Anonymous]

So why do public schools do this? Equity I assume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for open enrollment, students can sign up for whatever class they want in every subject? If they do poorly, can they be sent back to a lower level class?

Yes, they can sign up for any class. Get a D in math 7? Skip math 8 and take algebra in 8th grade! Get a D in algebra? Go to honors geometry!

No, I cannot force any child to drop the class, ever.

That’s completely ridiculous. Why is this allowed? My kid at a private school has to prove he can handle a higher level class by getting an A in the previous class. Either that or have high entrance test scores and even that may not guarantee he stays in the higher level class. He would still need an A to stay in that level the following year.

Yep, private schools very heavily gate keep classes. My kid is in a Big3 private and was not allowed to take an AP class because he received a 94 in the previous class in the series. Admission to the subsequent AP required a 95.
We asked the academic dean about bumping him up (kid had a personal interest in this subject) and the dean said no.

#notallprivateschools

Most private schools are not SFS. I have students in AP level classes who lack the skills needed for success. And students in Honors classes who expect an A for being awake the whole time.

The college admissions game is ruining high school. We’re stressing the good students out and giving them anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, we fail the low performers too, by making them feel terrible about not being able to do math that’s too hard for them when they’d be better served by technical/vocational options.

All to serve winner take all capitalism. It’s not going to endure much longer. Something has to give.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for open enrollment, students can sign up for whatever class they want in every subject? If they do poorly, can they be sent back to a lower level class?

Yes, they can sign up for any class. Get a D in math 7? Skip math 8 and take algebra in 8th grade! Get a D in algebra? Go to honors geometry!

No, I cannot force any child to drop the class, ever.

That’s completely ridiculous. Why is this allowed? My kid at a private school has to prove he can handle a higher level class by getting an A in the previous class. Either that or have high entrance test scores and even that may not guarantee he stays in the higher level class. He would still need an A to stay in that level the following year.

Yep, private schools very heavily gate keep classes. My kid is in a Big3 private and was not allowed to take an AP class because he received a 94 in the previous class in the series. Admission to the subsequent AP required a 95.
We asked the academic dean about bumping him up (kid had a personal interest in this subject) and the dean said no.

#notallprivateschools

Most private schools are not SFS. I have students in AP level classes who lack the skills needed for success. And students in Honors classes who expect an A for being awake the whole time.

The college admissions game is ruining high school. We’re stressing the good students out and giving them anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, we fail the low performers too, by making them feel terrible about not being able to do math that’s too hard for them when they’d be better served by technical/vocational options.

All to serve winner take all capitalism. It’s not going to endure much longer. Something has to give.

Decent private schools have pre-reqs. Why wouldn’t they? The best predictor of future performance is past performance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exhibit A of grade inflation in public schools. Teachers aren’t even grading assignments. This would never be acceptable at a private. Such a joke.

Many privates don't have AP so those teachers don't have to spend the time it takes to grade free responses like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me students need to get at least a C in Algebra 1 to go into Algebra 2? No? No prerequisite? This is crazy...

A 63.5 counts as a D and is all that is required to move forward to the next course. You get 50% for breathing. If the teacher grades homework on "effort", that's 10% from copying the answer key off schoology or copying their friend's assignment or just scribbling down gibberish. Now they only have to get above 50% on a couple classwork assignments all year to get 50+10+3.5 and pass.

Then that student shows up in the next class and it is painfully obvious by day 2 that they don't belong but "my counselor said colleges want to see algebra 2" and "I know my child needs to have 4 years of math to get into college" and now I have 5 kids who can't do 2+7, tell left from right, or point to the x-axis enrolled in a single section of algebra 2 along with 27 other kids, but those 5 take as much effort on my part as the other 27. I am basically teaching two completely different classes in a single class period, or I'm giving up on 1/6 of the class which will result in dozens of meetings ("Why are so many of your students failing? Can you show me documented interventions you've provided to support them? What remediation opportunities are you providing? Are you pulling them into 4th period support and keeping them after school and meeting with their parents regularly and and and...?")

Yes, it's crazy.

And then to counter it the parents of the A/B gen ed kids don't want their kids dealing with that, so they push them up into honors which THEY aren't prepared for, so then the same scenario happens in the honors level classes.

I have an 9th grader in Pre-Calc + Trig H. Youngest in the class and he said it moves very slow for similar reasons - many kids (10th+) don't belong. He wishes he skipped to Calc AB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for open enrollment, students can sign up for whatever class they want in every subject? If they do poorly, can they be sent back to a lower level class?

Yes, they can sign up for any class. Get a D in math 7? Skip math 8 and take algebra in 8th grade! Get a D in algebra? Go to honors geometry!

No, I cannot force any child to drop the class, ever.

That’s completely ridiculous. Why is this allowed? My kid at a private school has to prove he can handle a higher level class by getting an A in the previous class. Either that or have high entrance test scores and even that may not guarantee he stays in the higher level class. He would still need an A to stay in that level the following year.

Yep, private schools very heavily gate keep classes. My kid is in a Big3 private and was not allowed to take an AP class because he received a 94 in the previous class in the series. Admission to the subsequent AP required a 95.
We asked the academic dean about bumping him up (kid had a personal interest in this subject) and the dean said no.

It must feel great to those parents paying 50k a year to be told that their kid is too dumb to stay on an AP track. I wonder if those are the same parents who are shocked by their kids' college admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So for open enrollment, students can sign up for whatever class they want in every subject? If they do poorly, can they be sent back to a lower level class?

Yes, they can sign up for any class. Get a D in math 7? Skip math 8 and take algebra in 8th grade! Get a D in algebra? Go to honors geometry!

No, I cannot force any child to drop the class, ever.

That’s completely ridiculous. Why is this allowed? My kid at a private school has to prove he can handle a higher level class by getting an A in the previous class. Either that or have high entrance test scores and even that may not guarantee he stays in the higher level class. He would still need an A to stay in that level the following year.

Yep, private schools very heavily gate keep classes. My kid is in a Big3 private and was not allowed to take an AP class because he received a 94 in the previous class in the series. Admission to the subsequent AP required a 95.
We asked the academic dean about bumping him up (kid had a personal interest in this subject) and the dean said no.

It must feel great to those parents paying 50k a year to be told that their kid is too dumb to stay on an AP track. I wonder if those are the same parents who are shocked by their kids' college admissions

Those $50k schools largely don’t have AP classes in the first place, to the degree that College Board sued a bunch of them a couple years ago.

But those parents aren’t too worried- when you’re a family that can get your kid into a $50k school with a class of ~100, chances are your kid is going to have the social and financial resources to buy whatever is necessary.

[Anonymous]

This is honestly why I chose to teach math and not language arts. Bad writing is really hard to read. And grading a stack of high school writing assignments takes so much more time than a math assessment. I can’t imagine how much time it takes. And also how important it is to give kids that feedback.

[Anonymous]

From FCPS’ own website —> https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/secondary/grading-assignments-and-assessments


Quizzes, tests, examinations, essays, homework, or papers are evaluated and/or graded, returned, and reviewed promptly with the student. Teachers are expected to grade each assignment and post grade to the electronic gradebook within seven school days after the due date with the understanding that major projects/papers may require additional time to ensure quality feedback. If more time is required to provide feedback, teachers will communicate notify students in advance of the project due date.