Anonymous wrote:Just got back from parent teacher conference and DD in first got mostly Ps and a few Is.

PP, why upset about "I"? It means your DD is "in progress" of grasping that particular subject. It means DD is "on track". A "P" means that the kid is already proficient in that area. You really cannot equate these to the A, B, C grading rubric. So, don't feel bad about a few "I"s.

Anonymous wrote:OP again.

I completely understand that DD's grades in ES don't matter. I am not going out to get her a tutor. No way. I'm really not concerned about the grade.

I think 16:20 might have hit on what I'm looking for from the teacher - a specific thing that I could work on with DD to help her improve her reading abilities. There his obviously something that other kids (who get ESs) are doing better. I'd like some advice - e.g. work on DD's punctuation, work on her addition of two-digit numbers, or whatever.

If she's not getting ESs, there is obviously room for improvement, right? I'd like to help her!

Why does it matter that there are other kids who are doing better? There will always be other kids who are doing better, just as there is always room for improvement. Even if your child is getting straight ESs.

Anonymous wrote:Just got back from parent teacher conference and DD in first got mostly Ps and a few Is.

PP, it's the received wisdom on DCUM that everybody gets a P. But, as you learned today, this is not true. Did your child's teacher explain about the Is?

Just got back from parent teacher conference and DD in first got mostly Ps and a few Is.

We just got back from our parent teacher conference and I was surprised to find my 1st grade daughter got 8 ES grades (3 in math, 3 in reading and 2 in writing). She's always been strong in math and scored high on the MAP-P and her mom is a writer so she emulates a lot of what her mom does (lots of descriptive words and dialog) but even after the teacher explained the ES in reading I'm still not sure what constitutes an ES in reading. Her teacher mentioned it went beyond recalling facts about the story but was more about inferring things about the characters, figuring out new vocabulary based on root words.... that kind of stuff.

Anonymous wrote:

You will be happier if you just ride it out until MS when they will be getting real grades (I think it is going to be a rude awakening for these kids!). I talk to my kids about getting straight As, doing your best, and how important it is to work hard at school.

My 6th grader has not found this to be so.

Anonymous wrote: I talk to my kids about getting straight As, doing your best, and how important it is to work hard at school.

That's a good message and attitude to instill, but I would be cautious about insisting that kids get straight As; that can be a lot of pressure for a kid, as at some point most kids will come up against a very hard class where they may honestly be doing their best work and still get a lower grade. I was a bit of a basket case in high school when I realized that no matter what I did, including tutoring and studying for at least 2 hours a night doing extra problems, I was still only pulling a B- in geometry.

I tell my kids that they must EITHER get the best category of grade possible (an A) OR be honestly doing their best possible work including seeking additional help. If they are doing neither of these, then obviously a bad grade is unacceptable, but if it's clear they are honestly trying and still pull a B (or maybe even a C but that would have to be majorly extenuating circumstances) then that will likely be acceptable in our family.

OP,

The grading system is hard as hell to deal with. I, and many other parents totally feel ya!

I now have 5th grader, 3rd grader and 2nd grader and I have just decided to let it go. As long as they are getting Ps I am happy and positive. If your child's teacher is not giving them explicit ES work, it may be impossible to get an ES on that report card. The grading is subjective and really can not even be compared across different teachers.

You will be happier if you just ride it out until MS when they will be getting real grades (I think it is going to be a rude awakening for these kids!). I talk to my kids about getting straight As, doing your best, and how important it is to work hard at school.

And, thanks to the other PPs for their input. I'll definitely work on reading more and discussing the stories to try and help her with comprehension, in case that's the issue.

OP again.

I completely understand that DD's grades in ES don't matter. I am not going out to get her a tutor. No way. I'm really not concerned about the grade.

I think 16:20 might have hit on what I'm looking for from the teacher - a specific thing that I could work on with DD to help her improve her reading abilities. There his obviously something that other kids (who get ESs) are doing better. I'd like some advice - e.g. work on DD's punctuation, work on her addition of two-digit numbers, or whatever.

If she's not getting ESs, there is obviously room for improvement, right? I'd like to help her!

My HGC used the AR levels. Kids could always go BEYOND those- many kids in my kids classes had read list of those. They all read 'adult' fiction & sci fi at ours. If your school
Says no, there is something wrong.
My 3rd graders a V and still no ES's... Oh well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is in second grade and has not gotten an ES yet but I just enrolled her in after-school tutoring to help her to get some ESs next quarter.

Why is it important to get ESs in second grade?

Not pp. I'm not knocking PP's decision to put a 2nd grader in tutoring classes, but I'm not sure such a thing would help a kid get an ES in reading. My DC has gotten some ESs in the reading category, and I'm thinking that one thing that has helped achieve this is that DC reads a ton (sometimes reads about 2 hrs/day, and more if I don't tell DC to stop and do something else), always has, and still does in 4th grade (now in HGC).

Anonymous wrote:My DD is in second grade and has not gotten an ES yet but I just enrolled her in after-school tutoring to help her to get some ESs next quarter.

Really? Your motivation for getting your child tutoring in elementary school is to get better grades? Not to learn more, or to develop greater skills, or to keep up in the classroom, or to be challenged, or to develop a love of learning, or to develop study skills -- but to get a particular grade?

And we wonder why high school students only want to learn what will be on the test and never develop intellectual curiosity.

Anonymous wrote:My DD is in second grade and has not gotten an ES yet but I just enrolled her in after-school tutoring to help her to get some ESs next quarter.

Why is it important to get ESs in second grade?

I do not know if your school has the AR (accelerated reader) program. Our MS had that and it created such a competition among students to read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerated_Reader