Kids and Grades

[Poohlove]

DD16 is a junior in high school, our school does have a website which you can log onto and check your child's grades. Some teachers are great about entering grades, others not so much. The school sees this as a replacement for direct communication with home and most teachers will not reach out to parents, I have been told by more than one of them that they feel it is the parent's responsibility to follow along online and reach out to the teacher if they are concerned. The teachers are "too busy" and have "too many" students to do it themselves. (I have 2 family members who are teachers in our district as well as several friends, it was through casual conversations that this came up) Mind you we are a two square mile town with about 450 kids in the high school. My daughters graduating class hovers around 110.

Last marking period I checked in on DDs grades weekly and they were all good, she checks them almost daily as well. Aside from 1 zero and a 68 (70 is passing) which account for 2 assignments for her history class her remaining 15 grades for that class were all 80 and above. While I was perturbed that she had a zero and a 68 I wasn't concerned for her overall grade. Imagine our surprise when her report card arrived and she failed history with a 68. Mathematically I just don't see how it is possible. I have a call in to her history teacher and her guidance counselor for clarification.

Has anyone had similar experiences?

 

[Jeannie]

Hopefully there was just an error in entering numbers to get her average. It's possible, though, that not all grades were equal. Test grades would count more then classwork or completed homework. Maybe the two low grades were on more major assignments.

 

[mjkacmom]

The online system is relatively new here, and I love it! In the past, if your child wasn't doing well, a warming notice was mailed mid semester, that's it. So far, I've only had one child that I had to monitor. If I noticed a bad grade or missing assignment, it was up to him to speak to his teacher about it. I would have preferred not to have to check at all, but with his ADD and Executive Function issues, that was not an option. There were times that an assignment was still listed as missing, but had been turned in. He always had to let me know what the teacher said. Now that he is in college, he is obviously on his own, which is pretty scary, but according to him he has all high B's or A's.

I'm hoping that for the rest of my kids, I can avoid having to log in. They are in middle school and high school, no B's yet, although I can see ds13 slacking a bit. Fortunately he has a mature twin sister who he has to compete with.

Are all assignments given equal weight?

 

[Poohlove]

Hopefully there was just an error in entering numbers to get her average. It's possible, though, that not all grades were equal. Test grades would count more then classwork or completed homework. Maybe the two low grades were on more major assignments.

These were homework grades and I used the formula that the teacher gave at the beginning of the year to calculate her grade. This happened before with my son and there was an error in the weight that was placed on an assignment when the teacher was entering whatever they do in the website that we access. More than half of the class failed, they were all talking about it in a group chat once report cards came out so I am thinking that this may be the case, I hope that this may be the case.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I have a tough time believing that the teachers can't manage to contact the student, at least to tell them they're in trouble. Or maybe they did, and you just aren't aware that the history teacher talked to your DD after class or something. Since we're talking HS, I don't think the teacher would be talking so much to the parents (lower grades would be different). At the HS level, your DD should be handling this, with your input, of course. Perhaps you could meet with the teacher, along with your DD, and work out an action plan to improve for next quarter.

 

[Rhie]

That's a completely fair policy for the teacher. If they have more than about 10 kids to grade I'd say that it would be overwhelming to check on their grades. I'm speaking from my experience with good friends who are teachers. They do so much. Besides, its a good habit for her to get into to check now. After all, college profs certainly aren't going to chase her down. Parents don't have automatic access to grades, either, so it'll be up to her.

And yea, that makes sense for a grade depending on the weighting and the curve. I'd find out how many points the failed assignments were worth. Usually it takes twice as many As to make up for failing grades, to keep the overall grade good. To prevent this happening again in future, I'd ask the teacher why the grades were so low and what can be done better. They can't check on everyone's grades all the time, but it is part of the job to explain to students how to do better if they asked. Some schools have parent volunteers, TAs, student teachers or tutors who answer those kinds of questions as well. I've learned the very hard way it is always best to ask for help at the first low grade, even if I think my overall grade is good. And, again, its a good habit to get into for college.

All that said, I do hope its just a math error. And good for all of you for keeping an eye on things! Lots of parents can't or don't want to do that.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

At DD's high school, teachers are required by the principal to update grades every Thursday. The grades are not always current. Because of grading time, they are about a week behind. It does help stop any big surprises.

I am also a teacher at a small private K-8 school. We have to update once a week, not on a specific day. I try to put grades online as soon as I finish grading an assignment. I do expect parents to check the online grade book regularly. However, I do send out a couple of emails a quarter to parents of kids who consistently don't turn assignments in. I do it as a CYA, so they can't come back to me and say I never let them know. I also sometimes send group emails to the whole grade parents when I find a pervasive issue that effects lots of students. I will also send an individual email if I see a regularly good student start to slide. I try!

 

[Magpie]

Our schools had a similar online system set up for high school, though not all the teachers participated. And, of course, their universities do the same.

To be honest, though, I never actually looked at them. I left it to the kids to keep tabs on their own grades. Around here, passing is 50 percent and even the child who struggled with school (due to a learning disability) could manage that. And the academically talented one would track her grades down to the last percentile. She walked into every exam knowing exactly what grade she needed to get, in order to hit whatever target she'd set for herself. And she'd walk out with a pretty good idea of how she'd scored.

I was content discover what their grades were when they showed me their report cards.

The last time I was deeply involved in the children's academics was in middle school, and that was just with my son.

But yes, there have been a few errors in grade entry. Last year in university my son thought he'd failed math. But when he looked at the grade breakdown, it turned out he'd got a zero on the final exam, which seemed highly implausible since you usually get partial points for at least attempting the questions (and he didn't think he'd done that poorly anyway). He eventually tracked down his prof and it turned out they'd simply failed to input his grade, due to the fact that he'd taken the exam at the student center (he gets a quiet room and time-and-a-half, by way of accommodation). His grade was eventually adjusted, and he ended up with a nice solid B (over 70 percent).

I hope yours turns out to be a similar clerical error!

 

[Poohlove]

I have a tough time believing that the teachers can't manage to contact the student, at least to tell them they're in trouble. Or maybe they did, and you just aren't aware that the history teacher talked to your DD after class or something. Since we're talking HS, I don't think the teacher would be talking so much to the parents (lower grades would be different). At the HS level, your DD should be handling this, with your input, of course. Perhaps you could meet with the teacher, along with your DD, and work out an action plan to improve for next quarter.

Of course I am concerned that she failed but my more pressing concern is HOW/WHY did she fail? Mathematically the formula she uses to figure the final grade and the grades that my daughter received don't compute.

I also have a hard time understanding why it would be hard for a teacher to reach out to a parent of a kid who seems to be struggling, whatever the reason may be. I find it hard to believe that the teacher has so many kids who struggle that they don't have time to send home an email.

This isn't the case here, her remaining grades including tests and projects were well above the passing mark so I am questioning the mathematics of the grade calculation not whether or not the teacher should have contacted me. If I felt my daughter was in danger of failing it would have been handled much sooner.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

My 13 year old is responsible for communication with her teachers and being proactive about her grades. Has been for a long time, probably since 4th grade or so. I don't get involved unless she has tried to resolve a situation with her teacher and cannot. 16 is 2 years away from on their own. Mom shouldn't still have to be checking behind them at that point, and teachers are acting on that assumption. I don't see a problem with the situation, other than the need for explanation on the grading formula. You DD needs to be the one asking for that.

 

[Poohforyou]

So your grading system doesn't list the overall marking period grade, just the individual assignment grades? That's really odd. Of course she could fail with the grades she got. It all depends on the weight of each assignment.

As for you're not knowing and perhaps expecting a teacher to let you know, it's high school not elementary school. I know that sounds snarky but you're talking about a teacher that could have 100+ students over multiple classes not a single classroom of 25. Also, by high school students need to be taking responsibility for their grades. It's a tough lesson in your daughter's case, but an important one.

I think our high school sends out a progress report if a student is doing poorly. My dd is a senior and fortunately hasn't had an issue.

 

[Chocolate Cake]

If a student is failing, I think the teacher should take the time to call or email the parent directly. That is part of the job, in my opinion.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We have the online grade portal thing too.
Our high school has over 3200 students - there are 800 in my daughter's junior class alone. Our teachers will email the parent if a student is failing a grade.

My son graduated with 700 students. I heard from his German teacher twice because he was in the low D's in that class and the teacher was concerned he would fail it. Turns out he wasn't doing the homework and it was messing up his grade even though he was acing the tests. That German teacher had 40 kids per class - 7 classes a day. And he remembered every one of those kids and their parents! Until he retired, I'd see him in school sometimes and he'd ask me how my son was doing in college.

I'm kind of surprised to hear that with only 450 students in a school, that the teachers don't take the time to email parents when a student is failing. Those teachers would never survive in a huge High School like ours - our High School has had teachers leave because they couldn't handle it.

Yes - in High School students should be in charge of their own grades but sometimes a parent needs to step in and help out. Found that out this year when the school put my daughter in AP Biology that she didn't sign up for and she didn't want which gave her 2 sciences this year and they would not let her switch class until I got involved and fought for her.

Also I'd just send the teacher a quick message about the error in your daughter's grade. I had to do that once for my daughter and it turned out there was a mistake.

 

[LilyWDW]

Your daughter is a Junior in High School. She should be the one contacting the teacher about why the grade is what it is. Not the parent.

Also by that point, I would not expect the teacher to contact the parent of any issues with failing grades or missed work. They would take it up with the student and it would be up to the student to change things.

 

[sam_gordon]

Your daughter is a Junior in High School. She should be the one contacting the teacher about why the grade is what it is. Not the parent.

Also by that point, I would not expect the teacher to contact the parent of any issues with failing grades or missed work. They would take it up with the student and it would be up to the student to change things.

Totally agree! We've had the online grades since our oldest DD was in MS (she's now a college freshman). When it first came out, I studied the grades daily. I noticed some teachers weren't good about keeping it updated. Now I check every couple months (we have two younger children). If I happened to notice an issue, I'd tell the child (especially once they got to MS/HS) and let them take it up with the teacher.

At what point do you want your child to learn how to advocate for themselves/be responsible for themselves if you don't want a high school junior to do so? People think teachers should be notifying parents because kids are failing? Sorry, no.

 

[mickeyboat]

I have two HS Junior DDs, too. They have an app for their phones so they can check their grades whenever they want. Most teachers are good about posting grades in a timely fashion. I can check their grades as well through the website. Each teacher indicates each assignment, the due date, the grade and any comments. The program computes a running total grade based on the weight of each assignment. Some teachers categorize assignments (homework = 30%, in class assignments = 30%, tests and quizzes = 40%). Some teachers assign point total weights to each assignment (homework is 20 points, tests are 200 points). Neither they nor I should be surprised at the end of the quarter about a grade because we would know all along how much each assignment is worth and the grade. Unfortunately a zero on an assignment can wreak havoc on a final grade, especially if there are not many assignments overall or in a particular category.

If I were you, I would have your DD talk to her teacher about how the grade was computed and ask if there could have been a mistake.

Our school still issues progress reports mid semester for kids who are doing poorly in a class. I would expect a teacher to contact me if my daughters were struggling. I know that my daughters' advisers check their grades periodically as well and will talk to them or to us if they are doing poorly.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

DD16 is a junior in high school, our school does have a website which you can log onto and check your child's grades. Some teachers are great about entering grades, others not so much. The school sees this as a replacement for direct communication with home and most teachers will not reach out to parents, I have been told by more than one of them that they feel it is the parent's responsibility to follow along online and reach out to the teacher if they are concerned. The teachers are "too busy" and have "too many" students to do it themselves. (I have 2 family members who are teachers in our district as well as several friends, it was through casual conversations that this came up) Mind you we are a two square mile town with about 450 kids in the high school. My daughters graduating class hovers around 110.

Last marking period I checked in on DDs grades weekly and they were all good, she checks them almost daily as well. Aside from 1 zero and a 68 (70 is passing) on 2 assignments for her history class her remaining 15 grades for that class were all 80 and above. While I was perturbed that she had a zero and a 68 I wasn't concerned for her overall grade. Imagine our surprise when her report card arrived and she failed history with a 68. Mathematically I just don't see how it is possible. I have a call in to her history teacher and her guidance counselor for clarification.

Has anyone had similar experiences?

Good communication is a two way street. And these automated systems are not a substitute for good communication. We have such a system also. But we're a much bigger school and we're way overcrowded. It was overcrowded the day it opened. My most recent son's graduating class was over 600 for example. This next one will be over 900. After that over 1,000. The one after that will be about 500 because the new school will be ready by that time. But both will still be overcrowded the day it opens. His teachers would gasp at anyone that said it was a parent's responsibility to reach out to the teacher. All of them either called or sent an email when an assignment was missed. Usually that very day. So if teachers at an over crowded school with 6 times the students of yours can do it, why can't yours? There is no can't. Only won't. Further, given that things often took quite a bit of time to post, the system was rather useless anyway imo. They could have a rough two weeks and we wouldn't know it from the system until a week or two later. And by then it's often too late to do anything about it. The damage is done.

 

[mjkacmom]

We have the online grade portal thing too.
Our high school has over 3200 students - there are 800 in my daughter's junior class alone. Our teachers will email the parent if a student is failing a grade.

My son graduated with 700 students. I heard from his German teacher twice because he was in the low D's in that class and the teacher was concerned he would fail it. Turns out he wasn't doing the homework and it was messing up his grade even though he was acing the tests. That German teacher had 40 kids per class - 7 classes a day. And he remembered every one of those kids and their parents! Until he retired, I'd see him in school sometimes and he'd ask me how my son was doing in college.

I'm kind of surprised to hear that with only 450 students in a school, that the teachers don't take the time to email parents when a student is failing. Those teachers would never survive in a huge High School like ours - our High School has had teachers leave because they couldn't handle it.

Yes - in High School students should be in charge of their own grades but sometimes a parent needs to step in and help out. Found that out this year when the school put my daughter in AP Biology that she didn't sign up for and she didn't want which gave her 2 sciences this year and they would not let her switch class until I got involved and fought for her.

Also I'd just send the teacher a quick message about the error in your daughter's grade. I had to do that once for my daughter and it turned out there was a mistake.

As a parent, you step in after the child has tried to fix the situation. Trust me, I've had to step in over scheduling issues (being put in the wrong class, being assigned a class already completed, scheduled for 2nd period study hall instead of lunch). This is high school, when students need to learn accountability. School teaches more than just academic. Kids need to take ownership of their education.

 

[Poohforyou]

We have the online grade portal thing too.
Our high school has over 3200 students - there are 800 in my daughter's junior class alone. Our teachers will email the parent if a student is failing a grade.

My son graduated with 700 students. I heard from his German teacher twice because he was in the low D's in that class and the teacher was concerned he would fail it. Turns out he wasn't doing the homework and it was messing up his grade even though he was acing the tests. That German teacher had 40 kids per class - 7 classes a day. And he remembered every one of those kids and their parents! Until he retired, I'd see him in school sometimes and he'd ask me how my son was doing in college.

I'm kind of surprised to hear that with only 450 students in a school, that the teachers don't take the time to email parents when a student is failing. Those teachers would never survive in a huge High School like ours - our High School has had teachers leave because they couldn't handle it.

Yes - in High School students should be in charge of their own grades but sometimes a parent needs to step in and help out. Found that out this year when the school put my daughter in AP Biology that she didn't sign up for and she didn't want which gave her 2 sciences this year and they would not let her switch class until I got involved and fought for her.

Also I'd just send the teacher a quick message about the error in your daughter's grade. I had to do that once for my daughter and it turned out there was a mistake.

For all I know teacher in our high school contact parents if a student is failing I don't have any 1st hand experience with that. I also don't really care about policies that don't affect me.

That aside, it's a completely different story when a parent steps in after their child has tried to resolve an issue than when a parent just dives in without giving their child a chance.

I've had to intervene a few times and may have to again if a situation my daughter is trying to work out doesn't work out.

 

[PollyannaMom]

It could definitely be an error. On ours, the teachers weight the grades by putting in the number of points earned out of the number of possible points, so a kid might have a
9/10 homework grade or an 80/100 test grade, that sort of thing. We have had it happen before that the bottom number was a typo. I printed the page, had DS take it in, and the teacher fixed it.