[1dayatatime]

I have an issue I hope someone will be able shed some light. I received a letter from ds's school yesterday informing me that ds had to receive a particular grade in two different subjects or he will have to repeat the grade (he actually only has to pass one to be promoted). In math he will have to raise the grade 25 points.

The problem I'm having is how his math teacher determines her grades. Instead of the traditional percentage, getting 40 right out of 50 yields 80%, she gives each individual problem a value of 1 point and does the percentage at the end of the 9 weeks. The problem with this is when an assignment has more than 100 questions or the students start getting problems wrong.

For example, some of the grades are as follows....

Worksheet.......41/74
Test...............79/100
Worksheet.......36/42
Worksheet.......44/53
Worksheet (multiple)..100/239

Total: 300/508 = 59% F

I think it should be...

Worksheet.......41/74 = 55.4% F
Test...............79/100 = 79% C
Worksheet.......36/42 = 85.7% B
Worksheet.......44/53 = 83% C
Worksheet (multiple)..100/239 41.8% F

Total: 68.98% F

He would still have to recoupe but it would be possible. I've done the math and if he were to have the same amount of assignments for the remainder of the quarter and were to ace every single one of them, he could only raise his score 23 points...resulting in being retained. Test are worth the same as homework in this system. A bad day will bring down 3 good ones. Nothing is graded alone and then averaged together....it's all one big assignment and the student is graded accordingly.

I have attempted to explain this to the principal and math teacher and they don't understand the math. I tried to explain that someone gets 74 out of 74 they don't make a 74!!!! They make a 100% because each problem is worth 1.35 points each!!! They're reply was..."yes, that's right and that's what we did". No it's not because if I get 239 out of 239 I don't make a 239
% I make a 100% because they're worth .4 points each yet they graded EVERYTHING as one point!!!! They looked at me like I was crazy and told me they would be happy to have an official meeting next week to discuss this matter.

Anybody know how I could convey this math so the math teacher will understand???? Has anyone else dealt with this way of grading? I'm pacing the floor it's worrying me so bad.

[MlleOdile]

The system appears to be very convoluted. You didn't say how old your son is, but in my experience not all children thrive on worksheets - and worksheets are the sign of a very lazy teacher. She doesn't appear to be creative or inventive at all.

Instead of addressing the trees, try looking at the forest. Your son may not be one of the ones that do very well with worksheets and may work better with another methodology - and if they are thinking of retaining your son, they better have a good understanding of his learning style, because now he's an at risk student.

Have you had your son assessed? Even if your son doesn't qualify for special education or additional resources, it's a good indicator of his learning style which will help you in selection of teachers, and help the teachers learn how to help him learn.

If you request the assessment in writing, they must provide it to you.

Short of that, consider tutors - and yes, I understand that he can only do so well under the grading system.

You should also find out the school's policy for retention - some schools don't retain against parents wishes.

And it never hurts to take a peak at your child's cumulative file, just to see what kinds of things have been put in there.

Good luck. : )

[1dayatatime]

Thanks for the info. He's 12 and has what's called here a 504 plan for special needs, which is where he gets specific assignments especially geared toward his individual needs. This has worked until this year.

Last spring we bought a new home in a different county so in the fall of the next school year he relocated to a new school system. This lead us to creating a 504 plan for this location. The original 504 abbreviated his assignments. Part of his issues has to do with being overwhelmed in areas he struggles, even with the simplest assignments. These teachers didn't like abbreviating assignments and said they had rather let him give his best efforts and if he does that then they will "pass him". I did not like this idea and stood my ground on it, however, the principal succeeded in convincing me that we could try this and if it didn't work then we can always change it. He didn't do as well as he did last year but he did gain better than passing grades in all but two subjects and in those he got extremely close. But NO ONE ever said that at the end of the year he will be made to pass with a C on his own or he will not be promoted even if he gives it 300%.

Now, here we are back pedaling with a grading system that has him screwed 3 weeks into the 9 week quarter. She knew the situation and what she would require of him to "pass him" 5 weeks ago and I heard about it 2 days ago.

Thanks for the help. My neighbor also suggested that I might not have to let them retain him.

[MlleOdile]

I am so sorry to hear that they decided to not implement the 504 plan. Not really relevant what the teachers like or dislike, they must provide accomodations under the 504 plan. What is his disability? It may be time to implement an assessment and an IEP plan - the school is way out of bounds on this - a child with a known disability with a 504 plan to address this issue and is not at risk for failure. They ought to be bending all over themselve to compensate him educationallly for their screw up. Do you know of any parent groups that educate parents as to their rights under IDEA or 504? Perhaps parent groups in the area of disability that he has? There's a lot that can be done, and if you go about this in the right way, the school will have to meet your son's special needs - the law is very powerful on this point. You'll have to be his best advocate - schools in general try to do what best fits with their resources and cause the least amount of work - not fair to the kids. Forget the grading process - focus on accomodations. Write a new 504 plan NOW - and get the worksheets reduced or gear the accomodations so that he can be successful. Write a letter documenting your request for it, attach a copy of the letter that they sent. Consider requesting a 504 plan for the interim, you can still request an assessment (and it sounds like your son may need that) and go down the path to an IEP - it only gets tougher and he'll need it more as he gets into more advanced grades. If you need information on where to start on on this - I can make some recommendations. Hope this helps.