Does this make sense? - UPDATE #12

[MSWR0319]

DS was out with the flu and missed a Thurs and Fri. Monday his math teacher was not there, so he did not get the worksheets that he missed until Tues. He then had a test on Wed. So he missed instruction on a new topic on Thursday and the test review on Friday. He was not at all ready for his test. He didn't even know how to do the worksheet she gave him. She did not explain it. I had to teach him based on her slides which were down right ridiculous. I've heard numerous complaints about her teaching skills and now I believe everything I've heard. My question is, in your school would he had to have taken the test? I don't really see how he should have had to take it based on the fact that he gets two days for homework makeup and he didn't even get the homework till Tuesday night on a topic he hadn't ever seen. So making him take a test on material he hadn't learned doesn't seem quite right. He didn't even understand it, and she wouldn't let him ask questions. He knew he failed it, and the score just posted and he did. He got a D+, which brought his A- down to a C+. He's in 7th grade if that matters. I'm just trying to decide if I should suggest that he talk to her about retesting or working something out since he wasn't fairly tested. He's very upset about it. But maybe that's a normal thing to do? Take the test even if you were sick and missed the instruction? I honestly have no idea how it works so I don't know what to suggest to him.

[Dayzy]

I would email the teacher and try to discuss taking the test over or getting partial credit back. My DS had a science project due on a Wednesday but he was sick that day (T1 diabetic with high glucose levels so a fully excused absence) and Thursday and Friday was state testing so he did not see his science teacher at all. He handed in the project on Monday when he saw her. We got the grade back and she deducted 20 points - 4 points for each late day. I emailed her and explained the situation and those points came back.
It can't hurt to reach out and see if you can reason with the teacher.

[jgenie]

I would have him contact the teacher to explain the timing. If she doesn’t allow him to retest, I would contact her myself.

[ray7694]

I would have him email/talk with the teacher and state since he missed class and she was out Monday he wasn’t prepared for the test. Would it be possible to make test corrections or do something extra to help with the poor score.

[Myira]

In our school, he would get a chance to improve his score by retaking the test for sure. I see these test retake to improve scores emails regularly and you don’t have to even have a reason for the poor score like your child has. I agree that he should talk to the teacher, explain the situation and request a retake. Any reasonable teacher would give him a chance for improving the grade.


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[PZMommy]

My 7th grader would be responsible to download Thursday and Friday assignments and have the work completed when he returned on Monday. He would be expected to take the test as scheduled. A month or so ago he had a temp of 102, and was expected to download and complete a test that day. Now that everything is available digitally, most teachers are not allowing any extra days to complete work. You are expected to do it every day, sick or not. He is in a gifted STEM magnet.

[jgenie]

My 7th grader would be responsible to download Thursday and Friday assignments and have the work completed when he returned on Monday. He would be expected to take the test as scheduled. A month or so ago he had a temp of 102, and was expected to download and complete a test that day. Now that everything is available digitally, most teachers are not allowing any extra days to complete work. You are expected to do it every day, sick or not. He is in a gifted STEM magnet.

This isn’t the way our school works. Giving grace is the name of the game post Covid for us.

[hbridge]

I think it depends on the situation. If the assignment was available to him, he "should" have looked at it and started learning the material on his own, coming in with questions and e-mailing the teacher. HOWEVER, there are a lot of things that would have to go right for that to happen. If the assignment/information was not available to him, he was too ill to access it, it was something he couldn't learn on his own...the teacher should be open to making arrangements.

[MSWR0319]

My 7th grader would be responsible to download Thursday and Friday assignments and have the work completed when he returned on Monday. He would be expected to take the test as scheduled. A month or so ago he had a temp of 102, and was expected to download and complete a test that day. Now that everything is available digitally, most teachers are not allowing any extra days to complete work. You are expected to do it every day, sick or not. He is in a gifted STEM magnet.

Wow! Our school policy is to allow one day of makeup time for each day sick.


I think it depends on the situation. If the assignment was available to him, he "should" have looked at it and started learning the material on his own, coming in with questions and e-mailing the teacher. HOWEVER, there are a lot of things that would have to go right for that to happen. If the assignment/information was not available to him, he was too ill to access it, it was something he couldn't learn on his own...the teacher should be open to making arrangements.


He had all of his other school work done before he went back on Monday because he was able to access it on Google Classroom. However, she did not post the math work on there so he had to wait. Then she was absent on Monday, and on Tuesday just handed him the worksheets. I think some assignments are easier to teach yourself than others. Honors math is not so easy when the topic is brand new. This teacher is not very accommodating about anything. So I don't anticipate much coming out of any communication. She asked DS if he was ready for the test when she gave it to him, and when he told her he wasn't sure she said "Well, I guess we'll find out."

I told him this morning once he brought the test home, we'd look and see what he missed. If he missed the questions about the topic that he missed, he should email her to see if there's some way to earn a few points back at least on that section. While I don't think it's quite right that he missed the review and couldn't ask questions before the test to help answers any confusion before the test, I'm not sure it's worth approaching with her.

[chlobo]

Wow! Our school policy is to allow one day of makeup time for each day sick.




He had all of his other school work done before he went back on Monday because he was able to access it on Google Classroom. However, she did not post the math work on there so he had to wait. Then she was absent on Monday, and on Tuesday just handed him the worksheets. I think some assignments are easier to teach yourself than others. Honors math is not so easy when the topic is brand new. This teacher is not very accommodating about anything. So I don't anticipate much coming out of any communication. She asked DS if he was ready for the test when she gave it to him, and when he told her he wasn't sure she said "Well, I guess we'll find out."

I told him this morning once he brought the test home, we'd look and see what he missed. If he missed the questions about the topic that he missed, he should email her to see if there's some way to earn a few points back at least on that section. While I don't think it's quite right that he missed the review and couldn't ask questions before the test to help answers any confusion before the test, I'm not sure it's worth approaching with her.

If he didn't have access and then she wasn't there to explain then I think he's perfectly within his rights to ask for a way to make up the grade.

[hbridge]

If he didn't have access and then she wasn't there to explain then I think he's perfectly within his rights to ask for a way to make up the grade.

YES!!! The alternative was him coming to school with the flu!! I thought with Covid we were beyond encouraging people to attend school/work when ill???

If she did not give him access to the material before the test (with time to ask questions), he should be able to "prove mastery" and bring up his grade. However, before you or he start to ask too many questions, check the handbook and the syllabus to see if there is any set protocol for this situation, then proceed.

[MSWR0319]

Update: DS came home today and said the majority of the class flunked. The smartest kid in the class got a C-. Most of DS's friends got a D in some nature. So DS has decided he doesn't want to ask her anything because she tends to take it out on kids if they ask questions. Is it too early to be ready for this class to be over??

[SnuggleBuggles]

Update: DS came home today and said the majority of the class flunked. The smartest kid in the class got a C-. Most of DS's friends got a D in some nature. So DS has decided he doesn't want to ask her anything because she tends to take it out on kids if they ask questions. Is it too early to be ready for this class to be over??
In 7th grade, I just couldn't catch on to how my algebra teacher taught. I switched to another teacher and it was like a lightbulb went off. Is there another class he could switch to?

[ang79]

Update: DS came home today and said the majority of the class flunked. The smartest kid in the class got a C-. Most of DS's friends got a D in some nature. So DS has decided he doesn't want to ask her anything because she tends to take it out on kids if they ask questions. Is it too early to be ready for this class to be over??

Ugh, I'm so sorry. 9th grade DD1 came home so upset last week because she got a 70 on her Honors Earth Science test and she felt she had studied a lot for it. She said the majority of the class bombed the test and the teacher's response was "It's a hard test, noone ever does well on this particular test". Then maybe she needs to teach the material better! Friends in a different section with a different teacher all did fine with the test on that chapter, so something is clearly off in DD's classroom.

[MSWR0319]

Ugh, I'm so sorry. 9th grade DD1 came home so upset last week because she got a 70 on her Honors Earth Science test and she felt she had studied a lot for it. She said the majority of the class bombed the test and the teacher's response was "It's a hard test, noone ever does well on this particular test". Then maybe she needs to teach the material better! Friends in a different section with a different teacher all did fine with the test on that chapter, so something is clearly off in DD's classroom.

Exactly! I’ve also found out that the only way kids are getting an A in this math class is because they’re doing extra credit. I think that means that she’s not doing her job well. DS came him last night and I had to reteach him the lesson. They were adding variables and he couldn’t figure out k-6k. When I said “it’s the same as 1-6” DS asked where I got the one, so I explained to him that a single variable is the same as 1k to which he replied “Well if she had told us that this would be way easier!” I’d love to switch him to 7th grade math vs honors because that teacher is great but he won’t let me.