Has anyone experienced unfair grading practices at CMS. Report cards came out last week and I noticed two of my child's grades were incorrect. One of the teachers is taking her sweet time correcting it while the other teacher doesn't seem to care. I am in the process discussing this with the asst principal.
Well, I didn't notice anything wrong with my son's. But I don't like HOW they grade, but I'm sure it's the same at every middle school. My son is in 6th grade so this is all new to me. At progress report time he got an F in social studies. But what I didn't understand is that out of the 5 grades he had recieved so far, 4 of them were 100's. But because he got a 55 (?) on his one test they had, it brought his whole grade down to an F. Seriously??? I emailed the teacher and he explained to me that homework/classwork is only worth a tiny fraction of his grade, and tests made up most of it. So here we thought he was doing great, and he was failing........UGH! (luckily he has brought it up since to a passing grade, but we really learned our lesson on that one)
I don't like that we never see the actual test--just a grade. There were so many times where we found an error in elem school. I would like to see the actual test so at least I could see what is being tested. OP--how did you know there was an error?
I am referring to Cleveland Middle School---tests never come home, one progress report than report card. Some of the students do not even know their grades. Some of the teachers refuse to tell them. They are given an opportunity to retest however, if you don't get your test back how do you know you need to retest. The communication between teachers and parents is Horrible (I thought we were on the same team, apparently not). Last but not least some of the teacher's attitudes towards the students is almost a form of bullying.
I hate to say this, but it was a very long 3 years at CMS. It did get better each year, email the teacher(s) and ask for weekly progress reports, I got those with my ds each week, many times there were assignments shown as missing, which I knew had been turned in, but at least this way you're on top of it every week. Good luck!
And when you called the teacher(s) and asked them about this, what was their response? Communication between teachers and parents is two way. You can't just rely on the occassional "note from the teacher", or the quarterly report card, as a form of communication (especially if the kid is a little on the rebelious side as I was. Notes can get misplaced, lost, etc). If you feel the teacher is not communicating with you, you need to take the initiative and call or visit them. Remember, your student may have one teacher, but that teacher has 30 students.
Yes teachers have a lot of students, but I don't see why a kid in middle school can't bring their tests and other work home at least once a week as they do in elementary school. I have to sign a folder that has all my daughter's work in it for the week. It really helps to see how she's doing, what she's missing and how I can help her.
Perhaps you should ask the kid. My grandson (also middle school) wasn't bringing any notices home and claimed he was doing all his homework at school. We finally contacted the teacher who was wondering why we weren't having him do his homework, and why we never responded to any of her communiques.
No child left behind With the no child left behind act, they can't push kids through if the parents know everything. This is just my opinion and observation.
IMHO there are good teachers and not so great teachers, just like there are students who apply themselves and others, not so much. A friend of mine recently shared this pic with me and it sure seems accurate, although both sides have a valid argument as to why this is so true.
Has anyone had any experience with Matt Johnson, he was a social studies teacher at West Johnston High School?
We had an excellent experience at CMS. Communcation was open and often. I did what I called "welfare checks" This works especially well if you attend orientation and introduce yourself, fill them in a little bit about your child (strengths/weaknesses) and express a desire for open communication, leaving them with all of your contact info. Also, open house after school has started is a must as well. That way they know you are serious and you described your child truthfully, and they know you want a working relationship with them. Worked for me, and my son is a Junior now - I do the same thing at the HS. Lather, rinse, repeat.
He seems to communicate well and clearly knows and enjoys his subject matter. Tests are fair, as review materials and expectations are known ahead of time. We are also proactive parents. Our communications with DD's teachers is frequent and collaborative, as we know and do the part we are supposed to do as parents. These teachers have 30 plus students per class. Keeping up with 120 well behaved, success oriented students would be challenge enough, given the Course of Study they are required to be taught. The challenge factor is multiplied many times over because the students are also those adolescent, hormone driven appetites wrapped in skin, that are also trying to find their way socially, etc. May I ask why you asked?
Yep, perfect. When I was teaching in the public schools, this email got an immediate response every time. I use the same basic format when checking on my kids with teachers who "didn't have the progress report ready today". BTW, I also answered the not so tactful parents when they emailed, but your words are appreciated. Suggestion: Contact the administration to see how often you should be receiving progress reports. When I was teaching for JCS, we only had to send one at the half-way point of the quarter (4.5 weeks).
