What would you do in this situation? (My first post of a new thread-- please be kind!)

[MacMattico]

OK, I'm really wrestling with this and need some sane minds to help me decide what to do. I know this isn't a world wide major issue effecting us all, but I value the opinions (most of them!) I read on Free Republic so here goes. And there is a political element to the story if you can bear with me for a minute.

I have a daughter in middle school and report cards just came out. She received a 95% or above in all classes but one: Math. In advanced math, she got an 84. In order to stay in advanced math, you have to maintain a 90 or above. She can stay in the class now, but needs to bring it up to a 90 or next year she drops down to regular math, which means she can't take Algebra in 8th grade (a year ahead) and would then mean no Calculus Sr year which had been her goal. We do not put a lot of pressure on her to acheive high grades, she does it all herself and I applaud her for wanting to do her best when she is capable of so much.

So I told her to buckle down next quarter and do the best she can. End of story, right? Not so fast.

I had a parent/teacher conference and asked her Math teacher why the 84, when at the mid quarter (5 week) report she had a 93 average? I look at all her work as it comes home, good grades. He said "Let me check" and brought out a print out of all her grades-- home work average, 88, quiz average 94, test average 75.

Huh? 75? Oh yeah, did I mention that He gave ONE test during the whole semester? And that my daughter kept all of her other grades up despite missing 7 days of school with swine flu? Then she comes back in and is handed a test she knows nothing about and is told to take it right then and there. Still not feeling so great, and missing the previous 7 days of school, I said, hey, a 75 is ok, you can make it up with all of the other grades you've gotten in math, don't worry. It was never specified this was an all important test, it just covered the last 2 weeks of work. Little did either of us know this teacher decided to count this grade as 43% of her course grade (why 43%?-- he gave me no reason) and that the other kids had been preparing all week. For some stupid reason he gave a 10 point bonus question that was-- wait for it-- "What are my (his) daughters names?"-- WORTH 10 POINTS! (remember this is 10 points on a test worth 43% of her grade.) My daughter was not in school when he gave the class their names (the week she was sick), and what the H*** does that have to do with math? His explanation-- a "fun" way to have a bonus that could help the kid's overall grades-- but not my daughter because she "got it wrong". He then says to me that she should have told him she wasn't ready for the test or asked him if she could "fix" it after the fact before report cards and maybe he could have "given" her some more ponts, like he did for other kids. (Should have asked to be "given" a higher grade? Like he did for other kids that "asked"?!!)

Huh? She's 11 and wants to earn her own grades, and was handed a test and told to take it. She didn't ask for free points, but I want some fairness here. Do I go over his head? I want my daughter to be self reliant, but I'm really mad.

One last point, and I hope this isn't the case. His wife ran in a local election a few years back with some seriously crazy democrats. I was the republican chair. Needless to say in our little part of the world things got nasty, fast. A local internet forum gone awry, lies were told, people attacked by her supporters and vice versa. Could this be payback? If so I feel responsible to my daughter, although I personally never even posted on this local forum. What do you all think?

[silverleaf]

Don't stress out about keeping her in an “advanced” math class with an idiot for a teacher.

She is doing fine. Don't make an 11 yr old feel like a failure.

Enroll her in an online course from one of the many private courses and curricula that offer advanced math, and let her learn for the joy of it. You can get ideas for courses by joining a homeschool group (online). For example, Calvert School has a separate math curriculum kids can enroll in.

Also consider asking her if she wants to join a club that does lego robotics or other technical projects, and look into summer camps and summer programs for kids who are bright in math, at some of the universities.

[9YearLurker]

You’re right, JenB. That’s a horrible and inaccurate statement on the part of LanceyHoward. There’s no evidence that this girl isn’t quite competent in math, and the average difference in test scores—despite attitudes like this—is very small. In fact, at this girl’s age, girls tend to do better than boys in math.

[thefactor]

my advice:

don't make a huge deal about this in front of your daughter. she's a kid. talk to the pricipal and lay it all out.

your daughter will soon learn (as all of us did) that life isn't fair all the time. she will be in high school soon and eventually college where she'll be on her own. she won't be able to call home everytime something doesn't go as planned.

i would try to fix this problem, but realize the school has many students and can't always address every single issue for every single kid.

in my job, 10% of the workforce does 90% of the work and i am not exagerating. sometimes in order to succeed you really do have to do more than you should have to. it sucks but it will help her later on. she will look back on this and laugh in the near future.

[MacMattico]

I said be kind to me because I didn’t know if I was posting properly, thank you, having never done that. And technically none of it is my fault, I’m the mom not the test taker or test giver. So I don’t see where I’m saying ‘it’s not my fault”, etc. I just asked a question to see how others would approach the matter.

[thefactor]

by the way, my little sister is a math major at the university of michigan. she is on her way to becoming an actuary. she plays sports, is in a sorority, etc... and she has a number of job interviews/offers 6 months before she graduates.

my point is that girls are every bit as capable at math on average. there are some structural barriers to girls when it comes to math but your daughter seems to be overcoming those. good luck!

[MacMattico]

They have a policy that you have to wait until you go back to school to get the work missed, just in case they are behind or changed the lesson plan. I know, dumb. But when she showed up on that first day back, she was given the test.

[al_c]

Reminds me of a time waaaaaaay back in middle school when a math teacher counted some of my work wrong because my 2s looked kind of like Zs. This was plain math ... not algebra. No letters were being used.

[AD from SpringBay]

Interesting situation. One option would be to pick a different battle and have your daughter get her grade back up - and it sounds like she is more than able to do this. This is definitely the quiet thing to do and would fit nicely with the whole 'control' factor that is so important to a lot of public school teachers. The other option would be to move up the administrative food chain (and since this is a public school there will be several layers of this) to see what else could be done.

The ten point bonus question is standard fare in a lot of classrooms. My own daughters deal with lots of irrelevant crap like that. It has nothing to do with math and everything to do with getting those grades up for NCLB.

[RGSpincich]

What do you all think?

I think you're nuts to bring your personal life here. Make a decision within your family unit and stick with it. You know your limitations and strengths. Do you really want all these spoons stirring your pot?

[Hoosier Catholic Momma]

So, your daughter is sick for a week with the flu, and she is handed a test the day she gets back and is told to take it???? WTH? I know that in my kids’ Catholic school, they are allowed time back from an illness before they are required to make up any tests (my 11 y.o. daughter just had this situation when she was sick last month for a couple of days).

Am I missing something here or is it unreasonable to allow a kid to have little catch up time before testing them on material they don’t know?

And why should a kid just ‘suck it up’ when she hasn’t had time to review the material—it’s not like she is a slacker who just isn’t doing the work.

BTW, my 11 y.o. girl is quite good at math too—she doesn’t get it from me though...her dad is an engineer. She knows who to go to for math and science and who to go to when she needs language arts or social studies help (I’m the history buff in the house, and I got straight A’s in English and Spelling in school).

[Tijeras_Slim]

FWIW the average of 88, 94, and 75 is 85.6 not 84.

Mr. Math teacher sounds like a real winner.

[strider44]

You can always supplement High School Classes with local community college classes. My brother’s oldest son took his SAT’s in 8th grade and scored a 1350. He was in a private school (Catholic) but they just couldn’t keep up with him. He’s in a private HS now, but during the summers he would take classes at a local college for extra experience. He took Calculus and Chemistry classes.

I say don’t put too much pressure on her and don’t run to the school administration. You’ll be able to track her progress as a parent and if you feel she’s capable of more math than the school is providing, go the extra night class or summer class route. Colleges will be impressed that she went the extra mile to supplement her knowledge.

[ZinGirl]

And technically none of it is my fault,

OK, well, fine, then. good luck with that.

[wzevonfan]

When I was in Junior High I underachieved according to my teacher and was not qualified for Advanced Math in New York State. I disagreed and my Sophomore year I took both Geometry and Trigonometry which put me back on schedule to take Calculus my Senior Year.

Ultimately I left school a year early and finished my Senior Year of HS and Freshman Year of College at Clarkson University. That program got me into a school routinely ranked between 7 and 15 on a full scholarship.

My point is, even if treated unfairly your daughter still has options. Although it made me exceedingly unhappy at the time I proved that teacher wrong. I developed a healthy resentment for people who tell me I am not good enough to achieve something which has served me well through my career.

[DallasSun]

I doubt seriously politics has anything to do with this. But the question about his daughter’s names? How unprofessional. And so unfair to your daughter. Your daughter sounds very bright and level headed. And it sounds as if she has an excellent mother. I think your daughter is going to do just fine. Good luck to both of you.

[DallasSun]

Should I have said father? Regardless, as a parent I know you must be so proud of her.

[BenKenobi]

Fight the mark. Ask for a makeup test or for the 10 points back whichever you think your daughter will do best.

I would bet that it is personal, but don’t say anything to the teacher or the administrator about this, just keep it to yourself and use this knowledge to help guide you in what to do.

If the teacher won’t do either, talk to the administrator and explain her position. Explain that you requested a makeup mark, and explain why this is so important (getting tracked to higher math), exactly as you have here.

The bonus marks were 5 percent just for knowing the names of his kids? That’s rather silly. Her mark will bump up to about 89 or so.

I had one French teacher who was pulling games with her exams. She would drop a student down so that the student had to do the test, and show up at the top of the class, when the student did well on her exam, and her class average would be higher.

It took a full semester before everything got worked out. In the end, I got the mark I earned on my final exam (which was about 5 percent lower), than I had earned in the class, but it was about 10 points higher than what I had received from my teacher.

[MacMattico]

This teacher now regrets giving me the print out of her grades. I spoke with him and he wanted the hand out back— no way. I found a few inconsistencies with what he had told me and what is on the hand out. I told him I'm fine if my daughter didn't get an A in math, I just want her to get what she earned, not some arbitrary number. He was very short with me and didn't want to answer any of my questions. He said that she's very quiet in class and some times seems to be just staring off into space. I said that maybe she was thinking, and was he basing part of her grade on non-participation in class? He said no, that had nothing to do with it. So that was just a cheap shot. Putting her down because she's quiet? He ended the conversation abruptly by saying that her grade was based on a “weighted” system: homework 20, quiz's 30, that one test 40. It says this on the print out also (in writing). He then ended the conversation. Now, am I wrong or isn't a weighted system of grading based on percentage? If so 40, 30, and 20 only equals 90%. Am I misunderstanding here? Where's the other 10 percent? Or, is he just counting the one test 4x, quiz's 3x and homework 2x and then getting an average from that? Which puts all the more emphasis on a test that I have now found out the class was told they were having 5 days in advance— she was sick that day. Oh, he also claims that even though he told them about the test 5 days in advance, they all “should have known one was coming up”. And that they only “reviewed, no new material” in those days that she was absent so nothing should have been a surprise. Ok, but there was no way she could review with a 104 degree temp and a trip to the ER and the family doc. He also restated if “she had just come to me I could have let her fix some of it and given her, maybe ,a few extra points”. That to me is not even fair to her or any of the other students— points given after the fact? I keep reading posts from people that ask why I even post this personal information. The answer is because I think it sheds some light on an unfair system in addition to giving me some perspective. Thank you to all of you that have replied. We met a very nice couple recently that home school, and I've thought about it but I worry about ME keeping up with my kids needs, I don't want them to fall behind . I majored in history in college, did fine in math but don't know if I remember much past a little geometry. My kids also have some good friends and good teachers. We chose to live here (one reason) for the school system.

[MacMattico]

Mom :)

[MacMattico]

That's interesting, we're in New York state too. They now start “weeding out” kids for Math I (Algebra)to be taken early in 8th grade based on 5th grade testing, which is absurd. Congrats on going to Clarkson, I had a friend who went there for engineering and I know it wasn't easy to get in or to complete the program. I think there's a fine line between speaking up for your child and going over board and making things worse. I bet you ended up getting more out of not being put into advanced math then you ever could have gotten from being put in the class initially.