school rant About This Page:

[dejavu]

MY DS is in all honors classes and this year has 2 teachers who have started giving the kids tests where 80% of the students get Ds or Fs. The kids are all in shock. One of the classes is English and every prior test involved knowing themes from the book being covered. This time the questions were about tiny details: name the character who did this (lots of characters and obscure ones), what did someone order to eat at a restaurant, etc. The teacher told the kids that tshe doesn't want to hear any moaning about the test - it's not open for discussion.

DS is a straight A student (until now) and would like the opportunity to discuss the test design with one of the teachers. (basically, "why did you not tell us what would be required on this test since it was so radically different from all prior tests? will future tests be designed this way?", etc.) When the teacher refuses to even discuss it, where should he go next?

[emtpej]

If the teacher refuses to discuss the sudden change and all of a sudden nearly everyone is failing, then I would first try a parent, student, and teacher conference. If that is not possible, then the Principal or asst. P and find out WTH is going on! Sounds like he is in high school and he needs a good GPA!

[disneyqueenmum]

We've been through this with my DD's Physic's teacher. Try talking to your child's couselor who could also act as a mediator between you and the teacher, and make the teacher more accountable. If not, an administrator should be told. Do you know parents of other kids in the class? If so, can you rally them to do the same on the kids behalf? Our physic's teacher is now being observed on a regular basis as a result of this and though the tests are still ridiculous sometimes, the kids are getting more opportunity for test corrections or extra credit. Sorry your DD is going through this. There are people everywhere who are teaching and should not be. Good luck!

[Colexis Mom]

I had a professor like that in college. Very few got As, most got Cs (myself included). It was the hardest I had every worked for a C in my life and it wasn't like I didn't know the material! Pixies that you can find a mediator and get it all worked out

[Mike&Mandi]

I can only suggest that you get all the facts before jumping to conclusions, DW is a geometry teacher, and has to deal with A LOT of parents of students who came into the class making really good grades and find themselves struggling because geometry is such a departure from any other form of math. The knee jerk response is, my son/daughter has alway made good grades so it must be the teacher. I also have a 16 year old son who comes home complaining about bad tests and grades, and I later find out he's forgot to mention important details, such as receiving specific instructions on test formats and review topics. I love my son, but he's a teen and I know what that means too. Guess all I'm really saying is get the facts & talk with the teacher before hitting the P. or VP. it might save you some time.

[Luvsun]

Well - in my opinion any teacher who is getting a class or classes with continuous 80% failure rate is basically not teaching.
I think as a parent (and I have had to do this before), I would make an appointment with the teacher or head of the department and very kindly ask what your child can do to improve his/her work. Perhaps the door would be open to discuss why the radical change in testing. If that fails, or is not permitted, perhaps you can go together with other parents and ask to make an appointment for an open discussion regarding testing and concern for your children's grades.
Good luck!

[RobDVC]

I would call the principal.

[snoozin]

Since the attempt has been made to discuss with the teacher, the next is to go to the principal. I would bring copies of the older tests and the new one, and show the difference, rather than giving a verbal explanation if possible.

It's tough to be a kid... aaaargh!

[stretch2864]

If 80% of the students are close to failing, that is a poor test design. I am studying assessment right now in my master's program, and a well designed test should aim for at least 50% scoring well. You might want to discuss with the teacher what exactly he/she is trying to evaluate. The teacher should be evaluating how well the students know and understand the concepts being taught in the class. If the test is truly doing that, then maybe the teacher isn't teaching the concepts the way they should be taught. However if the aim of the teacher is to see how well students can memorize obscure details, he/she still isn't doing the kids a favor. Maybe a few questions like that as challenge questions wouldn't be bad to insure that the kids have really read the material, but a test based on obscure details is truly a bad test. On the flip side, a teacher shouldn't be giving a test where the questions are too easy and not actually assessing what the kids have learned. They might be getting "A's", but not actually learning what they need to know. Good luck to you and your DS.

[RobinKay6573]

Is this high school?

If this is high school I think students should be prepared for anything to be on the test. I wish my high school teachers would have pushed me a bit more. When I got to college I found everything so much different. My term papers were PULLED apart and I felt like a fool. I learned to read different in college...I was forced to remember little things that in high school I knew weren't important. However I don't think it is fair that the students can't discuss their concerns with the teacher.

Is it possible that the teacher was asked by the administrators to change her curriculum???

[Lemap760]

If most of the class is failing the teacher needs to step up and figure out why they are failing. If it was just one or two students then I would focus more on the students. It sounds like something isn't being communicated properly between the teacher and students.

[Disney_Scarlett]

I would ask for a conference with your son and the teacher. If it's refused, go to a principal or assistant principal. If she accepts the appointment, have a list of questions and copies of his work. Having both your son there and the teacher there might help to get to the bottom of this (so no "he said, she said" stuff). 80% fail rate is very high; however, Honors/AP classes are supposed to be difficult (and by difficult, I mean, challenging, not impossible!). I had a teacher in high school, who, every time someone would ask a question about a test (format, subject material, anything), she would say, "I don't know, it's a test." She said it so much that my friends and I still repeat it all the time as a private joke. Anyway, it actually helped me once I got to college - I learned how to really know material and be prepared for almost anything.

[dejavu]

Yes, he is a sophomore in high school. He has had this teacher all school year and had 100s on almost every single thing. It is an Honors class, so I expect it to be harder. I did test design at a major bank for hiring purposes and had many classes in grad school related to it, so I guess bad tests are a touchy subject for me.

I forgot to mention that for extra credit TODAY, the kids could bring in a poem and a food that is referenced in the poem. How crazy is that? Yes, we furiously baked last night before I had to leave for my bunco group. DS seems to have decided to just drop it- probably because spring break started after school today and he doesn't have to think about it for 10 days.

One of the things I discuss frequently with DS is that the world is NOT always fair, and you have to pick your battles. Will this teacher hold a grudge against you if you continue to bring up a closed subject? Will your boss one day? Is it worth pursuing on principle? So anyway, I don't know where we'll go from here, but conferences are in 3 weeks so I will definitely schedule one with that teacher.

[MickeyMAC]

Those type of questions are not for a honors class. There the lowest level of Bloom's---she should be asking high level questions. I think I would discuss it with the assistant principal in charge of academics.

[disneyqueenmum]

Originally Posted by Mike&Mandi

I can only suggest that you get all the facts before jumping to conclusions, DW is a geometry teacher, and has to deal with A LOT of parents of students who came into the class making really good grades and find themselves struggling because geometry is such a departure from any other form of math. The knee jerk response is, my son/daughter has alway made good grades so it must be the teacher. I also have a 16 year old son who comes home complaining about bad tests and grades, and I later find out he's forgot to mention important details, such as receiving specific instructions on test formats and review topics. I love my son, but he's a teen and I know what that means too. Guess all I'm really saying is get the facts & talk with the teacher before hitting the P. or VP. it might save you some time.

You make a good point, but there are definitely bad teachers out there. I conferenced with one in particular a few years back when DD was in Biology that left me scratching my head. It was like talking to a brick wall and I understood what it like for my child to try to understand this person on a daily person. I got an A in bio-chem in college so I took it upon myself to reteach my DD at home that year, but the teacher's test questions were very poorly worded and completely confusing. I would have done poorly in Biology if she were my teacher....just saying.