Teacher was a complete jerk wont accept a homework assignment that he had no due date on which would have given her a C.She had a 3.9 weighted and did get all A’s in other classes this first semester including two other A’s in AP classes.She has all required math without this and not majoring in math or stem.Will this screw up all her acceptances and ones she’s waiting for.She has never received a D in high school and only 1 C before in Ap computer science.She has now also dropped class.Anyone have experience with this scenario in Senior year?
The rule of thumb for most schools is no D’s or F’s Senior year. That said, I would be proactive, contact the schools and see what options are available to her like retaking the course during the summer. Depending upon the selectivity of the schools she has applied and/or been accepted, they may also consider it an outlier in other than a good academic record. Better to find out now what can be done than wait when final HS transcripts are due and she may be rescinded.
Best of luck and please report back with an update.
I believe she will need to send her first semester grades to her RD schools, therefore that D will appear on her transcript. If she was already in her ED school, then she would still have a semester to bring her grade up to a C.
I would go meet with her GC to see if the GC would be willing to write a letter on her D’s behalf. Without calling the teacher a jerk, plead with the GC to see if he/she would talk to the teacher or write a letter. If the GC won’t do anything then your D could write inform the AOs and write a brief explanation. I would try to stay away from the blame game - take some responsibility, mention how she has done well in other classes, and she continues to take school very seriously.
Good luck.
We are going through an endless complaint process with school but yes we do need to send first semester grades and can’t wait any longer.she has notified schools already that she had a problem submitting them as there was an issue and all said fine get them in by end of month.She has dropped the class and also notified her schools of that .Seems like a lot of schools wrote back thanking her for notifying them of the dropped class and saying it should be fine.Wondering if any one here actually dealt with something like this.
grades came out February 4th for end of first semester
One late homework does not make a big difference in the semester grade. She got all A in other classes, what were the reasons she did not do well in AP Physics?
Thanks.Do you know of anyone this happened with? I don’t think she needs to repeat as she has enough math to meet requirements.Yes we will stay away from blame game but will say we are appealing.
I think it’s going to be very school dependent.
I also agree with the advice from @oldfort. Talk to the GC but IMO, your student needs to take accountability and not try to blame the teacher. If she was so close to a D that one missed homework assignment got her there, this isn’t a teacher issue.
You daughter needs to communicate now with the schools where she has been accepted and figure out what she needs to do to avoid being rescinded. It could be having to retake physics over the summer.
Good luck!
Actually homework did make a difference.Labs and homework worth more than 50% screwy I know.Many kids failed some if not all tests and still got a B or C because of labs and homework.Teacher does not teach just gives out assignments,no syllabus,no homework page etc…
Also this daughter has ADHD with no accommodations because they claim she does to well and this type of teacher just was a nightmare for her.Her twin sister who has had him for physics 1 and now has him for physics 2 found it easier although she had all the same complaints.This daughter is much more capable because of focus in teaching her self. I should have had her sister drop it before college apps in beginning of semester
I am sorry that this happened to your daughter. But also let’s not kid each other. Unless the homework assignment was a major assignment that was worth 25-30% of the semester grade, there is no way that not turning in one homework assignment is going to give her a D for the semester (which is approximately 15 weeks of work).
I am absolutely certain that this grade is no shock to your daughter because she knows what she has/has not done in the class. It is one thing to advocate for your child and teach your child how to self advocate, but it is another thing to be an enabler. Calling the teacher a jerk because your daughter did not take care of her business and is not taking ownership, responsibility and accountability for her actions is enabling. When she gets to college she will have professors, who will set up due times for work and if it is submitted one minute late, the work will not be accepted. This is an unfortunate teachable moment for your child.
For your daughter to end up with a final grade of D means that, this one homework assignment was not the only thing going on in the class. Has she been struggling with the class all term? What does her class work, quizzes and test grades look like? Did she seek help?
Almost all schools now have Jupiter Grades, Engrades, Pupilpath or some online grading system, where both you and her can see how she is doing in class, what assignments are missing and the effect that the missing assignment will have on her overall grade. At sometimes during the term, there have been parent teacher conferences; did you/ your child attend these conferences? Has the teacher reached out to you to let you know that your daughter was struggling.
What is her unweighted GPA? If she is applying to selective schools, this is what will matter. Her dropping the course will also effect how she is evaluated on her midyear secondary school report as she may no longer be taking the most demanding course (s) that her school offers. As you know the 7th semester transcript will be sent to all of her RD schools. If she goes to see her GC for a letter on her behalf, she needs to keep it real and own her part in this; the GC will be able to pull up the grades for the semester and will most likely have a conversation with the physics teacher (don’t let your daughter put herself in the position where this is going to bite her).
One late HW under this rubric would not have moved a B to a D. It might have moved a C- to a D. So again, larger issues than just one late HW. Regardless, it’s time to move on. As @Gumbymom and @oldfort said, she needs to be proactive and communicate with the schools.
Of course she is not blameless and was going to be ok with a C something as I said she only had once before.She thought she was ok but this teacher additionally only enters grade once a month if kids are lucky so she never really knew where she stood.He also decided not to enter some assignments.
yes homework was worth 25% of grade
She needs a good reason to appeal if the colleges rescind her.
Many kids would love to have high percentage in HW to get higher grade.
Teacher did not use the online system but for maybe every 4 weeks to put in grades.We never knew where she stood and again I will say she struggled with class and teaching style.Again may kids failed all or most tests but because homework and labs were worth so much they could still pass with a C or B. Teacher never reached out and we don’t have regular parent conferences in 12th grade.Her labs and homework were all a’s She is not applying for ivies or top 30 schools like her 4.7 gpa 34 act sister.I’d say most schools she is applying to or accepted at are 30 to 50% acceptance rate.
We are talking about 90 instructional days in a semester. One missing assignment is going to be a nit on the overall grade and will not move the needle one way or the other. Now if your child did no homework or missed most of the homework, then yes they are going to take a hit. Unfortunately, it happens every semester that students feel that they can turn in a bunch of late homework at the end of the term to raise their grades and every term it does not work for them.
Forgot to add after this D unweighted is 3.5
Yes, she should speak with her GC asap.
My kiddo got a D for one course first semester, after an ED admit. The GC was critical in supporting her. This truly was a teacher who had problems with being arbitrary, not giving grades that reflected the actual work done and grades during the semester, and playing favorites. He was let go the next year, for a host of issues. The college put the fear in my kiddo, insisted on improvement 2nd semester, but was otherwise disinterested.
@shipoo I don’t have any advice but I just wanted to say I’m sorry you’re in this situation. Until this year, our school did not have +/- and teachers who used wacky grading policies. My D had to fight a teacher hard over a 0 in a homework assignment that was bringing her quarter grade down 5 points. It was not a major assignment just a function of how the teacher structured the grade in the system and not entering grades ina timely manner. It would have brought her semester grade down a full letter grade. She ended up having to get help from her guidance counselor to deal with the situation.
I just wanted to say I sympathize as so many responses here seem to question the validity of the impact of one homework. It sounds like this class was a nightmare for your daughter. Speaking from experience with a child with ADHD, I truly understand where you are coming from. Best of luck with this situation.