Screwed out of a grade... What do I do?

Parents Social Lounge
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<p>So basically I am 99% sure a teacher is screwing me out of a grade. Sorry in advance if it's kind of long.</p>

<p>It started near November when I noticed on one of my lab grades that I got a 0 on it. I approached the teacher about it and questioned him why, and he replied that it was because I was a bad student and that he "distinctly remembered" the work being messy and what not (basically him saying my work was horrible). I disagreed with this and asked to see the paper he graded and at this point he was claiming that he gave it back to me and I was the one responsible for my papers. (Keep in mind that I'm a straight A student with the occassional B here and there). Since this was a group assignment, I asked my friend what he got and he told me that he got a different grade than me. So I re approached the teacher the next day and asked him about this, and he responded to me by yelling at me (or close to that) that I shouldn't be asking what other people got for their grades (even though he was in my group?). We all handed in the same paper so it's not like mine was different than my group member's. He then changed his argument to I never did it and wouldn't change it even though he knew I was in this kid's group. He told me that I needed to produce proof to him to change the grade and that he handed the paper back to me (which goes against him saying I never did it?). In the end, we got into an argument and he ended up giving me a 100 for the grade. However he was MAD about this, someone in my class told me he was shaking his head at me behind my back for a good minute or two afterwards.</p>

<p>So about 2 weeks later, after the midterm report came out online, I noticed that he gave me a 68 for a participation grade!!!!! This grade was worth 25% of our final grade too. I'm generally a good kid in class too (like above says, straight As). Also he randomly gave me a 50 on a test that I never took (the test was given a few weeks before and I was doing some community service that day for the school). So when I approached him about this weird 50% test grade, he wouldn't talk to me about it and said to come back when he wasn't busy. I tried talking to him 3 times that day, once during a break where he was joking with kids and another one at the end of the block. He kept saying that he wasn't going to discuss this with me and that there was a simple answer to my question yet he still wouldn't tell me. At this point I was pretty heated and we got into an argument again that ended up me getting written up.</p>

<p>So I went to the principle and vice principle about this matter and nothing was changing until my parent got involved in the matter. My parent, the teacher, the guidance counselor, the principle, and the vice principle all ended up in a meeting. I wasn't called in until after the teacher left for whatever reason. When I got called in I was told that this teacher said that I threatened him in class (I ABSOLUTELY NEVER DID) and he claimed he gave out some grading rubric for the participation grade. I never got it, nor did anyone in the class or the other class he taught, so I assume he just made it up like the day before. He said that the reason he gave me 0s on the lab grades was because my name was never on it (note: changing his story for the third time). So in the end, a compromise was made that the test grade would be as it was, and that they would get rid of my participation grade but then grade me double on my next participation grade from this point on to the end of the year. The reason for keeping the 50% on the test was because I had a month to make it up and that I never did (even though last quarter he let us make up tests whenever we wanted to...).</p>

<p>So I went about doing my business, making sure I was the perfect student in that class as my grade depended on it. I went to some extra credit saturday school thing, and he promised everyone a day before that even if we went for an hour or two we would all get 50/50 for a test grade (which is what he did last time he had an extra credit saturday school). I left after 2 hours because I had to go to work. I learned later that week from a friend that he told their class (he didn't even tell my class) that he was only giving people who stayed a short time (ie me) only partial extra credit. I thought this was absolutely ridiculous because he had told us that we would all get 50/50 even if he went for just a couple hours. When final grades came out, he gave me a 78 for my participation grade (I literally deserved 100, I did absolutely nothing wrong in that class) and I went to the principle about this and the extra credit. After meeting seperately a few times with me and the teacher, they finally agreed that the extra credit and the participation grade was fair, which I thought was absolutely ridiculous. I claimed that the participation grade came from the teacher holding a grudge against me, and they said I was imagining it. But yet I was attentive in that class, I took notes, I did all the homework, I went to extra credit, didn't use my cell phone or anything distracting nor did I talk when I wasn't supposed to be.</p>

<p>I've went to the guidance counselor and another teacher about this, and they are both 100% on my side but they can't do anything about it. My school (and the superintendant) has a reputation of not caring what parents think and always taking the teacher's side. What do I do now?</p>

<p>Basically if you didn't read this (super long I know) here are the key points -
- Teacher made up fake lab grades (which he lied about and hesitantly changed)
- Teacher gave me a 50% on a test that I never even took
- Teacher lied about me threatening him in class and gave me a 68 for participation out of him not liking me
- Compromise was reached with administration
- Teacher still gave me a low participation grade and changed his grading policy to keep me from getting a B-
- Administration sided with teacher despite obvious proof, compromise was pretty much broken</p>

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<p>In the end, my grade came out to a C+ (my first ever C in high school). If they had changed either my participation grade or that extra credit grade to what I actually deserve, my grade would have gone up to a B-. It’s absolutely ridiculously that first C came in my senior year when those grades are being sent out to colleges because of a teacher doing whatever he could to prevent me from increasing my grade.</p>

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<p>Lots of people are going to respond and tell you you are whining, entitled–currently my least favorite word–or something else. I have another POV. When I was in HS, I was screwed over by a teacher who accused me of plagiarism for no reason at all. She was angry with me for not kowtowing to her. My S was victimized by a complete idiot–also a physics teacher, ironically–who was so bad that the students got up a petition to get rid of him. This bozo gave him a D on a lab report on which his only comment was that the illustrations were “too small.” Yes, those two words plus the D were the only marks on the paper. :rolleyes: There are teachers and profs out there who take a dislike to a student and do not hesitate to give them undeservedly poor grades as a result. They are a tiny minority, but they are there.</p>

<p>The bad news is that you have already done everything you can do on an official level. This guy knows that he is being watched, so he will be careful not to go too far and do something really egregious. You’ll probably get some kind of a B, unless you give him another opening by tanking an exam. (It is unfortunate, if understandable, that you lost your temper with him. That gave him an opening, and he took it.) My advice is to keep your head down and act as if butter would not melt in your mouth around this guy. That’s about all you can do.</p>

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<p>It is my experience that schools take things more seriously when they are put in writing. Can your parents put this all in writing and send it to the principal and the superintendent? When you complain it just sounds like a kid complaining, but when you put it in writing it seems much more serious.</p>

<p>The good news is that this won’t matter all that much.</p>

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<p>It sad you have to experience the unfairness of life so early. I think unless the parents are willing to sue the school board (and I hope they don’t-at least not over a B-) that it’s something that you’ll have to live with. The lesson to be learned is to never give a petty functionary any rope with which to hang you. (The rope I mention is cutting it so close to a C+). You will run into teachers, bosses and gov officials like this and now you have the experience to handle it. Always remember these functionaries are helpless without the rope.</p>

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<p>Thanks, I know life is unfair, it just makes me super angry that a teacher could mess up my good high school transcript like that and potentially keep me from going to a good college because he hates me AND he’s getting away with it.</p>

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<p>By the way, my mom tried contacting the superintendent about this and basically what the superintendant said was that the school already gave her enough time and attention, and that the school has no bad teachers and I was a bad student. My mom also learned that the vice principle even lied to the superintendent about me retaking a test 4 times (I retook it once) which obviously isn’t that big of a deal but still kind of proves my point about the school’s shadiness. I guess I should have listened to people when they told me that my school was a bad school… The only reason I went to this and not a prestigious private school in the area was because I wanted to stay with all my friends.</p>

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<p>we will never be able to hear the other side of the story. if what you said was all true, then i am really sorry for this awful experience. i hope you can rise above it. I hope you show them with your action that they are all wrong when they said you are a bad student. i am sure you care a lot about your grade, enough to post on this forum.</p>

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<p>I was bullied in high school by an English teacher who didn’t like the way I reacted to his (really awful) poetry. I’d carried high A’s in the class all the way through, then stupidly responded to an “anonymous survey” of the class with some critical remarks that were traced back to me and suddenly, truly out of nowhere, ended with a B+ for the YEAR. I don’t doubt that teachers do this sort of thing.</p>

<p>The thing you need to learn here is that confronting these sorts of personalities directly doesn’t get you very far. Never, never, not ever, no matter what the provocation, do you get into an argument that results in yelling. It’s great that you’ve been able to get your test grade and lab grade changed but now you’ve got this teacher angry with you and determined to give you the lowest grade he can justify. You need to turn this around. The way to do this is to turn into a sycohphant and a vigilant record keeper, uncomfortable as that may be. Keep a count of the number of times you’ve participated each day. Approach the teacher only in positive ways and with a smile on your face and ask him how you can improve, assure him of your eagerness to do well in his class. Remind him that you’ve participated x times each day and ask how much more he’d like you to contribute. </p>

<p>At the same time, see if there is a teacher or advisor who is willing to intervene on your behalf. Get your parent to stay on top of this if necessary. If my straight A kid suddenly came home with a C+, I’d be more than a little bit unhappy and I’d want some compelling proof that it was appropriate.</p>

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<p>When your mom contacted the superintendent, did she do it in writing? The superintendent’s office is going to be a lot more careful in its response if there is a written record.</p>

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<p>What would the grade be if you received a 100% in participation, you received your extra-credit and a zero for the test you never took? I don’t know about all the stuff you listed out but what did stand out to me is that you were gifted a 50% on a test you never took the time to take. How would your grade been affected if that was the zero you actually earned?</p>

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<p>Well that’s the thing, there is no proof because the participation grade (which is actually a attitude, effort and participation grade) and the extra credit have no documentation.</p>

<p>PS I also found some questionable grading on my final on two problems, one of them was a graph question that I apparently had to know that the line started at 55 and ended at 65 and I put it was 50-70 (it was seriously a matter of millimeters on a small graph with a scale of 20). I guess I had to know this by some stupid folding technique with the paper… Keep in mind this is an AP level science class. Another problem, I got everything right, I showed work and all. I still got a 2/6 on that problem because instead of writing 1,200,000,000, I wrote 1,200 million (because earlier in the word problem, it use the number 40 million so I just figured I could write million onto the end and have it be the same answer.) And 1,200,000,000 (or 1 billion) = 1,200 million</p>

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<p>My grade wouldn’t have been affected by the 0 because we are allowed a retake and I retook the one I got a 50 on. If I had gotten a 100 for participation, and the full extra credit, and the final exam thing (which changed my grade on that exam from a 84 to a 76) my grade would be a B. Instead it’s a C+</p>

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<p>All of what I am saying is true, not a single lie in there. The teacher’s side of the story that was told to the principle is full of lies and deceit (like me threatening him? or handing out that rubric?). It just gets me riled up how a 40 year old man who the principle and vice principle keep saying is such a good guy and all that can still act like a 10 year old kid.</p>

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<p>I am also someone who was a good student and had two teachers in high school who didn’t like me. Teachers like this are aggravating and frustrating. They set impossible standards for the one student they have decided to pick on and wait for them to fail.</p>

<p>My problem was solved not by trying to get along with these spiteful people but by avoiding them at all costs. Once I got them out of my vision, peripheral and otherwise, my aggravation was gone. If you are a good student, and I believe that you are, then there are plenty of teachers who like you and who have your best interests at heart.</p>

<p>I look back now on my two teachers and I see them as small minded, vindictive people who were burned out on teaching and should have left the profession.</p>

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<p>I would consider asking to be transferred into another section of this class with another teacher for the remainder of the year. This teacher is not being straight forward.</p>

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<p>are you saying the damage done to you is a c+ vs. a B-. I know C+ looks ugly among As and Bs on the transcript. But, it won’t effect your HS cumulative GPA much. Unless there is another student who has identical profile except in this case a B instead of C+, who is after the same spot you are after for college admission. I wouldn’t recommend you pursuing your case further while you are still taking this class. i assume you still have another semester to GO with this teacher. Focus on improving your performance in this class. Don’t be on the borderline. In your case, if you had a solid B, there is no way she/he could change the outcome.</p>

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<p>I just read your last three posts. I’m not going to pretend that I am following the details because I think there is a bigger picture that you are missing.</p>

<p>First, I believe what you are saying, I think most of us do. Saying that we haven’t heard the teacher’s side isn’t saying that we think you aren’t telling the truth, it is just an observation, and a fair one at that.</p>

<p>I’m concerned that you haven’t considered that your teacher may enjoy tormenting you. You sound ready to go to war with him but that may be something that he wouldn’t mind. Are you really going to feel better engaged in a battle with him? More meetings with counselors and principals and parents where he is telling lies about you? Is it worth it? Personally, I can’t stand people like the teacher you are describing and I’m a lot happier not having them in my life.</p>

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<p>Luckily for me I don’t have the teacher another semester as it was a 1 semester AP class. I know the difference is only half a letter grade, but it means a lot me because I have never ever gotten a C before in my life and the first one I’ve ever gotten was as a result of a wildly disorganized teacher (1st year teaching AP, taught sped classes before), his grudge against me and the school administration being super one sided</p>

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<p>@pea
I understand what you are saying but I don’t think that is the case. What kind of teacher wants more trouble with administration? I just think he was doing whatever he could without looking totally obvious to keep my grade down</p>