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

Parents Social Lounge
21

<p>For the future, I agree with the other posters who recommended writing everything down. You will need to document all conversations (you could even ask to record them in advance and this would help too) and keep ALL work. You will need to be sure to get every single paper back (don’t rely on teacher to keep track of anything). Keep your own spreadsheet with all grades. If anything is off, put it in writing. Ask for an appointment to see teacher about any problem, and if refused, note this in front of teacher and go to guidance counselor immediately. Don’t miss any assignments, classes, or tests for such a teacher. Give up anything else if you need to. </p>

<p>I appreciate that you have tried numerous times to deal with this yourself. You need to be as calm as you can (this is difficult even as an adult) and be concise. Bring your documentation. However, when things escalate this far, and you are still a minor, you can, and should involve your parent(s). </p>

<p>If this happens in the future, and you have time to drop the class or change teachers, do it right away.</p>

22

<p>I agree that there are very immature and insecure teachers at many schools and administrators back them up. They don’t want anyone challenging them in being ruler of their small kingdom, and there is much potential for student abuse. What you are describing is bullying and it is easily done and covered over by teachers. It is also illegal in many states (including NY) That is why many students and parents have used cameras and microphones in classroom settings to expose badly behaving teachers. In this instance, that would not be useful, but I do know how frustrating it is to have someone who is supposed to be a role model, be very unfair and mean spirited for no apparent reason. I have gone up against my share of them as a student and and the key is to document, document, document. Here is a link to the current law in NYS
[Dignity</a> for All Students Act (DASA): NYS’s Anti-Bullying Law](<a href=“http://www.capsli.org/bully-prevention-center/dignity-for-all-students-act-dasa]Dignity”>http://www.capsli.org/bully-prevention-center/dignity-for-all-students-act-dasa)</p>

23

<p>RoyceSox, you have just had an exceptional, albeit unintentional, lifetime learning experience. Now you know what sort of personality to avoid when signing up for college classes and when considering a job offer. Need a reason to smile? Consider how bad it would be to have to work along side this fellow for decades or, egad, to have to regularly defend his actions in front of irate parents! :)</p>

24

<p>

</p>

<p>If this is all 100% true I would have your mother contact the superintendent in writing. Not on the phone. She should also send a cc to the local media and to a lawyer who specializes in educational law. Nobody will take you seriously unless you put things in writing.</p>

25

<p>Thanks everyone! It turns out grades are final now and have already been sent out to colleges. It’s super frustrating but I guess I wouldn’t have been able to do anything with it anyways. It’s a shame, I took great pride in my high school just a year ago… Now I guess I’ll be remembering my high school days for my friends and those few good teachers rather than the school.</p>

<p>At least that crosses off one thing I’ll miss when I go off to college.</p>

26

<p>^^^^You will come across characters like this in college and/or in the working world. I agree with others that you need to document, document, document as much as you can in these types of situations.</p>

<p>By the way, please note that “principle” and “principal” are two different things. ;)</p>

27

<p>Teachers do make innocent mistakes as well. Most, when approached, admit the mistake and fix it. You know the other kind. </p>

<p>My son actually dropped calculus his senior year. My husband, who rarely says anything critical about anyone, looked at me during the conference with the teacher , and said, “We have to get DS out of here.” I about fell off my chair.</p>

<p>This will not be the only time a teacher/ professor/ boss makes a mistake.</p>

28

<p>It is not appropriate to just say life is unfair. Many teachers can be messy or disorganized, and it is generally highly unlikely that a good student will suddenly forget how to do work well. In your case, I would start documenting immediately. Email questions to the teacher, or that you made an appt to speak to him/her. Tell a guidance counselor and your parents what is going on. It is important to establish your side of the story. I completely understand these situations where teachers/the administrations ignore a student’s valid concerns just because they are a students’. Also, photocopy your work and ask the teacher to explain each grade. I don’t think your parents need to sue the school, but if they are willing to ask for explanations and do not get adequate ones, that would be in your favor.</p>

29

<p>There are a couple of things that seem “off” to me

  1. Your mom went to the superintendent and they said they already gave her enough time? That isn’t normal. Has she complained to the superintendent before? </p>

<ol>
<li><p>You claimed a graph was scaled incorrectly but then claimed " it should have been no big deal". In my world, that would be wrong.</p></li>
<li><p>1,200 million is not the same as 1.2 million. Not sure what you meant. Why didn’t you just write what you meant?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I’m not saying the teacher was in the right ( never heard their side of the story). Just that a few of your posts made me think you might sugar coat your mistakes a little.</p>

30

<p>@limabeans01

  1. My mom went to the superintendent only once. What the superintendent said was that the school already gave her enough time (the superintendent is a ***** and we knew that going in)</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The graph question was an iffy one. Apparently the teacher got it straight from an AP exam (I would like to see this exam…). The scale wasn’t wrong, just the assumption that on a small graph and with a scale of 20, the difference between my answer and the “correct” answer was a matter of millimeters. It asked me to estimate, and I did, I just estimated 50-70 instead of 55-65. Again, a matter of millimeters. Why I said it was no big deal was because it was only 1 point on the final.</p></li>
<li><p>Did I say 1,200 million was the same as 1.2 million? My bad. I meant to say that 1,200 million was the same as 1,200,000,000 (1.2 billion). I didn’t write 1,200,000,000 because earlier in the problem, there was a label like 40 million cars (using the word 'million") and I just reused that word at the end.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Sorry if I wasn’t clear, I’m not sugar coating my mistakes at all.</p>

<p>@waitingforivy
After the semester was over and he gave me a 78 for AEP (attitude/effort/participation) I actually went to him after the vice principal told me I should talk with the teacher. When I went to him this was our conversation…</p>

<p>Me: “I’m wondering why I got a 78 for the participation grade”
Teacher: “Did you look at the rubric”
Me: “I’ve seen the rubric”
Teacher: “Well look at the rubric”
Me: “I’ve seen the rubric… Can you tell specifically why I got it”
Teacher: “You got 3s in every category (there are 3 categories, with a max of 5 points in eachone”
Me: “How’d I get 3s in every category?”
Teacher: “I actually raised your grade from a D+ to a C+”
Me: “That’s ridiculous I don’t deserve a D+… so why’d I get a 3 in say effort”
Teacher: “You didn’t ask questions in class”
Me: “I disagree but that’s a different topic, that’s under participation, why’d I get a 3 in Effort…”
Teacher: “I’m not talking about this with you. If you have any other questions go to administration”
Me: “You didn’t answer any of my questions…”</p>

<p>I went back to the vice principal and still did not get a good explanation of why my AEP grade was so low, and rather he said he was not going to force the teacher to raise it and he was done talking to me. This is when my mom went to the superintendent, who also acted like a ***** and did nothing.</p>

<p>@MD Mom
I understand a teacher makes innocent mistakes, I believe the one he made with my labs was an innocent mistake. However the teacher has an attitude of always being right and he’s better than the rest of us because he eats organic popcorn and organic bacon… He lied and changed his story 3 times. After this point he was dead set against me and I knew that. The mistakes after weren’t mistakes. He changed his two of his policies twice without telling any of his classes (extra credit and test makeups), and made up a fake grading rubric that he said he handed to everyone in the class (which no one got). The extra credit policy change he even told the vice principal that he changed it after he saw that I left after 2 hours, because it wasn’t fair how I was getting the same grade as everyone else. I kind of agree with this new policy, however I argued that I would have tried to get work off and tried to stay the whole time if I had known of this new policy to no avail.</p>

<p>Also what makes me really ****ed is that throughout all this, administration (principal and vice principal) kept telling me that the teacher was helping me and provided faulty explanations that in no way applied to me at all. The fact that 3 of this teacher’s colleagues are on my side (guidance counselor, 2 other teachers) definitely says something about this situation.</p>

31

<p>Op, I think I misinterpreted your 1,200 million. That might be because it doesn’t make sense to me. It’s ( in my mind ) like saying that because someone used the phrase 2 hundred, I could say 305 hundred. What does that mean? I guess I could figure it out or just sat 30,500 ( check my math). It’s like saying that 2+2 = .004X 10^3.</p>

32

<p>Let’s break this down</p>

<p>So he ended up giving you the 100% on the lab. He also gave you a bad participation grade. Usually participation grades are done by marking down points by volunteering, not by teacher’s favorites. Even so, you got a compromise on the participation. He also gave you a 50% on a test you didn’t take. At my school you are allowed 2 days after you miss school to make up test/quiz and if you don’t it’s a 0. Atleast you got half. Also he didn’t give you full extra credit because you weren’t there the whole time. Your lucky he offered it and still gave you some. </p>

<p>Sorry to say I see nothing he did wrong preofessionally. You might not get along and he might be a tough teacher but I see nothing professional wrong here.</p>

33

<p>Royce: we do feel for you to have gone through this unfairness so young. Unfortunately, you’ll meet many more people like your teacher in college and when you get into the work world. You may have bosses that steal your ideas and report them as their own, co-workers who sabotage your work to get you fired, and college professors who give A’s only to the students they’re sleeping with. It’s hard for us who are older than you to see you go through these things, but there’s really nothing anyone can do to prevent these you from coming into contact with these people. I too often meet people who are 40, 50, or 60 years old who are mean, controlling, obnoxious SOBs. Some people just don’t grow out of it; it’s their personality or nature to be that way. Try not to let this teacher’s treatment of you worry you too much. When you get to college, you’ll have the opportunity to totally even forget he’s alive. It will be amazing to you in two years that you even gave this teacher so much of your valuable time. Good luck in the future!</p>

34

<p>If you do choose to continue your complaint in writing, I recommend you give a careful look at spelling and grammar. This is an informal forum, but in such a letter, you’d want to give the impression you’re a bright, caring student. That is some of the evidence in your favor.
Be sure to spell “principle” correctly, and remember “like” is a word that means - similar to. So the sentence “I worked for like a day” is fine for slang with friends, but not good in a persuasive letter.</p>

35

<p>Since the GC is on your side, maybe s/he could mention it on your LOR for college. Unfortunately, there are teachers who just don’t like certain students.</p>

36

<p>I wonder why a teacher would wake up one day and decide THIS is the student I will torment. I smell more to this story than meets the eye.
When i was in HS 30 years ago if I came home and told my dad- “the teacher swore/threw an eraser at me” he wouldn’t run down to the school, he’d demand to know what i did to make a teacher do that to me! I can tell by the students I see in college, the times are a changin’ and I’m not sure it’s all for the better</p>

37

<p>

</p>

<p>Some of the change is for the better. I’m a teacher and I realize that we don’t know all the sides of this story but I am also a mom and former student and I know that some teachers just s**K at their job. Why did he target this kid? Because he probably lost the OPs lab and the OP had the nerve to challenge him. That’s when the line was drawn in the sand. He’s a bully and a power monger in my opinion.
OP, I would have your mom write to the superintendent and have her CC the school committee members. I would let some of the smaller stuff slide so that you don’t look nit picky and focus on the more objectionable behavior. </p>

<p>1.He changed his story several times.
2. He lied about you threatening him (any witnesses?)
3. He produced a rubric AFTER he was called out on his method of assessment.
4. He changed the rules about the volunteer day AFTER he already said that you would get full credit for showing regardless of how long you stayed.</p>

<p>Simply because grades are final doesn’t mean that a correction can’t be sent to a school.</p>

<p>When my oldest D was in her senior year, her French teacher made a mistake on her final grade. Simple mathematical error but the lower grade went out to the colleges. When we discovered the mistake, we asked for a corrected transcript to be sent out with a note explaining the error.</p>

38

<p>My son never had a hs teacher who targeted him, but he swears he had one in middle school and one in college who just didn’t like him. It happens.</p>

39

<p>First, I hardly think you are “young” to have your first experience with injustice. You’re darn lucky to make it this far in life without having experienced this kind of capriciousness.</p>

<p>second, when do you take your AP test?</p>

<p>If you get a 5, you can maybe get the grade changed if it still seems important to you.</p>

<p>Good luck to you. May you go another 17 years before you meet up with your next vindictive idiot.</p>

<p>ETA: Also, I’d just like to add that effort should not be a part of a grading rubric. I hate these little subjective additions which were originally added as a way to give a boost to a student who couldn’t do well on the tests, and are now actually hurting people’s grades. Silly. I mean, if you don’t have to put in any effort to get 100% on a test, then it’s stupid to put in a lot of effort, NOT smart.</p>

40

<p>Both my mother and mother-in-law said many years ago at my wife’s and my high school graduations, respectively, that they were so glad to be done with K-12 public school education. (My wife and I were both the youngest in our families.) We both laughed about it last year when we realized both our mothers had made the same comment. With my son’s impending high school graduation, we are looking forward to his graduation for the exact same reason.
Unfortunately, I have no trouble believing everything the O.P. is saying in this thread. I can tell you ridiculous stories from my past, too. Part of the problem is that short of committing a crime, tenured teachers can do whatever they please. Fortunately, most take pride in their work and are professionals. This problem will not be solved until bad teachers face consequences for their behavior even if they have tenure. At the same time, I recognize that some teachers need to be protected against vindictive principals. The administration of my son’s high school, if they had the power to do so, would fire not only the worst teachers, but the best teachers, too.</p>