Zero on test-how will this effect our search?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
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<p>Wow-I’m such a newbie-I thought I would be notified by e-mail if anyone responded so I didn’t realize that all of this valuable information was coming my way! Thank you.</p>

<p>In the mean time I did most of what was recommended. I had my son write a letter to his teacher acknowledging what he did wrong, assuring that he would not do it again, had learned his lesson, etc. and explaining what an important year this is for him-applying to boarding schools,etc. He then asked if there was an extra work he could do or a project he could develop to get extra credit. All to no avail. I did then speak to the principal and the teacher explaining our position that the grade should reflect mastery only. Also to no avail-principal supported teacher 100%. It came out that my son has been disrespectful to teachers in the last 5 days(after 4 years of perfect behavior). We determined that puberty,some drama with the girls in class, hanging out with a “new friend” who has since been expelled, has all added up to this moment in time. To quote the principal " It is had to fly with the crows when you should be soaring with the eagles" <em>sigh</em></p>

<p>The principal suggested a team meeting to get back on track and used the zero to nip the behavior in the bud. She also discussed the fact that my son will need to get back on track so that teachers can give him the recommendations he deserves for BS. Oh, that was infuriating-a student who has been “perfect” for 4 years-has 5 bumpy days and now his future is at stake because of it!! The religion teacher even said to me “he must have been having a bad day” Are we really expecting our kids to be perfect?? but that is another thread altogether.</p>

<p>This is just one of the reasons why my son needs to be at a school that “gets” kids!! His school is archaic-but the best choice in our area.</p>

<p>So in the end, I think he can use this as a learning experience, but I am more nervous than ever that this week will wreak havoc on teacher recommendations.</p>

<p>for the record-my son was not informed that talking during or after a test will get you a zero, this is not in the handbook, nor was there a class handout explaining such a rule. In fact the student he was talking with did not receive a zero on his test. It is well know that students talk after tests and my son is not aware of any students receiving a zero for talking before or during a test. I think it was a knee-jerk reaction by the teacher that then couldn’t be retracted. I believe that there are other interventions that could have taken place before the zero-move his seat,trip to principal, points off of the test,call to parents,etc, even a warning-if you talk again you will get a zero on the test. It should have been crystal clear if you ask me.</p>

<p>Again, I appreciate all of the great responses.</p>

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<p>It sounds like your current school is no longer a good fit for your son. If you agree, I suggest that you seek out some schools that place your son in the top 25% or less of applicants and that your son would be happy to attend. This is because you need fa, and it sounds like your son is not thriving at his current school.</p>

<p>When the current school is no longer a good fit, sometimes that affects teacher recommendations and grades. Remind your son to be on his best behavior. Also, many schools that go through grade 12 do not like students leaving for any reason and may not be very cooperative. Your son’s current school sounds like one of those. </p>

<p>This is one of the big advantages that boarding schools applicants from schools that end in 8th or 9th grade have.</p>

<p>Perhaps you can add one or two additional recommendations from teachers who think highly of your son.</p>

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<p>power10 - your experience really hits home with me. As a child, my parents took myself and my siblings out of our local parochial school and enrolled us in a Quaker School (Friends). They found the parochial school to be rigid and totally inflexible. </p>

<p>My experience has been the same. While my children attend a non-sectarian day school, we are catholic, and my children attend religous education classes at our local parochial school once a week. It has been a headache. When my D forgot to bring in her “Pennies From Heaven” collection box, she was berated in front of the whole class and called “thoughtless”. My impression is that they like to make big things out of small matters. In his younger years, my son was constantly being “talked to” because his shirt was not properly tucked in or one of his shoe laces had come untied. The teacher made some snarky comment that “all schools should have uniforms like we do”. Because it is one hour once a week, we grin and bear it. The people we have dealt with strike me as small minded and very judgmental - a frame of mind that I would prefer not to expose my own children to.</p>

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<p>Given that the no talking rule was not explained or enforced before (though, having suffered through Catholic high school, myself, I’m surprised by that :stuck_out_tongue: ), and particularly given that the zeros weren’t given out judiciously, I retract. (I was always a warning before consequence teacher anyway). </p>

<p>The fact remains, though, as you and others have pointed out, you need good recs. from the principal as well as teachers. So if son really wants to get out of there, he needs to be contrite. But if he knows you think it’s unfair, he’s probably not going to be able to fully walk the walk or talk the talk. He’s an adolescent, after all–there’s nothing like adult unfairness to stir up their righteous indignation.</p>

<p>I’m guessing that most teachers have, at times, made incorrect snap judgements that are difficult to back down from. I probably have more sympathy for that than the average parent because I know how difficult some days in the classroom can be, especially when you’ve got one or two students disrupting the flow of the class. </p>

<p>However my parent side can sympathize too. My kid had a very difficult teacher last year, unreasonable in her expectations in many ways. Still, we found that the more positive our spin was, the better he did–no matter how much we gritted our teeth and kvetched in private. And really, in the end, he is a much better student for having gone through last year, with all its headaches.</p>

<p>I’m worried that, given how competitive bs’s are, that even a hint of “troublemaking” parents or kids–no matter the unfairness of the accusation–will be enough to get your son’s application filed in the wrong pile. On the other hand, I’m guessing that if you all put your best face forward, the whole incident will be forgotten–or seen positively in a “look how well junior responds to correction” kind of light–by the school. Which is what you need most at this point to get him the heck out of there.</p>

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<p>To the OP read Classicalmama’s last paragraph. It’s very true. Whatever disrespectfulness started this episode needs to be stopped in its tracks if he wants a shot at one of the better schools.</p>

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<p>Lesson 1: Life is not fair</p>

<p>Lesson 2: Teachers are human - just like kids are</p>

<p>Lesson 3: Teachers can be stubborn - just like kids can</p>

<p>Bottom Line: Overall effect on transrcipt will be negligible, but cleaning
up his act earnestly after a bad 5 days could produce great nice recs!</p>

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<p>Agree with Burb Parent 100%.</p>

<p>I would also see if you can examine a sample transcript. Before HS, some schools send the report cards – which include incredibly candid comments not written with the idea that they will be read by an admissions committee. Some teachers make snippy comments to parents in report cards…which might have a very negative impact. Insist on grades only for the transcript.</p>

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<p>All great advice-I have a bigger picture goal in mind at this point. We are putting the episode behind us. My son is going to start fresh tomorrow-new marking period. He will be putting his best foot forward and pulling top grades once again(fingers crossed). I am planning to work with the teachers to make sure those recommendations are the best they can be. We are cracking down at home as are the teachers at school and I have already seen a difference-attitude improvement immediate!! I guess all we can to do is put together the best application we can and hope for the best. I have already talked to him about the idea of using this episode as a learning experience and on an essay question along the way-thank you for that idea.</p>

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<p>Oh, as for Periwinkle’s comments about it “just” being religion, I agree. Obviously I can’t speak for any admissions committee, but if I saw a kid whose Religion grade was seriously below his grade in core courses, I’d think, “Now THIS is a kid I want on my campus!” I know I’d be leaping to conclusions but if a kid has proven he can read and write and somehow can’t bring himself or herself to spit back the material that the religion teacher is looking for, I’m thinking “Independent thinker!” And, in this case, I’d be wrong because if I wasn’t leaping to conclusions, I should have been thinking, “Talks after finishing the exam!” Still, if there are admissions people out there as warped as I am, having an aberrant low grade in Religion could be a blessing from on high.</p>

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<p>Good point, D’yer…the hope there,too, is that the math and English teacher think the religion teacher is a little too anal. Or that the new and improved boy becomes the talk of the faculty lunch room… </p>

<p>I do think that if he pulls it together, this whole experience will actually be a plus in terms of recommendations. I always think particularly highly of my students who manage to pull themselves away from peers who are dragging them down and start to live up to their potential. Really, it demonstrates a lot more character than pleasing the teacher all along. In some ways, the religion teacher may have done you all a favor by bringing things to such a dramatic head so quickly–five days is easy to erase…five weeks would leave a much more serious mark. Sounds like you’ve done a great job dealing with the situation.</p>

<p>As my ex-Army Iraq vets turned college freshmen say whenever something ****es them off: “Embrace the suck!”</p>

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<p>Some perspectives as I am coming to this “late” to this party:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>one bad grade will not impact BS applications (or college). It’s an anomaly that will be easily fixed if the other grades remain high (which will cause the overall grade to average back up.)</p></li>
<li><p>What WILL affect his BS applications is his current attitude towards the teacher He’ll need a recommendation from the current teacher and the principal. So puberty aside - that’s the issue you need to worry about. BS are being very choosy about which students they take because they don’t want perceived attitude or discipline problems (even if it’s new to this behavior). Remember - the admissions officers and teachers have to LIVE with your child - so they want the ones who represent talent and ability to self manage. You can try to by pass that by providing recommendations from previous teachers in addition to the current ones to imply this is an anomaly.</p></li>
<li><p>I found that when my D told teachers she was applying to boarding schools, some were very good about working with her, others were resentful - as if applying was a negative reflection on their teaching skills and the school in general. In one class a teacher joked “she’s going to BS because her parents don’t love her any more.”</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So be careful about explaining that you want to fix the grade because you’re applying to get out (unless the school wants him out too). Sometimes that will make it worse and, really, it’s irrelevant to the problem at hand. Either the grade is fair or it is not. </p>

<p>Keep the eye on the prize. One bad grade will not knock the kid out of the application pool unless there is a trend and the overall grades are less than B’s and A’s.</p>

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<p>That is a great point, about being careful working with the current school’s staff because you need their rec’s. There was definitely that resentment at our child’s school (a prestigious private day school) with a few of the teachers. The admin staff were also…less than timely in getting transcripts out. Fortunately, AO’s understand this (they must see it all the time) and worked with our old school to obtain the transcripts.</p>

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<p>One thing worth doing is finding ways to make the teachers feel like they’ve got a vested interest or some kind of stake in the BS admission outcomes. I kept dropping lines like, “I hope the schools think he’s got the foundation they’re looking for” and “Some of the schools he wants to attend are amazing. If you’ve got him ready for them, you will deserve a medal.” I have no idea if it worked, but I made sure they understood that I regarded his admission results AT LEAST as much a referendum on them as I regarded the results as some sort of statement about my son.</p>