breetheflea
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Posts: 5,917
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Oct 15, 2016 0:22:46 GMT
My dd's math grade...
She has 500/600 points for assignments, projects and homework.
She has 60/100 on the one test they took between August 31st and last week when the grading period ended.
She is getting a D in the class. The one test counts as 90% of the grade.
Does that seem wrong? Maybe I am old school but when I was in middle school 560/700 would =80% or a B. Even in college I don't remember a class where 90% of the grade was based on tests (or a test in this case).
Conferences are next week, and the math class is the one conference I am going to. Middle school is going to be the death of me...
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Post by mom on Oct 15, 2016 0:24:44 GMT
I dont think that is right...but I dont know that there is a rule against it or anything. I am interested in hearing what the school says.
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Deleted
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May 17, 2024 3:11:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2016 0:31:30 GMT
If tests are 90% of your grade, then yes, it's right. The way you're calculating (560/700), you're giving equal weight to tests and homework. Her test grade is a D- (F on some scales). Her homework grade is a low B. Those two together are still a D. Here's a weighted grade calculator linkThat's a very heavy weight on tests. Most of my college classes were weighted like that (huge percentage of grade was tests or papers), some in high school, but I don't remember any jr. high grades that heavily weighted on one thing.
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Jili
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Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Oct 15, 2016 0:34:45 GMT
My daughter's high school is moving toward nothing but tests count toward grades. No homework points, no participation points, nothing but tests. While I understand the theory behind this (assessing whether students truly understand the content without the grade being muddled by other factors), it still has a brutal feel to it. Some students truly aren't good test takers.
My dd just took a trig test today and she said it was incredibly difficult. She's really worried about her grade at this point. If you have a weak performance on one test, there's little opportunity to redeem yourself.
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breetheflea
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Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Oct 15, 2016 0:37:38 GMT
I know the math is right, I meant the concept of the weighted grades.
I am/was a horrible test taker, if this was how I was graded in 6th grade I probably would never have graduated from middle school. We didn't even have A+ or B- if you got 90% that was an A. I really am starting to feel old and out of date!
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RosieKat
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Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
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Post by RosieKat on Oct 15, 2016 0:38:25 GMT
I don't agree with the weighting so heavily at that age, but the grade does agree with the numbers they gave you. (And in college, I think most of my classes were graded on exams only, which was brutal.)
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 3:11:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2016 0:40:24 GMT
I know the math is right, I meant the concept of the weighted grades. I am/was a horrible test taker, if this was how I was graded in 6th grade I probably would never have graduated from middle school. We didn't even have A+ or B- if you got 90% that was an A. I really am starting to feel old and out of date! Ok, I thought when you said 560/700 was a B, you were weighting things equally. When I go back and re-read, I see you were saying that things were weighted equally when you were in school. I'm pretty sure all mine were too, up until high school. I agree with Jili on the weighting issue. I'm very ambivalent on it-especially before college. One bad test/off day can blow your entire grading period, and that is way harsh.
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SabrinaP
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Jun 26, 2014 12:16:22 GMT
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Post by SabrinaP on Oct 15, 2016 1:16:05 GMT
I was hoping this was a high school AP class! I cannot believe tests are 90% and it looks like she only had one? Not cool at all. I teach 6th grade math. Our district sets the grading policy. Tests and Major projects count for 40% of the grade. I'm required to give at least 3 test/major project grades each quarter.
Poke around the district website and try to find the grading policy. 90% of your grade from one test just doesn't sound like that could possibly follow any district's logical policy.
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gsquaredmom
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Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Oct 15, 2016 1:43:45 GMT
This is the way education is going. If a student can't do it on the test, they don't really know it. Homework often counts for little or nothing. This is coming from national and state expectations. As teachers, we don't have to agree with it. We just have to do it. Your time will be well spent trying to help your daughter prepare for tests.
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Post by Woobster on Oct 15, 2016 1:58:25 GMT
I have had some college classes with weighted grades like that, but in middle school? Ridiculous!
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Post by jeremysgirl on Oct 15, 2016 2:02:53 GMT
I wish it was like this for my son. He does excellent on his tests but trying to get him to do homework is ridiculous...
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Post by Linda on Oct 15, 2016 2:06:13 GMT
I think our school board set a similar scale - 90% tests/projects, 10% homework/quizes/participation - only the AP classes have any flexibility with that (6-12 - K-5 has a different but similar scale)
I don't love it but it at least focuses on mastery
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Post by cannmom on Oct 15, 2016 2:10:09 GMT
If 90% of your grade comes from tests there should be more than 1 test! That's ridiculous.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Oct 15, 2016 2:12:20 GMT
My son's middle school is now 85% for quizzes, exams, labs and major papers. I understand your concern, but for us it's been his best year ever. He usually knows the material but is organizationally challenged and doesn't always turn in his homework consistently.
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Post by Merge on Oct 15, 2016 2:12:29 GMT
When I taught middle school last year, the policy was that there had to be 12 grades in the book for each student for each marking period, and at least two grades in each category (tests, quizzes, classwork, homework). That prevented any one grade from counting too heavily in the student's report card grade.
This policy was super fun for a teacher with 300 students, BTW.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Oct 15, 2016 2:20:27 GMT
When I taught middle school last year, the policy was that there had to be 12 grades in the book for each student for each marking period, and at least two grades in each category (tests, quizzes, classwork, homework). That prevented any one grade from counting too heavily in the student's report card grade. This policy was super fun for a teacher with 300 students, BTW. Very logical policy. My daughter has 11 different classes (she has 5 specials) plus 4 core classes, foreign language and crew (which is graded) Every teacher has a completely different policy and at least 3 don't know how to use the system, two of them have the different parts adding up to less than 100%. I don't know how the kids keep it straight. 90% for one test seems crazy, though having one test a quarter was quite typical for my daughter last year.. they would count between 45-65% which seemed crazy to me!
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PaperAngel
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Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Oct 15, 2016 2:24:53 GMT
IMHO having only one test comprise a large percentage of a student's grade is ridiculous for any non-college class. It's especially frustrating in math, a subject that challenges many students & is susceptible to multiple errors. Frequent homework & quizzes are necessary to gauge mastery of the concepts, but is insignificant to students' grades. As a fellow parent, I understand your concern & encourage you to discuss with the teacher ways to help your student at home prepare for & succeed in this class. Best wishes!
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Post by worrywart on Oct 15, 2016 2:36:18 GMT
One summative grade for the 9 weeks? That is ridiculous. Did she have a chance to reassess the grade? Teachers here must have 3 summative per grading period. Plus, something sounds bogus about that point scale..hope you get clarification!
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seaexplore
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Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Oct 15, 2016 2:38:33 GMT
I teach 6-8 math. I am not bound to any specific grading percentages. I hate weighted grading. However, I try to keep my classes at 50% (or less tests), 15% notes (done IN CLASS WITH ME), and 35% homework. If I did away with the homework portion of the grade and did tests at 75% and notes at 25%, I would have WAY more F's than I currently do.
At our high school.... 9th grade math is 60% tests with retakes allowed, 10th is 70% tests with retakes, 11th is 80% with retakes, and 12th is 90% with retakes. No thanks! Retakes are a pain in my ass trying to get them scheduled and given.
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Post by freecharlie on Oct 15, 2016 3:34:48 GMT
I teach sped, so I know kids that would never pass that class, but as you probably won't change the weight, I would go in questioning the number of assessments.
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Post by nlwilkins on Oct 15, 2016 8:33:04 GMT
Before I jump on the bandwagon about that being too much emphasis on the test, I would want to know more about the other work. Many times that other work was not really graded or perhaps worked in class with help, or just points giving just for turning it in. Of course I agree that one test for the whole grading period is a little hard on the student. But, then you should look at the test and see how hard it really was. If it was over material that the student has be drilled and drilled in then the student should at least pass it and a 61 really is not a true passing grade.
In other words there is a whole lot of other issues there than just the numbers. Talk to the teacher and see what is going on. Perhaps at the beginning of school she did not get as many tests administered as usual. Or perhaps, your daughter will be needing some help in math. If it is the latter, get some form of tutoring going fast so she won't get too far bahind.
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scrapaddie
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Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
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Post by scrapaddie on Oct 15, 2016 9:41:19 GMT
I know the math is right, I meant the concept of the weighted grades. I am/was a horrible test taker, if this was how I was graded in 6th grade I probably would never have graduated from middle school. We didn't even have A+ or B- if you got 90% that was an A. I really am starting to feel old and out of date! Many, many students get outside 'help' on homework, projects, etc. they, all too often, do not reflect anything about the student's own understanding, these are considered formative... They are a part of the learning process. There are many students who are terrible at doing homework ... But do great on the tests. Does it seem fair that they should fail for not completing homework ( which apparently was not necessary for their learning) even after they have shown to have mastered the content or learning objectives. often, a sports analogy is used. Homework, etc are practices and the test is the game. The score on Friday night is not altered because players had good practices all week. think about what you want for your child.... Do you want her to learn the material or not? also, think about why she did poorly on the test after doing all that homework....what is she lacking? Is she working with another student and if so, does she understand what working with another student actually is? I ask this in all honesty . Many of my students thought that, if another student gave them an answer... That was working together. They did not understand that coming up with an answer on their own was the important part, even if they made mistakes. And I don't want to step on toes, but the excuse that a student is a poor test taker is an easy one and only rarely is valid. The preparation for a test begins the first day of a unit, not the night before, and it is difficult to convince students of this truth. i weighted grades in my class by setting the homework at about 10% of a units possible points, the labs at 20% ( sciences) and the tests at 70%. I would have made homework zero points ( recommended by some education gurus, but found too many students wouldn't do it at all unless they got some points) This was explained at the beginning of the year in the syllabus. this is a signal that you need to look at your child's study habits/skills.... The teacher ,say be able to help
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scrapaddie
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Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
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Post by scrapaddie on Oct 15, 2016 9:52:44 GMT
I teach 6-8 math. I am not bound to any specific grading percentages. I hate weighted grading. However, I try to keep my classes at 50% (or less tests), 15% notes (done IN CLASS WITH ME), and 35% homework. If I did away with the homework portion of the grade and did tests at 75% and notes at 25%, I would have WAY more F's than I currently do. At our high school.... 9th grade math is 60% tests with retakes allowed, 10th is 70% tests with retakes, 11th is 80% with retakes, and 12th is 90% with retakes. No thanks! Retakes are a pain in my ass trying to get them scheduled and given. i was a high school teacher and allowed students to retest only over the learning targets that they had missed on the original test. This spent that on my test the questions actually had the learning target keyed into it. It was a pain, but over a few years I had an extensive test bank of questions for each learning target and the effect on the learning of the students was tremendous. Part of my teacher of evaluation was the success of my students on the ACT quality core, a test that is subject specific. my students did consistently well on this test and I even had people from other schools and even a state come to see what I was doing because they were going to implement this test as an evaluation. To make things easier on myself, before student could retest they had to complete a study guide over the learning target they had missed. I was not about work harder than the students were willing to work! They had a limited timeframe in which the retakes could be done. they signed up for the retake and gave me the time when they would be coming in. The retakes for ready for them I simply had to hand it to them, so there is minimal disruption of other classes.
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paigepea
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Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Oct 15, 2016 12:16:55 GMT
My dd is in middle school and I'm a high school teacher, and I find what you're describing to be unreasonable.
Tests at 90% is too high without any other assignments in the category.
I could see tests, quizzes, projects equally 90% and homework counting for 10%, but only if there were other items in the 90% category.
When other posts suggest tests are moving to a higher percentage I think this category would include tests and other work, like quizzes and major assignments. I do think less emphasis (percentage) is on homework /class work nowadays unless the student is completing a major assignment in class.
When my dad was in school in the 50s he was marked on one final exam worth 100%. That is old school. What you're talking about - 90% on tests - means that tests probably are meant to include quizzes, etc but that your teacher didn't make sure she had enough marks in her mark book for the term.
Last year, my dd's social studies mark for first term was based on only one assignment. Her teacher was terrible, the assignment was terrible (as a teacher I could recognize this), and my daughter had no interest for very good reason. I helped and guided her through the entire assignment and as a result she did very well. Because of that she got a high A on her report card. Looked good but I knew the letter grade was totally invalid. Had the teacher been better, had the assignment been better and had her interest been better she would have produced something good, not great, and been assessed properly. I was so annoyed that this one assignment was the only one for the term. She was in grade 5 and should have been assessed in multiple ways.
Needless to say, we moved my daughter. She is now at a school where there are rules about how many marks / variety of marks must be included for each term.
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Post by Really Red on Oct 15, 2016 12:45:05 GMT
This is the way education is going. If a student can't do it on the test, they don't really know it. Homework often counts for little or nothing. This is coming from national and state expectations. As teachers, we don't have to agree with it. We just have to do it. Your time will be well spent trying to help your daughter prepare for tests. No. My college-aged daughters don't even have one test that is weighted that much. One of them is in a very exacting university. The most any test/project is weighted is 50% and they don't have too many classes like that. This is MIDDLE school, for heaven's sakes! Nothing should be weighted 90%!!! There has to be a balance. OP - you are right to question this. I'd have no problem with tests weighing more, but not 90% more!
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Post by missfrenchjessica on Oct 15, 2016 12:53:33 GMT
At our school (middle school), many departments have their grades divided 10% homework, 90% all assignments (meaning all formative and summative assessments). It really can wreck havoc on their grades but it's how our school and county have decided to go. Our department (World Language) has it divided 10 % homework, 30% formative assessments, 40% summative assessments, and 10% for our Required Quarterly assessment. It seems to help a bit with the overall quarter grades not looking totally horrible. We do, however, offer retakes on formative assessments and we are encouraged to have more than 1 assessment in each category to help mitigate a poor grade on one assignment.
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Post by anonrefugee on Oct 15, 2016 12:58:03 GMT
Our school was weighted 75% of grade for major evaluations. It could be harsh when there was only one in a scoring period like this. And eye-opening, which helped wake up my my DS.
It was district-wide, all classes. In the second half of the semester during middle school there were often a few extra grading opportunities.
The intent for doing it here was to test kids knowledge. We are area filled with Tiger Moms and supplemental tutors. I hire them myself. Homework and project grades aren't always clear indication of what is being learned.
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Post by beachbum on Oct 15, 2016 14:19:44 GMT
As a retired teacher I can see having in-class work counting for 90% of the grade. What I cannot see is there only being ONE grade for an entire grading period. That is very wrong. If I were you I would ask the teacher about that at your conference, if you're not satisfied with the answer, go see the principal. I cannot believe there are not guidelines for the number of grades required per grading period. One is not enough, IMHO.
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Post by malibou on Oct 15, 2016 15:33:51 GMT
I am so glad middle school is behind us, for just this type of stuff. I constantly felt like grades were a shifting, unbalanced crap shoot that differed from class to class as well as grade level to grade level.
My son did dreadful in middle school math. Had all kinds of tutors, and barely kept his grades in the mid D range. He was putting in the effort, and tests weren't the issue. It was awful as we had always thought of him as such a math kid.
His freshman year of high school landed him in the lowest of low math classes. Two days in his teacher wanted to know why he was in her class. Bless her, she recognised that he was in the wrong class, but knew trying to get it switched was not going to happen. She was also teaching Geometry (which way at the beginning of middle school we hoped he would get into Geometry as a freshman.), and spoke with his counsellor about letting her teach him on the side. He ended up learning loads of Geometry, but also still did the regular tests and quizzes with his class. This year, tenth grade, he is in honors Geometry and has been asked to be a student tutor. He is thrilled to be back on course.
Did I mention middle school sucked.
J
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MsKnit
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Jun 26, 2014 19:06:42 GMT
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Post by MsKnit on Oct 15, 2016 15:36:08 GMT
If 90% of your grade comes from tests there should be more than 1 test! That's ridiculous. There will be more tests. I have had classes where only tests counted and the entire grade was dependent on a large paper. So, it happens. It is a rough lesson to learn. However, better now than later.
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