Middle School teacher won't tell parent her child's grades

[not2cleverRed]

Thank you Quincy. I have spoken with my daughter. She claims that she is doing fine. When I asked to see ALL of her grades in the class to confirm what she said, she can't produce them in an organized fashion. I'm not sure is you have a middle schooler, but they aren't the most organized. That's why many schools have Powerschool (like our marvelous public school) . So a parent and student can see the student's grades without bothering the teacher.
Your statement "Ask if the poor performance on the test reflects her overall performance in the class" is PRECISELY the reason why I want to see ALL of her grades. I don't want to waste his time (and my time) having a face to face discussion. If I see the grades, I'll know that it was an anomaly or a pattern. Quincy, your advice is very good. But I wasn't looking for "how do I handle this situation" advice.
I thought that this forum was free legal counsel from legal professionals.
I wanted to know if I have a legal right to see all of my child's grades and if the school/teacher has a legal obligation to send me those grades when asked. I wanted sound legal advice from a legal professional.

My middle schooler is very organized. She has to be, because she is in public school, and the only way to get into the good programs is to either be part of the "insider crowd" (people who have been here for generations) or prove that you can handle these things on your own.

That said, you have chosen to enroll your child in a private school. Policies at private schools can diverge radically from public schools. I do not think that yours is a legal question, as we do not know what your daughter's schools policies are, nor whether there has been a breach of contract.

Your recourse: make an appointment with the head of school and ask for clarification of the school's official policy on the subject. You can go to the Board of Trustees, if there is one, and try to change the schools rules. Or, most practical yet: if you do not like the pedagogical style on the PRIVATE school your daughter is in, SWITCH TO ONE THAT SHARES YOUR VALUES, namely, switch to a school that believes being in partnership with parents means keeping the parents informed about grades.

 

[Zigner]

Because your child is in private school, it is likely that there is no legal requirement for the school to comply with your request to review the grades. I would suggest that you follow the suggestions given above.

 

[quincy]

Thank you Quincy. I have spoken with my daughter. She claims that she is doing fine. When I asked to see ALL of her grades in the class to confirm what she said, she can't produce them in an organized fashion. I'm not sure is you have a middle schooler, but they aren't the most organized. That's why many schools have Powerschool (like our marvelous public school) . So a parent and student can see the student's grades without bothering the teacher.
Your statement "Ask if the poor performance on the test reflects her overall performance in the class" is PRECISELY the reason why I want to see ALL of her grades. I don't want to waste his time (and my time) having a face to face discussion. If I see the grades, I'll know that it was an anomaly or a pattern. Quincy, your advice is very good. But I wasn't looking for "how do I handle this situation" advice.
I thought that this forum was free legal counsel from legal professionals.
I wanted to know if I have a legal right to see all of my child's grades and if the school/teacher has a legal obligation to send me those grades when asked. I wanted sound legal advice from a legal professional.

I gave you a legal answer. The teacher does not have to show you his grade book.

The rest were suggestions made because you did not say what you had already tried.

Good luck.

 

[Zigner]

I gave you a legal answer. The teacher does not have to show you his grade book.

The rest were suggestions made because you did not say what you had already tried.

Good luck.

I believe that the OP mistook your answer as being non-responsive because s/he doesn't want to see the actual book, rather, s/he just wants to know the grades that the daughter received. In any case, the teacher is unlikely to have to comply with the request, and even if the teacher and/or the school does have to allow access (under Federal law), the form of the request the OP made doesn't force compliance.

 

[quincy]

I believe that the OP mistook your answer as being non-responsive because s/he doesn't want to see the actual book, rather, s/he just wants to know the grades that the daughter received. In any case, the teacher is unlikely to have to comply with the request, and even if the teacher and/or the school does have to allow access (under Federal law), the form of the request the OP made doesn't force compliance.

Possibly. I responded to the question as asked, about the "grade book."

 

[Zigner]

If I have the legal right to this information, then this teacher should know that when a parent asks for grades, he should just type them in an email and send them. Instead of "I do not provide detailed grade history"

Your original post did not say this was the teacher's response. You are using quote marks, but are you actually quoting the teacher, or just paraphrasing?

 

[stealth2]

Really - schedule a conference.

 

[stealth2]

I have spoken with my daughter. She claims that she is doing fine. When I asked to see ALL of her grades in the class to confirm what she said, she can't produce them in an organized fashion. I'm not sure is you have a middle schooler, but they aren't the most organized.

LOL Having had two middle-schoolers - one organized, the other not.... - that response would trigger a HUGE red flag in my mind (especially when coupled with the reticence to tell you about poor grades) - kiddo knows quite clearly how she's doing in that class, and it's nothing close to "fine"...

 

[quincy]

I think you are more likely to get an overall performance report instead of individual grades on various and assorted tests and assignments. You would need to know how each assignment was weighed by the teacher to understand the grading.

A personal example: One of my (elementary school) kids received a "0 credit" on an assignment I knew she completed. The "0" was given because she failed to put her name on the project. It was not, in other words, a failure on her part to complete the assignment but a failure on her part to follow instructions, with the first instruction being to label the project with the student name.

You need to speak in person with the teacher.

 

[westside]

yeah, i'm wicked out of line on this one.

Correct. You are.

 

[quincy]

Correct. You are.

xylene said as much. It's not worth further discussion.

 

[westside]

xylene said as much. It's not worth further discussion.

I'll discuss anything I please within the rules of the site. Thanks for your opinion.

 

[paddywakk]

Thank you Quincy. I have spoken with my daughter. She claims that she is doing fine. When I asked to see ALL of her grades in the class to confirm what she said, she can't produce them in an organized fashion. I'm not sure is you have a middle schooler, but they aren't the most organized. That's why many schools have Powerschool (like our marvelous public school) . So a parent and student can see the student's grades without bothering the teacher.
Your statement "Ask if the poor performance on the test reflects her overall performance in the class" is PRECISELY the reason why I want to see ALL of her grades. I don't want to waste his time (and my time) having a face to face discussion. If I see the grades, I'll know that it was an anomaly or a pattern. Quincy, your advice is very good. But I wasn't looking for "how do I handle this situation" advice.
I thought that this forum was free legal counsel from legal professionals.
I wanted to know if I have a legal right to see all of my child's grades and if the school/teacher has a legal obligation to send me those grades when asked. I wanted sound legal advice from a legal professional.

So tell her to produce them in any fashion she can, and that from now on you want to see 100% of her homework when she gets it back from her teacher and all of her tests when she gets them back.

Depending on how often this instructor give homework and tests, you could be asking him/her to send you 85 or so grades. Tell your daughter you want to see EVERYTHING she's been graded on this term.

 

[quincy]

I'll discuss anything I please within the rules of the site. Thanks for your opinion.

I will keep that in mind, westside.

 

[stealth2]

xylene said as much. It's not worth further discussion.

Just consider the source, q (and I don't mean xy...).