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

[quincy]

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

Haha. I have looked at the posting history.

 

[ajkroy]

Powerbook is only one of literally hundreds of grading software programs. Perhaps your child's school uses a different one? I've been a high school teacher for 13 years and have never used a paper "grade book". Do you have other children in the school? Do you have a parent group to which you belong? I would try talking to the student/handbook first, the teacher second, other parents, then administration.

Also, this is the end of the year (unless you are on the year-round or trimester schedule). Why are you just noticing that you do not have access to your child's grades now?

 

[xylene]

Haha. I have looked at the posting history.

Nothing but hot takes.

 

[quincy]

Because in a private school the rights of parents and students are contractual, I would add to ajkroy's list that you review your contract with the school prior to setting up any meetings.

 

[FlyingRon]

It all depends whether the school receives any federal funding. If it is entirely privately funded, they get to set the rules. Otherwise, it is covered by FERPA (Family Educational Rights an Privacy Act, embodied in 34 CFR 99). Parents have a right to request records of students under 18.

 

[Zigner]

...

It all depends whether the school receives any federal funding. If it is entirely privately funded, they get to set the rules. Otherwise, it is covered by FERPA (Family Educational Rights an Privacy Act, embodied in 34 CFR 99). Parents have a right to request records of students under 18.

Yes - I alluded to that very indirectly

 

[LdiJ]

I read the first page of this thread earlier today and now I have read the last page, and I did not read anything in the middle. However, a thought that came to mind this morning when I did not have time to post it was that maybe its not reasonable to ask the teacher to provide all of the grades?

Think about it? Most teachers give a grade on a daily basis, either for homework, a quiz or a test. So, since we are near the end of the school year, we can expect that the teacher has give out about 9 months worth of grades, or about 180 grades. Since the teacher is unlikely to have a separate page for each student in any kind of grade book (digital or otherwise) the teacher obviously cannot simply show the parent the grade book, and copying 180 grades into an email would be seriously onerous.

 

[quincy]

I read the first page of this thread earlier today and now I have read the last page, and I did not read anything in the middle. However, a thought that came to mind this morning when I did not have time to post it was that maybe its not reasonable to ask the teacher to provide all of the grades?

Think about it? Most teachers give a grade on a daily basis, either for homework, a quiz or a test. So, since we are near the end of the school year, we can expect that the teacher has give out about 9 months worth of grades, or about 180 grades. Since the teacher is unlikely to have a separate page for each student in any kind of grade book (digital or otherwise) the teacher obviously cannot simply show the parent the grade book, and copying 180 grades into an email would be seriously onerous.

It is best if you read the entire thread.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I read the first page of this thread earlier today and now I have read the last page, and I did not read anything in the middle. However, a thought that came to mind this morning when I did not have time to post it was that maybe its not reasonable to ask the teacher to provide all of the grades?

Think about it? Most teachers give a grade on a daily basis, either for homework, a quiz or a test. So, since we are near the end of the school year, we can expect that the teacher has give out about 9 months worth of grades, or about 180 grades. Since the teacher is unlikely to have a separate page for each student in any kind of grade book (digital or otherwise) the teacher obviously cannot simply show the parent the grade book, and copying 180 grades into an email would be seriously onerous.

How odd.

I was under the impression that we were in 2019, not 1999.

Grades are recorded electronically in my district, and parents and students can access the gradebook for all classes online. This has come in quite handy, as I was able to catch 2 grading mistakes so far this year. The last one was particularly annoying, as the teacher had recorded a 0, told me that my child had not handed in the assignment, and didn't even apologize when my child produced the graded homework assignment (100%) that the teacher had handed back.

 

[FlyingRon]

Large public schools are a far cry from many private schools with regard to electronic record keeping. It's not a priority and doesn't support any direct requirement.

 

[LdiJ]

How odd.

I was under the impression that we were in 2019, not 1999.

Grades are recorded electronically in my district, and parents and students can access the gradebook for all classes online. This has come in quite handy, as I was able to catch 2 grading mistakes so far this year. The last one was particularly annoying, as the teacher had recorded a 0, told me that my child had not handed in the assignment, and didn't even apologize when my child produced the graded homework assignment (100%) that the teacher had handed back.

To add to what FlyingRon said, the OP already said that the private school did not have any kind of online portal for parents. That doesn't surprise me.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Large public schools are a far cry from many private schools with regard to electronic record keeping. It's not a priority and doesn't support any direct requirement.

PowerSchool Parent Pertal is used by some small private schools in my area. OP has mentioned that her school chooses not to use it. There are many alternatives now for Student Information Systems, and compared to other classroom costs, it's darn cheap. If this is one of those $40K/year schools, then they're just being lazy.

OP can get together with other parents and petition the Board of Trustees to adopt a system, assuming that such a system is not grossly at odds with the pedagogical philosophy of the school. Of course, if this is one of those schools which touts "it's the learning experience not the grades that matter" (<-- what you get if you're willing to spend over $50K/year), then OP should consider that her educational goals for her child are not well matched with the school her child is enrolled in, and consider transferring.

Effective communication about student progress is important at every level.

That is why the lower level schools in my district use that old technique of having the parents sign and return the graded papers for points. Personally, I thought it wrong that my child could be penalized on her grade for not getting my signature on an assignment where she had an "A". We ALL know that teachers have the parents sign that they have seen the graded assignment/exam so that they don't get an irate parent at the end of the quarter saying, "You never let me know that Johnny/Susey Q. was [failing/not getting an A]." No teacher has ever had an angry parent call and say How dare you not let me know Johnny/Susey Q. was getting A's! I enrolled him/her in summer school to make up the course, and that deposit is non-refundable!"

Even 20 years ago, using old fashioned ExCel, I NEVER had a problem providing the type of grading information that this parent is asking for.

This teacher is either lazy or the Mom is being played by her kid - or both.