#ooc

FWIW? I -do not- ever blame/question the teacher's grade before I have Things 1 or 2 show me their work and we have a conversation about it. I have told admin & teachers "Ok. Well. That's the grade he earned. Here are the consequences at home. Can you have him repeat the course/do summer school/hold him back?"

YAY!

@rae, minimum 50 has been a thing at our school almost as long as I've worked there. The theory is that if a kid fails the first two quarters, they give up, but if they can only fail with a 50, they can still recover. (The real reason is so kids won't stop coming to school after Christmas break because they failed the first two quarter, because that would interfere with the district's attendance, and by extension the state funding we receive....so it's all about money, as it always is.)

Oh, the 50% thing is a huge push from non-educators so that the children don't fail

yup, that. Nothing to do with actual education.

@shadylady, I absolutely appreciate the fact that you work with the school, and not against it.

ughhhh

Anyway...all my seniors passed (some by the skin of their teeth), and I'm feeling somewhat vindicated by the expressions of appreciation I got from them on the last day, and also by my supervisor's confirmation that she would NEVER have let them take the classes away from me unless I'd done something unexcusable.

She agrees that they need an authentic grading experience to be prepared for college.

God yes

Because boy howdy do they not understand what it means when I tell them they only get to take a test once

This is the first year that the college is making the district pay for students who take these classes (in other districts, the students' families have to pay), and I think the district is looking at it like an investment, and they want a payoff of zero failures, whether or not the kids are ready. And they keep shoving kids in these classes who Are Not Ready and Don't Want To Be There.

Oh, those are the worst

Oh, hell, I remember my first semester of college. I almost failed my Shakespeare class because I didn't believe the professor actually wanted me to read a play by myself in one week.

Not Ready But Wants To Be There can be worked with, usually

Exactly.

Anyway...sorry for using up all the virtual air in the virtual room, but that's what it's been like lately.

Rahne, we're getting drunk.

SO DRUNK.

The old joke: How do you tell the difference between a college freshman and a college sophomore?

How, Shady?

When the prof walks in and says hello, the freshmen say "Hello." The sophomores write it down.

OOOH! I almost forgot the piece de resistance!

but wait there's more?

When I went into the gradebook to go over princess's grades, I noticed that there was a number that shouldn't be there. The reported grade was the same that I'd posted, but there was an in-process number that was different...and was EXACTLY the number she'd need to get a 65. So our theory is that somebody changed that number so that, after this year's over, they could go look at the records and say, "Oh, whoops, this is the number that it should be, must be a clerical error, we'll fix that." That way they can hide the fact that they changed grades.

hmmmm

Amber pointed that grade discrepancy out to the principal, and reported back to me that the principal nearly shit herself while emphasizing, "That was NOT ME."

((Principal has previously been fired from the district and sued for grading scandal -- only got back in on a technicality.))

Principal does not want another grading scandal

So, there...that's the whole package of academic fun I've been having, along with finishing grades for the year.

Is Princess graduating and gone, at least?

I don't think so. I think she failed other classes.

laugh

sorry

but fuck her

This is someone who is not making good life choices.

But I'm the evil teacher. When I had a meeting with mom back in November, she exclaimed, "My daughter is going to not graduate because of failing this class!" She meant it as an accusation. I simply said, "Yes, she will. She's not doing the work properly." She was flabbergasted.

Actually, let me double-check the grade program, now that you mention it....

Incidentally, she came from a different district where she never got higher than a 65 in any English class...but they put her in the college class. rolls eyes

No, I'm wrong, she's passing regular 12 English (because that's the right placement for her!).

Ohhhh, she should never have put in the AP/CCP

Yeah, looks like she'll graduate.

Well, let me check her English Regents exam score -- that's the guideline.

good riddance?

@rae, Yup!

Okay, she passed the Regents with 1 point over the cut-off grade to get into the college class. She had some skills, but she didn't try to learn more, and didn't pay attention to how things had to be done -- just did them her way, so they didn't meet the requirements of the assignment. Then mom got pissed that her angel wasn't recognized as perfect.

I know, I'm in full rant mode. This has been a THING.

Yeah, she was set up for failure. Mom should have advocated to get her OUT of that AP class.

Mom wanted her in because it would give her college credits that mom wouldn't have to pay for.