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Old 09-29-2010, 06:34 AM
 
Location: Canada
3,430 posts, read 4,326,353 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
In many areas with the traditional grading scale below, students have to repeat a class if they get below 70, which means they basically fail even if they get a D.

A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
F below 60

This is more like it. We use the traditional grading scale.
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Old 09-29-2010, 07:14 AM
 
Location: In the AC
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I wish there was more uniformity, because it makes it harder when you switch systems. And, even if the grading scale is the same, there are other differences. One system where I live allows kids to make up work up until the end of the semester! You cannot give a child a zero even if they do not turn in anything. Another system, where my children attend, has a zero late work policy. No way would a teacher accept the late notebook even at a reduced grade.

I prefer the tradtional grading scale (90 is an A, etc.) because it allows more flexibility when creating tests. For example, on a 20 question test, you miss two and in one system it is an A, but in the other it is a mid-B. But, we have never been in a public school with that grading range. The weirdest was Wake in NC. They grade the elementary on a scale of 0-4, where 3 is actually equal to an A or B. We really never knew how our kids were doing.
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Old 09-29-2010, 08:30 AM
 
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We wait until report cards come out. If our girls do well, which they usually do, we reward them by taking them out for ice cream or another treat.

My sil promised my niece that she would buy her a blackberry if she got straight A's last year. The kid did it and she got her blackberry. It was quite an accomplishment as she attends a very competitive high school with extremely high standards.
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Old 09-29-2010, 09:01 AM
 
2,714 posts, read 5,348,557 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
Because she realizes they are only focusing on the negatives, not the positives.

The child got an A on the test and a B on the make-up portfolio, but he's grounded from his laptop for a week.

At least that's what I hope is bugging her. I hope she's not upset that his bad efforts result in good grades. LOL

I wouldn't accept (internally) the make-up portfolio grade. While the ability to take a make up is present, the idea that one is needed to me is troubling and in need of attention.

I would also place the vast majority of emphasis on the portfolio. Anyone can cram and study for a test but it's the day to day reading and organization of class notes that results in absorption and retention of the material. A disorganized portfolio is something that critically needs to be addressed.

The idea of make ups is nice but allows some students to skate by knowing that if they don't do well, they can be careless and inattentive now and just make up for it later on.
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Old 09-29-2010, 12:04 PM
 
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My mom and dad would have been proud if my brother got a D, that meant he actually showed up to class! hahaha he actually graduated with a 1.6gpa...my parents couldnt have been prouder.


I was the only one who choose to be unschooled when it came to highschool..so no grades for me.
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Old 09-29-2010, 01:14 PM
 
3,644 posts, read 10,924,127 times
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We've always praised, but not rewarded, individual good grades - because we expect them. That being said, this is the first school system we've been in that passes out actual grades, and not just the new, "progressive" reports. We do usually go out to eat, their choice, when they get their report cards. We stressed that we're celebrating the "good behavior" notes at the end of each report though.

We don't punish bad grades, necessarily, though there are consequences. If it's because of missing assignments, then no electronics until they are made up - the child sets the deadline. Our kids are young and haven't pushed this.

We started with day one, kindergarten, instilling good study and organizational habits. I know they're still young, but compared to most of their classmates, they're ahead of the game. I did this because my mother did not - I was the kid who was grounded over anything less than an A, until the next report card. But other than on report card day, my parents showed NO INTEREST in my schoolwork. There were no rewards, only excessive punishments.

The new school system we're in posts everything online - so I know when they've missed an assignment, or not turned something in. Generally, they've brought home an assignment instead of turning it in. We have homework time everyday after school, and as their folders need to be signed each day, I don't sign until I've seen the completed homework.
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Old 01-28-2011, 10:44 AM
 
1 posts, read 1,141 times
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Default Reward!

Reward your child! (Praise is a type of reward)

Your child has made a great improvement. You should reward both. This will be incentive to continue improving. Along with the reward, you should let your child know what you expect from him in the future, and show confidence that you know he will continue improving. Don't give any negative body language or words... then watch him bloom into what you expected.


Treat a child as if they are the person they are capable of becoming, and they will suprise you.
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Old 01-29-2011, 09:11 PM
 
Location: El Paso, TX
3,494 posts, read 4,541,748 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life View Post
My 8th-grade son got a great grade on a science test, but at the same time he got a bad grade on a science portfolio, which is basically daily management of all classwork and worksheets in order in a particular binder.

I'd like some suggestions on how to deal with these two grades that he got simultaneously. Even though we said "good job" and praised the good test grade, my son feels cheated, like we did not acknowledge the good grade enough because we then took away his laptop after the portfolio grade.

We feel the bad grade should be punished because it is an "effort" grade. He was given a "midterm" progress report, did badly (like a 55/100 because of missing sheets and stuff out of order). He promised to get back on track and keep up with the daily work but still only got an 80 this time.

How do I properly acknowledge the good work he did studying for the test now that praise seems moot, since he feels like we unfairly punished him by taking away his laptop (access to social media)?
Punish grades? My wife and I never punshed our children whenever they got bad grades. To me that only make the children hate school. We addressed the bad grades with them to find out the reason. We then tried to finda way to correct the situation. If the kids does not respond out of bad attitude we then worked on why such attitude. Now, there were situation that certain behaviors brought consequences. Bad grades did bring corrective action but never punished for bad grades but for them not giving their best effort. We let them know that just as if they ate too much and later votimed that was a consequence and bad grades resulted in the same way, perhaps not allowed to go with friends to cover the subjects they were having problems with but that was clearly stated that it was not punishement. We let them know there are standards in pretty much any life affairs whether they were in school, work, family, etc. If my wife saw a completed homework, she may say "It is correct but you need to rewrite the paper because it looks messy and sloppy". The child did not like it but that was not punsihment. It was corrective action and they new why, take care.
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Old 01-29-2011, 09:13 PM
 
29,981 posts, read 42,859,282 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jenrox View Post
..........Treat a child as if they are the person they are capable of becoming, and they will suprise you.
Worth repeating!
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Old 01-30-2011, 02:09 PM
 
2,596 posts, read 5,573,988 times
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I would take the grade as a sign that your child needs more help in the area of organization, rather than with the curriculum itself (as evidenced by the high grade.) Because he needs more help with organization, it only stands to reason that he should bring his science materials home for inspection/assistance regularly in the evenings. After he demonstrates to you that they are in proper order, you hand him the laptop. It's basically what you are doing now, but I would frame it more as an intervention/natural consequence sort of thing rather than a punishment.

I would also email and ask the teacher if she might be willing to sign a checksheet for him weekly on Fridays, giving a quick assessment of his effort/progress for the week. I think it would be fine to tie laptop usage for the weekend to the outcome of that and make sure son knows it. Obviously if his work didn't get done during the week like everyone else's did, he will need to spend some time on the weekend correcting that, not chatting online.

Btw, I think you are doing exactly the right thing to address this. What is commonly seen with super-smart kids is that to a point, they can coast through school. They never have to study to ace the tests through middle school. They understand the math the first time, so doing all the homework problems is either easy or a bore. He may never have had to be organized before. The trouble comes later, because eventually sometime during high school or college he will encounter a subject where he actually has to study and try to understand the material. He will need to know how to take good notes, how to study, and he will never have learned that properly because he never needed it before. Therefore, it's critical that he learns those skills now so that they're in place when he finally gets to a subject that stumps him (calculus, chemistry, etc.) Good for you!
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