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I have a son who is a junior in high school. He is taking English III H. English has always been his most difficult subject. Freshman year he had a B both semesters, sophmore year he had an A. He worked hard both years.
This year he has been having an exceptionally difficult year. He wound up with a C in English for the first quarter while getting an A in his other 5 classes. He called me at lunch and he was really upset because he thought he did ok on the last test but he got a 70. He said that he used the study guide that they went over in class and that very few of the questions pertained to the information in the study guide. During that conversation he relayed to me that they had a pop quiz today on the material they read over the weekend (Cold Mountain).
I have requested a conference with the teacher. I am a music teacher (not currently teaching) and I am a little shocked to hear that the kids are being quizzed on material that has not yet been taught and that study guides are being used but the kids are tested on different material.
Is this common practice in English classes? When I test students it is always based on material that I have already taught in class, not new material. Simply asking students to read something is not teaching them anything. In my world I ask students to read things so they are prepared for the lesson I will be teaching. Sometimes I even give them a list of questions that they should answer from the reading (not always for a grade but so they are ready for class). I would never dream of asking students to read something and then giving them a quiz before I reviewed the material.
In addition, is it common for English teachers to use study guides to prepare students for tests and then use different content for the test? When I prepare a study guide for a test, I usually use the study guide to write my test. There may be things on the study guide that are not on the test, but there should not be anything on the test that isn't covered on the study guide.
I don't want to speak to the teacher about these things if they are things that are done commonly. My son is a good student and he is really upset with this class. I need to meet with the teacher and help my son be successful in this class.
All I know is what is stated here. However it sounds like to me that the teacher is prepping his/her students for college; where there are no (for the most part) study guides. Students must read a section of text and then answer questions based off of the reading. Teachers may provide the tools prior, but that doesn't necessarily mean a study guide. Ability to draw from texts as well as deduce and synthesize are very difficult concepts. At the very least the teacher should have explained prior to the weekend (and I'm assuming he/she did) what was expected of the students.
It is irrelevant who and how many teachers do this practice.
I would meet with the teacher, but not be accusatory and find out what is going on. What can your son do not only to get a good grade, but also make up for any deficiency in English?
Yes, unfortunately often times students have to "learn the teacher" rather than the material, however, based off of the evidence you gave it sounds like your son is having a tough time and things are getting harder for him.
I think it is very common to have a quiz on Monday over material that was assigned to be read over the weekend in any subject. If you assigned a new scale on Friday for the kids to learn for Monday, wouldn't you test them on that scale??
It is also common in advanced classes not to have ALL the material on the test on the study guide. Using that alone is going to get him right where he is, a C. He needs to also review notes, any books read, etc. It sounds like this teacher is preparing them for college, which is what should be done in advanced classes. As a junior in high school he should be able to do this and not expect the test to be a regurgitation of a study guide.
It could also just be that English just isn't his thing and he will have to work extra hard to get better grades.
I'm a stage director and composer and have taught both music and dramatic literature. Teaching music theory is more like teaching math or science. Those classes are lecture-based because everything is a new concept. I wouldn't expect a student to understand counterpoint (any more than I would expect a student to understand quadratic equations) from reading a textbook. Some subjects need a teacher's explanation and examples.
In English or history, there is value in testing cold reading. One, to prove that the student actually read the material, and two, to see if and student is able to comprehend and analyze a text on his/her own (one of the primary goals of any English class). By junior year the concept of reading isn't new, just the content of a particular text.
Of course, there are concepts of literary theory which can be taught in an English class, but they're not usually in a high school curriculum, or only in AP classes.
I think it is very common to have a quiz on Monday over material that was assigned to be read over the weekend in any subject. If you assigned a new scale on Friday for the kids to learn for Monday, wouldn't you test them on that scale??
Not without teaching it first. When I teach a new hand position in piano I teach it, students practice it. They have a chance to demonstrate it to me without the stress of a grade. THEN they are tested on it.
If that is different in English I would like to know that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal
It is also common in advanced classes not to have ALL the material on the test on the study guide. Using that alone is going to get him right where he is, a C. He needs to also review notes, any books read, etc. It sounds like this teacher is preparing them for college, which is what should be done in advanced classes. As a junior in high school he should be able to do this and not expect the test to be a regurgitation of a study guide.
It could also just be that English just isn't his thing and he will have to work extra hard to get better grades.
I think that if teachers use study guides they should be useful. Otherwise don't use them and leave the students on their own. But if the teacher requires the kids to complete one, grades it and tells the kids to study from it, he should use it. Otherwise, just don't use it.
Literature is not his thing. He is a good writer. But he should be able to muster up a B in English.
Not without teaching it first. When I teach a new hand position in piano I teach it, students practice it. They have a chance to demonstrate it to me without the stress of a grade. THEN they are tested on it.
If that is different in English I would like to know that.
I think that if teachers use study guides they should be useful. Otherwise don't use them and leave the students on their own. But if the teacher requires the kids to complete one, grades it and tells the kids to study from it, he should use it. Otherwise, just don't use it.
Literature is not his thing. He is a good writer. But he should be able to muster up a B in English.
But you are teaching something new if you are teaching a new hand position. If it is just a scale, for a junior in high school, they KNOW how to read music and can learn the scale on their own over the weekend. Same thing with reading a book. If he is a junior in high school and can't read a book on his own with out being taught how to read the book you have bigger issues on your hands. Don't you require your students to do site reading of new music? That is a pretty important concept in music. That would be similar to assigning a few chapters in a book on a Friday and having a quiz on those chapters on Monday. I would EXPECT to see this done in an advanced English class quite honestly. Our kids have quizzes over reading material in English and History almost every day. They have pop quizzes in math over homework, same in science.
Study guides ARE useful but the test should NOT be a regurgitation of the guide. That isn't teaching how to study, that is teaching how to memorize.
You are also forgetting the golden rule of teaching, don't believe everything your child says until you have a chance to talk to the teacher. Your son SAID the test was nothing like the study guide but maybe he just didn't study and that is his excuse??
Teachers give out quizzes often to make sure that the students are actually reading the book. I recall having quite a few such assignments and generally these quizzes were not difficult but more fact based.
Just saying, if you son is not as strong in English, perhaps he shouldn't be in an honors class?
I have a son who is a junior in high school. He is taking English III H. English has always been his most difficult subject. Freshman year he had a B both semesters, sophmore year he had an A. He worked hard both years.
This year he has been having an exceptionally difficult year. He wound up with a C in English for the first quarter while getting an A in his other 5 classes. He called me at lunch and he was really upset because he thought he did ok on the last test but he got a 70. He said that he used the study guide that they went over in class and that very few of the questions pertained to the information in the study guide. During that conversation he relayed to me that they had a pop quiz today on the material they read over the weekend (Cold Mountain).
I have requested a conference with the teacher. I am a music teacher (not currently teaching) and I am a little shocked to hear that the kids are being quizzed on material that has not yet been taught and that study guides are being used but the kids are tested on different material.
Is this common practice in English classes? When I test students it is always based on material that I have already taught in class, not new material. Simply asking students to read something is not teaching them anything. In my world I ask students to read things so they are prepared for the lesson I will be teaching. Sometimes I even give them a list of questions that they should answer from the reading (not always for a grade but so they are ready for class). I would never dream of asking students to read something and then giving them a quiz before I reviewed the material.
In addition, is it common for English teachers to use study guides to prepare students for tests and then use different content for the test? When I prepare a study guide for a test, I usually use the study guide to write my test. There may be things on the study guide that are not on the test, but there should not be anything on the test that isn't covered on the study guide.
I don't want to speak to the teacher about these things if they are things that are done commonly. My son is a good student and he is really upset with this class. I need to meet with the teacher and help my son be successful in this class.
Reading quizzes are common in my school.
I teach chemistry. There is material on my study guide that is not on my test and not all of the material on my test is on my study guide. If all you do is memorize the study guide you'll get about an 80% on my test. Most students who don't study, on a regular basis, can't manage to just do that so they'll do worse. For the students who study, it's reinforcement of 80% of the material they already know. What they know of the other 20% separates the A's from the B's. I do not think I owe it to my students to disclose everything on a test. In college, they won't get a study guide at all.
I consider what I do put on a study guide a favor to the students (I don't release my study guide until the day before the test and then I expect my students to take the iniative and go on line and get it.). They are held accountable for everything I teach. It defeats the purpose to restrict my study guides to only test material or to restrict my test to only material on the study guide. It is a guide not the bible or a roadmap to an easy A. IMO, if your son only studied what was on the guide then he deserves his C. Most likely, his teacher's study guide represents the bare minimum as mine does.
If you can't do what's on my study guide, you don't deserve to pass. If you can't do more than what is on my study guide, you don't deserve an A in my class. It is not my job to make A's easy for my students so I don't. If all you do is study my study guide (and too many students do only this much), you'll pass but I'm not handing out A's to kids who don't show more initiative than that.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 10-25-2010 at 05:39 PM..
Kids expect study guides to be used as memorization tools, but I think they should be used to guide study! In other words, the point is to insure that the student reads carefully. If he has certain things to look for in the text, he'll be more likely to focus instead of reading a chapter, thinking of something else the whole time, and realizing he has no idea what he has just read -- happens to the best of us! I used to give study guides as notes or memorization tools, but I stopped when my students still failed the tests (even when questions were quoted from the study guide verbatim -- sigh). Now I do my best to teach kids to be active readers. They believe reading is a passive activity, but good readers have a natural tendency to ask themselves questions as they read. Study guides fill in the blanks when that skill is lacking or not present simply because the material is boring or challenging.
Another way I use study guides is as a post-reading "scavenger hunt" type of activity where students have to go back into the text to find details. As they flip through the pages of a chapter looking for the answers to those more difficult questions, the BIG IDEAS and important plot elements become fresh in their minds.
Pop reading quizzes are standard for books like Cold Mountain. It's straightforward and has a linear plot that's relatively easy to understand. If she were quizzing them on Beowulf or something without preparing them, then I'd raise questions. Of course, there's always the chance her questions are unfair. I've made that mistake and had to grade on a curve. Just because something is obvious to me doesn't mean it's obvious to my students!
Try Sparknotes. It's a great resource and NOT cheating as long as reading assignments are completed first.
Kids expect study guides to be used as memorization tools, but I think they should be used to guide study! In other words, the point is to insure that the student reads carefully. If he has certain things to look for in the text, he'll be more likely to focus instead of reading a chapter, thinking of something else the whole time, and realizing he has no idea what he has just read -- happens to the best of us! I used to give study guides as notes or memorization tools, but I stopped when my students still failed the tests (even when questions were quoted from the study guide verbatim -- sigh). Now I do my best to teach kids to be active readers. They believe reading is a passive activity, but good readers have a natural tendency to ask themselves questions as they read. Study guides fill in the blanks when that skill is lacking or simply not present because the material is boring or challenging.
Another way I use study guides is as a post-reading "scavenger hunt" type of activity where students have to go back into the text to find details. As they flip through the pages of a chapter looking for the answers to those more difficult questions, the BIG IDEAS and important plot elements become fresh in their minds.
Pop reading quizzes are standard for books like Cold Mountain. It's straightforward and has a linear plot that's relatively easy to understand. If she were quizzing them on Beowulf or something without preparing them, then I'd raise questions. Of course, there's always the chance her questions are unfair. I've made that mistake and had to grade on a curve. Just because something is obvious to me doesn't mean it's obvious to my students!
Try Sparknotes. It's a great resource and NOT cheating as long as reading assignments are completed first.
I require my students to turn in Cornell notes for their reading. I check the notes before I lecture. The act of putting a pencil in your hand and writing down what you read helps make reading an active activity. Cornell notes requires a summary of what you just read be written at the end of the reading. This really pulls reading into the active category.
I do not do reading guides because then my students just read for the information on the quide. I find them limiting.
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