Behavior, punishments, grades

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Sep 19 2024, 5:27 pm

amother DarkPurple wrote:

Ask the teacher or principal to explain the grade composition to you. There’s usually a formula that they use. Behavior usually makes up about 20% or less of the grade. If he did well in most classes and this was just one mismatch between teacher and child, I’d ask once and if there are no answers, just leave it be.

It matters to the child now and will effect the child later on. So leaving it be isn't really the answer

↑ chanatron1000 ↓

Thu, Sep 19 2024, 6:15 pm

amother Maroon wrote:

Teachers often say the grade is made up parts it’s not just marks. 60% marks, 20% behavior in that class, 20% work and effort. I don’t see why a grade should just be test marks. It’s a measure of how they did in that class and it’s more than grades. It also works the other way a kid that is bad at tests but works really hard can bring up their grade.

Lumping it all together is a recipe for despair. Why should a kid bother working if what they worked for will be taken away?

If a kid is bad at tests and gets a passing grade for good behavior, that's even worse. It means that that kid is being neglected academically.

amother

Broom

Thu, Sep 19 2024, 6:21 pm

The school I work in has a policy that incorporates class behavior, learning and participation into the class grade. For some kids it’s amazing because they can be excellent students in class but bad test takers so this benefits them. For other kids it’s the opposite. I hear both sides but either way it’s not up to me.

amother

↑ Banana

Thu, Sep 19 2024, 6:24 pm

amother Broom wrote:

I think learning, participation, classwork makes sense to add into the total grade. Behavior not so much.

amother

↑ Maroon

Thu, Sep 19 2024, 7:10 pm

amother OP wrote:

I'm OK with incorporating behavior in a class grade if there aren't other punishments. If a kid passes a note in class or speak out and isn't punished for that and the teacher wants to lower the grade a point or 2 I can hear that.
But if the kid was punished then it's done and shouldn't be reflected in the grade

It’s not really how it works usually. If class work and behavior are part of the grade then it’s going to take off points. This is usually standard in high school. Why are does the kid think it’s such a big deal? Has it actually affected them in any way? Most of the time if one grade is bad they just ignore it.

amother

Winterberry ↓

Thu, Sep 19 2024, 7:17 pm

amother Maroon wrote:

Because that's how it's interpreted by anyone who sees the grade. If you want to change up the world, go ahead. But that's how it is at the moment.

Perhaps you can make the case that your participation and classwork can lower or raise your grade somewhat, but behavior and effort? Effort is praiseworthy but if it doesn't produce results, why should a grade reflect that? Think about it in the larger world, would you want a doctor and a lawyer to get a passing grade because of effort and behavior? Now, obviously we are talking about kids here, but I think the lesson is the same. If the efforts aren't successful, does someone still reap the rewards of it? IRL, no. So it's good life skill for kids.

But that doesn't mean we don't acknowledge behavior and effort. I like the way my kids school does it. For each class, they record the academic score plus behavior, effort and participation. And they have their own rules for behaviors. If you get called out x amount of times, there is disciplinary action. Multiple disciplinary actions eventually affect the grade because you miss a lot of class. Effort is acknowledged as well and it's considered part of character building. When someone doesn't do well, effort is considered with the subsequent conversations.

To turn it back to OPs point, if you penalize the earned grade for a troubled student, you are only hurting her further. Figure out a better way to get your message across.

amother

↑ Winterberry

Thu, Sep 19 2024, 7:19 pm

amother Maroon wrote:

There is a difference if you knock off a few points versus failing the kid. OP stated that her kids grades were in the 80s. To get a failing grade from that, that's unreasonable regardless of behavior.