LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
School Tests...wow Let me begin by saying I understand what teachers have to go through, and feel for them. I also understand that in the lower grades it's often about Learning To Follow Direction.
DD comes home with a test yesterday. We have to sign all finished tests to ack. that we know what the grade was. No problem. That's good.
I see she got one wrong. She knows this like the back of her hand and I'm about to begin reprimanding her for getting something she knows wrong. By the way, it's Math. And the incorrect problem is simple addition.
Funny...looks right to me. I do it in my head (twice), it's right. I don't believe myself and get a calculator. Nope, it's right. I ask her about it and she says.....(the question was a number sentence)....The directions said write the problem. I wrote the problem, plus I answered it. It didn't say to answer it, so it's wrong.
This even though the answer was correct!
Even DH was flabbergasted.
Do extra work....do it right....and your grade gets docked for it.
wow.
They can submit corrections to help make up some of the grade points lost for any incorrect andswers. She actually had to re-write it without the answer. wow.
Re: School Tests...wow I distinctly remember in 6th grade when we were doing one of those "put the sentences in the order they occured in the story" things. Mine was marked wrong. I pointed out that the one marked wrong had to be correct- it was the last sentence before "the end", had to be number 10. No. The answer book said it was number 8. The answer book must have a misprint. Maybe, but if we could change the answer book, what's the point of having it?
Seriously, that was the answer. Sigh.
Tess
Re: School Tests...wow Well, when she's older and has a job, no one is going to fault her for doing extra work! I think this is ridiculous. They are punishing her for showing initiative!Originally Posted by couponfanatic
Re: School Tests...wow I'd argue it. I argue for every point for my kids - unless they're wrong of course. It *is* stupid and your daughter should not have had it marked wrong. She also should not have had to re-do it. I don't mind being one of "those parents" and things have gotten a lot better for my kid since I started pointing out inaccuracies (like the guide that was wrong - I've had that happen too) and teacher's rules that are counter-intuitive to a child's education.
I'd say that faulting a child for going above and beyond is definitely counter-intuitive.
Maybe let it slide this time but not again. Ask for a teacher conference and explain your position. Sometimes all they need to know is that you're paying attention.
Re: School Tests...wow Ok, not to play devil's advocate or anything, but following directions is part of the test. I've had many teachers in the past give tests where instructions at the top said to do certain things (not just in college), despite what the individual questions may ask. MANY people got low grades for not following directions.
In addition, in college, you also have to follow directions. In a lower level math class (college calculus), I had an instructor from China. I couldn't understand her for anything! She would work through problems on the board. When it came to test time, I worked the problems the way I knew how from high school. I got the correct answers, but because I didn't write out the problems the way she had instructed-it wasn't in any instructions that you MUST do it her way, but alas, I got lower grades. I blame it on her lack of English skills, but I guarantee, the next test I followed HER methods, despite any other ways of doing it.
Re: School Tests...wow This is one of those situations where the kid was wrong.No, she's being punished for not following directions.It amazes me that instead of telling the kid to follow directions, it is the teacher who is "wrong." You may not like the directions, but the child did not follow them.
And how is the child "right" in this situation, for not following what they were told to do?
I was a science major, and pretty much everyone failed a lab for going above and beyond. Why? Because we didn't follow directions. That was the whole point of the lab--to not read more into it, just do only what was instructed and nothing more. None of us made the same mistake again.
This wasn't an open-ended assignment. The directions were not followed, and such shouldn't be rewarded. Chalk it up to a lesson to learn, and move on; not as a chance to chastise the teacher.
Re: School Tests...wow She followed the directions, and then she went above and beyond to answer the question.
Yes, it is punishing her for showing initiative. If my employer wanted me to complete a task, and I completed it, and THEN showed initiative to complete another task that I was not directed to do, would I get fired b/c I didn't follow directions?? NO.
It's a sad day that we're teaching our elementary school students and apparently our college students that we're not supposed to try our best or aspire to something greater- we're only supposed to do the bear minimum to get by...
Re: School Tests...wow I'm in agreement with you OP, because I actually do the same thing
But, to be clear, following directions is first and foremost. When I am adding something in, I put it off to the side AND make a note of it. In this case, I would have written the answer, in parenthesis, and written something like "The above is answering the question according to directions. Below is the problem's answer."
As long as I write something like that, I would be willing to argue it til I'm blue in the face - because going above and beyond should not be faulted. If your child clearly knew the directions, followed them, AND did something extra .... that is different that just NOT following directions.
Home
Reply With Quote
and 
