If 3/4 of the students were flunking a class...

[Lisa1970]

There is this one teacher who seems to be flunking 3/4 of the kids. (the grade statistics are online so you can see them). We have tried talking to him, but gotten no where. He claimed our son just did not know the material. But, we made sure he completely knew the material inside and out going in to the final and still, he got a failing grade (65). When we clicked on the statistics, again, 75% of the class flunked. I tried to email the principal, but she just keeps saying to speak to the teacher. But that has gotten us no where. Plus, it is clearly a school problem and not just an individual student problem.

What do you suggest? This is 10th grade World History so this will be on his transcript for when he applies to college. Regardless, he has to pass to have the credit to graduate.  

[karne]

Isn't 65 a passing grade?  I thought anything below 65 was not passing.

[JollyGG]

Since the principle wants you to handle it with the teacher and you aren't getting anywhere with the teacher it's time to change tactics in order to get a meeting. I would ask the principle to meet with both you and the teacher to facilitate the discussion he/she wants you to have with the teacher about the issue. That way you don't seem to be going over the teachers head to complain to the teacher and the focus is more on just getting some answers to your questions.

[Chamomile Girl]

Originally Posted by karne 

Isn't 65 a passing grade?  I thought anything below 65 was not passing.

It is a "D" and a grade that most colleges will not honor. In California at least the UC schools recommend that students with D grades retake those classes in summer school for at least a C in order to gain admittance.

OP have you seen the physical final exam? I think that this is going to have to be your first step. I also teach 10th grade world history and I can't imagine failing 75% of the class by this time of the year (the first couple of months of school are another story...until people get it together). Were I in your shoes I would want to know what "knowledge" the teacher is testing on as well as the format of the tests. Are they essay? Multiple choice? fill in the blank? Does spelling count (some teachers will mark misspelled answers as incorrect...which is ridiculous)? Find out how your son is being assessed and you may have fodder for a productive discussion.

And then update because I'm dying to know what is going on here.

[whatsnextmom]

Oh, I  SOOOO feel for you. My DD's physics class is like this. She has perfect scores on all the classwork and homework and yet, she's FLUNKED every single test all semester alone with 95 percent of the other kids. She has a "C" in the class because the assigned work is 50 percent but frankly, if she's flunking tests she clearly doesn't know the material. This is a kid who never got less than a "B" on anything and even those have been very rare! I mean really, how do you get perfect grades on all the work assigned and still fail? Wouldn't that suggest that the work assigned is inadequate?

I talked to the teacher. He keeps saying "she'll get it." I want to pull her out of the advanced class and move her to a regular physics class but she's mortified at the idea. Plus, it would pull her out of her other advanced classes and she's still acing those.

I don't really know what to do either. Talking to the principal about the favorite teacher on campus doesn't seem too helpful. This is at least 9th grade and my DD has no intention of going into science. Still, it's SO frustrating. I mean, do I really have to hire a tutor to teach her something about physics?

[sapphire_chan]

Definitely at least make the teacher go over the test with you.

I once got the only passing grade on a test (69.9% and I was waaaay over the next highest score). I had made mental note of a few concepts that it surprised me to see on the test and I went to look them up and I couldn't find the information anywhere. Not in the book, no in my class notes, not in any of the hand outs. The topics had literally never been addressed.

(OTOH, I got an A in chemistry once because the tests were all multiple choice and my calculator's random number generator was surprisingly accurate. Don't worry! I did more chemistry after that and actually learned the concepts.)

[Lisa1970]

Originally Posted by karne 

Isn't 65 a passing grade?  I thought anything below 65 was not passing.

Anything below a 70 is not passing.

[Lisa1970]

They are generally essay tests. I have asked for at least a rubric and there does not seem to be one. So the grades are coming off as arbitrary.
 

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl 

Originally Posted by karne 

Isn't 65 a passing grade?  I thought anything below 65 was not passing.

It is a "D" and a grade that most colleges will not honor. In California at least the UC schools recommend that students with D grades retake those classes in summer school for at least a C in order to gain admittance.

OP have you seen the physical final exam? I think that this is going to have to be your first step. I also teach 10th grade world history and I can't imagine failing 75% of the class by this time of the year (the first couple of months of school are another story...until people get it together). Were I in your shoes I would want to know what "knowledge" the teacher is testing on as well as the format of the tests. Are they essay? Multiple choice? fill in the blank? Does spelling count (some teachers will mark misspelled answers as incorrect...which is ridiculous)? Find out how your son is being assessed and you may have fodder for a productive discussion.

And then update because I'm dying to know what is going on here.

[VisionaryMom]

I'm sure he has a rubric in his head, but it's probably not written down. (At least I hope so.) When I was a TA in grad school, our supervising professor would go through a few salient points quickly for what students needed in essays, but he did not have anything on paper.

What I would do instead (or probably have my child do) would be to ask the teacher to help him with his specific test. Was any information incorrect? What wasn't included? Ask for specifics and then you have somewhere to begin.