peer grading.. thoughts? - Page 2

[JustJamie]

Could you ask the teacher if perhaps it's not your son's penmanship that is lacking, but rather that other student's ability to read?

We never did peer-grading in the upper grades, only in elementary school, and *only* when it involved numbers, or single-letter answers on a pre-printed form.

Perhaps that would be an acceptable solution - rather than have the students write out each spelling word, ask that the school have them circle the correctly-spelled word from 4 typed options - no penmanship involved. Of course, that would cost more money and require more effort on the part of the teacher.

I do suggest that while you decide the best course of action regarding this particular test/score, you work with your son on his handwriting, so that there is little to no room for error in the future.

[~Demeter~]

Originally Posted by JustJamie

Could you ask the teacher if perhaps it's not your son's penmanship that is lacking, but rather that other student's ability to read?

We never did peer-grading in the upper grades, only in elementary school, and *only* when it involved numbers, or single-letter answers on a pre-printed form.

Perhaps that would be an acceptable solution - rather than have the students write out each spelling word, ask that the school have them circle the correctly-spelled word from 4 typed options - no penmanship involved. Of course, that would cost more money and require more effort on the part of the teacher.

I do suggest that while you decide the best course of action regarding this particular test/score, you work with your son on his handwriting, so that there is little to no room for error in the future.

This is also something that I brought up when I spoke to the principal. She still maintains that it is my son's penmanship.. and that she is sure it will improve as the year progresses. : Of course it will because he is being forced to pay attention to everything he writes for fear of getting everything wrong.

Sounds like an interesting idea.. I will look into it but find it doubtful she will go for something like this.

We have been practicing his handwriting. I feel this is not going to end the problem though.. If he has an off day or anyone else for that matter or a different student grades their test each time.. they could have different grades based on something that is inconsistent and that they have no control over. KWIM?

[CarrieMF]

We did it all the time in highschool(7-12) and it was never a problem. I think it is better in the higher grades than the lower grades.

We did it on tests other than the big end of term tests, almost always in math, not as often in English or social where it was more paragraph writing than quick answers.

[~Demeter~]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

We did it all the time in highschool(7-12) and it was never a problem. I think it is better in the higher grades than the lower grades.

We did it on tests other than the big end of term tests, almost always in math, not as often in English or social where it was more paragraph writing than quick answers.

I to remember doing this in the higher grades, I believe it does save time for the teacher in a situation like that because they have so many students rather than the typical elementary classroom size.

[cinnamonamon]

How irritating. I still remember 2nd grade when a substitute marked the word "Girl" (or was it Boy?) wrong because I spelled it with a capital letter. I just liked making the "big" letter... It ruined my straight of perfect tests, and I didn't get my cookie for having 6 weeks of perfect tests. Not a big deal, but being good in school was my one claim to fame in my family, so I was really upset. When I got home my mom let me have one of her hidden girl scout cookies & invited me to snuggle up with her on the couch & doze/nap with her.

Not the same situation, obviously, but it was a big deal to me. I'm so glad you're pursuing this for your son.

[aran]

Originally Posted by boongirl

You are correct in the latter sentiment. You cannot move him everytime he has a hard teacher. He will never hold a job for long as an adult as he won't know how to solve his problems.

I don't agree with this. First, I don't think it is a case of simply a "hard" teacher, but an unreasonable one. More importantly, I believe that life hands everyone difficulties and problems that must be met and cannot be walked away from or altered. Sticking with a crappy teacher or boss isn't one of them. Being proactive and self-assured enough to leave a bad situation (and I am assuming here that there are other problems besides just the grading issue) to find a better one is a good lesson. My mother did it for me in grade school with great results, and I would have no second thoughts about doing that for my child. And no, it didn't give me any problems with quitting when life gets hard or an inability to hold down a job.

[~Demeter~]

Originally Posted by aran

I don't agree with this. First, I don't think it is a case of simply a "hard" teacher, but an unreasonable one. More importantly, I believe that life hands everyone difficulties and problems that must be met and cannot be walked away from or altered. Sticking with a crappy teacher or boss isn't one of them. Being proactive and self-assured enough to leave a bad situation (and I am assuming here that there are other problems besides just the grading issue) to find a better one is a good lesson. My mother did it for me in grade school with great results, and I would have no second thoughts about doing that for my child. And no, it didn't give me any problems with quitting when life gets hard or an inability to hold down a job.

I have moved him before when I felt his teacher wasn't "right" for him. I have sat him down and asked him how he felt about his teacher this year (after all this happened) he told me he is happy where he is. At this point if I petitioned to move him I think he would feel I don't trust his instinct on things and might cause more conflict. I am keeping a watchful eye on everything and will make corrections as needed. He appears to still be doing well academically and socially. He has friends, does well on his assignments and does reasonably well on his tests. So far his lowest test grade has been a B. It does irk me that she doesn't want to grade the tests herself but wants the kids to.. now I am not sure if she has some point she is trying to make by doing this or what. For now I feel all I can do is look over everything that comes home with my son and make sure they are graded properly.

[aran]

Ahh, I see, Mumof3. I didn't know the history. I understand how you'd want DS to have a voice, but then how hard it must be to sit back and watch a less than ideal situation unfold.

[~Demeter~]

Originally Posted by aran

Ahh, I see, Mumof3. I didn't know the history. I understand how you'd want DS to have a voice, but then how hard it must be to sit back and watch a less than ideal situation unfold.

It is difficult but hopefully I raised him to stand his ground when he feels something is wrong.. and if he feels he's not strong enough hopefully he knows he always has me but like I said to take away his voice would be damaging to our trust. I trust him to talk to me and tell me how he feels and he trusts me to read between the lines as needed and let him go at things in his own way. I wouldn't let things get so out of hand he couldn't handle it but I definitely think as someone said in another thread about this that this is a learning experience. (for both of us.. )

[mamaofthreecats]

i think that peer grading is wrong because getting a bad grade was humilating to me, and i got quite a few of them, and i didn't like everyone to know about it. also, there shouldn't always be one answer to every question. i think when kids grade papers its because the teacher was lazy and didn't care about us. just my opionion:

[srain]

I think peer grading is a bad idea because it embarrasses some kids and it's not unusual for friends to improve each others' grades.

Originally Posted by Mumof3Nic

Admitting defeat to me is like letting my son slip right back to where we fought so hard to get away from.. nothing worth fighting for is ever easy. I truly don't want another child to go through this. I suppose my son is sensitive and discourages somewhat easily. He studied hard for that grade and deserved it regardless of some other child's interpretation of his handwriting.

He might get less discouraged if you encouraged him to value the fact that he successfully accomplished his spelling goal, despite the fact that his teacher will not acknowledge that. I hope that he's able to get past this unfairness without getting too upset. Good luck!

[Flor]

I am a middle school teacher with 185 students, but I only peer grade when it is something that is really unimportant to me. Maybe I wasn't going to put it in the grade book anyway OR something I am pretty sure everyone got almost 100% on. It is embarassing for kids. I can use scantrons if I need to process mass test, or I have one 8th grade-student-TA I can use to grade. My mom grades the spelling test for me. That is a good use of volunteer parents!

In this particulary situation, if I felt that my son liked the teacher in all other ways, I would tell him to be extra careful of his handwritting on the spelling tests. I wouldn't want him to be hyper-vigilant all day, but pay special attention to the tests. You will enconter people in life who are too picky.

By the way, at my grade level there is NO STANDARD for handwritting, so I'm not sure I would grade it, though if I really can't read it, I also can't grade it.

[maatmama]

Originally Posted by sun-shine01

My Dh is a 8th grade teacher and has 130 students this semester. I think that peer grading is very common and I don't agree that it is lazy teaching.

I just did the count of my students and have 144 this year. I have the students self correct everything except writing assignments, projects or open ended answers to questions with my special colored pencils. This way they get immediate feedback and no one except me and their parents know their grade.

[momma2girls]

I remember this from school. I hated it. I thought it was embarassing and degrading. I never felt it was anyone's business but my own and the teachers what grade I got on anything. And I was a good student I was not only embarrassed for my self but for everyone else especially the person that I would have to grade.