My DD has ADD and is in 4th grade. Our school uses the Accelerated Math program. (it’s a computer program that you work at your own pace) The 4th graders split up according to there math level. My daughter tested in the high group. At mid-term she had an A in math. We just got her report card and she got a D in Math. The teacher wrote “Precentages are good, but she doesn’t complete enough objectives.” On the computer print out it has percent correct on the student and the class median. She has 94% while the class median is 87%. Her objectives mastered are 38 while the class median is 47.
Does this seem as crazy to any of you as it does to me?
First, I’m really mad that the teacher didn’t contact me about the drop in her grade. (I work at the same school as an EA, I pass this teacher at least twice a day in the halls) My other question is why is she being graded by what the group is doing?
Does anyone have any experience with Accelerated Math?
Re: Thanks Kat for your reply, here's some answers
I talked to the teacher. He said that the computer chooses how many objectives the student should master. I talked to another math teacher in middle school and she said the teacher sets that up. I asked another teacher and this teacher also said that the teacher puts in the number of objectives. At the beginning of the year he never sent anything home saying this is what’s expected and this is what the grades are based on. They have a chart in the classroom with the goal and everytime you meet an objective you get a sticker, so the kids know what the goal is.
I also asked him why I was not informed of the drop in her grade. He said that by 4th grade a child should be responsible enough to let their parents know that they are not doing well in class. Also, he said with his regular class, his reading class and his math class he does not have time to look at each students grade and inform parents. Funny how my daughter’s reg. teacher and reading teacher have time to send home a note every week with a report of what they are working on and any late work.
The teacher also said (boy, I’ve said that a lot) that my daughter gets mad and says that math is stupid and she doesn’t see why they need to learn this, and he didn’t know how to work with someone with that attitude. He moved her out of his class to the next level down. He said his class was high paced and very competitive and he didn’t think it was the place for my daughter. (The only thing I agreed with him on) I talked to the new teacher and told her that I wanted to be kept informed of everything that was going on in class. She agreed and had no problem with that. She also said she check in the other class to see how many objective she had mastered and that she was right on task. At the end of the grading period she (the teacher) had set a goal of 40 and she was at 37. The new teacher said she should have at least 3 math practice sheets a week as homework. She never had any homework in the other class (again the other teacher said it was her responsiblity to decided whether or not she needed to do homework).
Re: Thanks Kat for your reply, here's some answers
I am a 4th grade teacher also in Missouri. I am glad to hear that your daughter has been moved to another classroom. It sounds like the teacher’s class that she was previously in is run by someone who cares more about the numbers than the students. Please, if a teacher EVER tells you that he/she does not have time to inform you of changes in your child’s grades, go to the princiapal or instructional coordinator for the school. It is PART of our JOB as teachers to effectively communicate with the parents. I could understand if it was a one-time oversight, with apologies. This type of teacher does a disservice to our students as well as to other teachers in the community by projecting this type of manner. Good luck to you with your daughter’s future academic endeavors.
Anyone know anything about "Connected Math?"
My worst nightmare. Middle school looms ahead and now there’s connected math where you have to WRITE and explain how you got the answer to the problem. Worse part is, most of the time she gets it, but can’t explain it. Can we have something in her IEP on that? Any suggestions?
More questions than answers. Does the school have a policy that X number of objectives must be mastered to earn each letter grade? If such a policy exists, was it made known to students and parents? If this is the case, I could more easily understand the difference between grades on work completed and final grade. If there is no policy, then I would want a very clear explanation on how grades are determined. I have no experience with excelerated math, but as a teacher, it sounds a little strange.