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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be pissed off that children in the top maths set are responsible for marking the work of the lower sets?

24 replies

wobbletum · 20/04/2012 13:27

AIBU about this? this is in ds's y1 class.
It really does not sit well with me and i think it gives out a bad message to those in the lower set's,what do you think?

(i should add this is just for a quick maths test they do every morning, not all the maths work)

OP posts:

LadySybilDeChocolate · 20/04/2012 13:29

I think it's really mean.

ABatInBunkFive · 20/04/2012 13:31

We used to swap answers for marking, nothing wrong with that but i'd be uncomfortable if it's just the top set being given the responsibility.

MummytoKatie · 20/04/2012 13:32

It's not a new thing. I remember listening to other kids in my class read when I was about 5. (I'm 32 now.) There was one word that I didn't know what it was so I made it up when the other girl asked me.

catgirl1976 · 20/04/2012 13:33

Really?? That seems very wrong. Almost like the top set are superior to the children in he bottom set (obvioulsy they are superior at maths but this seemslike giving them a power or status over them)

I would not be happy about that at all

knowitallstrikesagain · 20/04/2012 13:33

Is your DS in the top or lower set? Are all the children aware of the arrangement?

I think it is a good thing for children who excel at a subject to be given more of a challange, but would have thought that it was more normal to swap papers in the class and mark each others. That is what we did at school 300 years ago

If my child struggled, I don't think I would like the idea of another child marking their paper and seeing that they only got 1/10 or whatever, but this would happen if they swapped papers anyway and I would try and reassure my child that they have other talents which the other children will be made aware of someday.

YABU. But understandably so.

DeWe · 20/04/2012 13:33

Not sure why it gives a bad message to the lower sets. Would it be okay if the bottom set was marking for the year?

But think the top set should be doing their own work not the teachers.

FredFredGeorge · 20/04/2012 13:35

Marking others work is a good way to make sure that you know the work, so assuming it's appropriate marking for the set, and not too simplistic it seems fine to me. Allowing them to write an explanation of any wrong answer, and how to get the right one.

catgirl1976 · 20/04/2012 13:40

I was in the the top set for maths at school. Had we be given the work of the lower set to mark, we would have followed lower set children round the playground shouting "Whats two plus two Ben..............is it five" in horrible voices. Seems like an invite to bullying to me...........

LRDtheFeministDragon · 20/04/2012 13:41

In year one, can you really expect a child to write an explanation of the wrong answer and how to get the right one?

These are presumably 11/12 year olds - I think it takes a lot more skill to explain something to someone else than to know how to do it. I'd worry they're just poolign misinformation unless the marking is pretty strictly supervised.

Sandalwood · 20/04/2012 13:43

So is it just a quick quiz where they swap papers for marking?

Who marks the top set's?
What are the bottom set doing while all the marking is going on?

LeQueen · 20/04/2012 13:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsShitty · 20/04/2012 13:53

My DD has been repeatedly used as a reading assistant and it is annoying because this is the time she is meant to use for reading her own book. I thought I was being precious but I see now I am not. I may say something about it now.

I think it is totally fine for DC to help one another...work together etc but not as a matter of course.

SunflowersSmile · 20/04/2012 13:56

Swapping papers as a child was bad enough for me with maths [maths dunce]. Don't like sound of top set marking bottom in year 1. Don't think awareness of top or bottom groups should be rubbed in at this age. Sad such young children made to be so aware of 'levels'.

Sunscorch · 20/04/2012 13:58

Funny, isn't it, how "peer assessment" and "peer support" have been taught as perfectly legitimate and useful tools for a class teacher to use?

Annunziata · 20/04/2012 13:59

Are they marking all of each other's work or just the odd quiz? I wouldn't mind every now and again, but every day, no.

ENormaSnob · 20/04/2012 13:59

Yanbu

My dc are top set but I still think its not on.

LRDtheFeministDragon · 20/04/2012 14:07

I think 'peer assessment' would be by their peers, though, not a different group? I can understand the teacher saying everyone must swap books and mark each other's - there might be a bit of cheating but it wouldn't imply that the top set were in an authoritative position, which this does.

lazylula · 20/04/2012 14:20

Umm I am not sure on this. Ds1 came home last night saying that one of the brighter year 1's in his mixed year 1/2 class had been mean to a year 2 child who was spelling a word out loud, saying along the lines of 'you are year 2 and you can't spell that' in a not nice way. Ds1 tried to defend the year 2 child saying maybe she is just practicing it and the year 1 child turned on him too. I think if I found out that this child was put in charge of marking ds1's work I would most definitely have worries about.it. I think swapping work with a neighbour or friend of similar abilityis one thing but at such a young age children can be very mean. Also, I would assume the teacher is marking the top set's work so should actually giving the same time and effort to all abilities.

GooseyLoosey · 20/04/2012 14:26

Is it one table swapping with another - which I think would be OK or is it just top table marking bottom table - which is not in anyway OK?

Children should not be made to feel that they are inferior to other children. My dd had an NQ Yr 1 teacher (doing maternity cover) who had similar tactics. One of her best was to ask the best behaved child of the day what the most appropriate punishment for a badly behaved child was - the children hated it. She also sent a child out of dd's class into ds's class in the Yr above wearing a notice saying he had been naughty. It reminded me of something out of Dickens.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 20/04/2012 15:05

When ds3 was in Year 4, the class used to exchange books and mark eachother's weekly spelling tests - which I was OK with, until I finally got my hands on his spelling book and found out that whoever had been marking his tests had been marking as correct loads of incorrect spellings! So he'd been telling me that he was getting 10 out of 10 or 19 out of 20, or whatever, so I'd assumed he didn't need my help with his spellings each week, when actually he'd been getting most of the spellings wrong, and really did need some help from me.

NenNen · 20/04/2012 15:17

YANBU. I am a secondary school teacher and whilst peer assessment is important it should be an inclusive process. There is no way I would have the 'top' kids assess the 'bottom' kids answers and leave the others out. It's degrading and should not be allowed to happen! There is no way I would be happy about my primary aged kids being made to feel second class like that!!!

Original poster

wobbletum · 20/04/2012 16:02

I'm glad it's not just me being pfb.
I didn't actually believe it at first but it is definately true.I just think it's creating a divide and making the less able children feel inferior.
gooseyloosey that's terrible

OP posts:

LeQueen · 20/04/2012 16:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheCrackFox · 20/04/2012 17:02

They used to do this in Ds1'z class. Ds1 used to really struggle with maths and this was flagged up at parent's evening. I went through 6 months of worksheets fir the past 6 months - all marked bt the top set and approximately 30% were incorrectly marked!!! I pointed out that this was utterly, utterly pointless. Funnily enough the teacher does the marking now.

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