Detention for "under achievement"

[oddbin]

School question: DS1 13yo had an assessment and they didn't do very well on some of the questions. The teacher says they can resit that part of the assessment. However if he again doesn't do very well on that part of the assessment he will get a 30 minute after school detention. Is that normal? AIBU to say he is not doing a detention for that?

Like I say I'm projecting, but it's a term repeatedly used in this thread. Yes by trifle whose point of view I now understand. Even if I don't agree with how it's put across.

My point about judging on the surface works both ways. Both by the Op's version of events and the attitude of the response of teachers in response. There is a very much don't question the teacher mentality which I don't agree with. Now I agree don't be critical in front of child. But to not question things that make no sense is what makes no sense.

BeaderBird
you've forgotten something; the customer is ALWAYS right.

I must remember this when I am ducking chairs, punches, and the name calling.

But I suspect (hope) that this is sarcasm.

By all means question the teacher but not about something so obviously designed to ensure that a student achieves! Teachers who call home, give up their time to run sanctions and allow a retest are not shirkers!

I strongly doubt that the teacher would bother making him re-sit the test unless she thought he was capable of a better mark but didn't revise for the test.

I do wonder why some people think that teachers go into, or stay in, teaching (especially in the current climate). It's not for the love of data, I assure you.

She is not doing it for the learning because if he fails the second test he gets a detention and that's it. No more learning no more chances they move forward as is.

Of course it's for the learning. What else would it be for? I doubt she wants to mark more tests for her own amusement! The detention is there as a deterrent to make sure he actually revises this time and does himself justice.

oddbin

I know of pupils that have been bounced from set 1 to set 3 for poor assessment results and the parents that then complain as they wouldn't allow their children to attend the resits

I suspect that this is what this is about, more than the teacher trying to protect herself.

So contradictory! On the one hand doesn't agree with the re-test but then suggests 'no more chances' as if that's a point to challenge on.

Yes Buck - absolutely. I think we actually agree. Find out more form the teacher . And the child. Not Mumsnet!

I would talk to your son and find out if he revised for his test. I have 2 kids who have done y8 - one studied for all tests, the other never studied for tests. If your son studied then I would be pissed off with the detention but if he didn't then y8 is a good time to start taking tests seriously.

My dd underachieved in a test last term and the resit was exactly the same test which I thought was stupid. She memorised the answers and got full marks. it obviously takes time for teachers to write tests but they could have at least changed the question order.

This is now standard practice in many schools. The content is so vast that it is important that the knowledge is embedded now rather than relearning it at a certain date. Students need to learn how to revise (they are all different). If a student doesn't hit their target grade, it is now the norm to resit it.

Does it really matter if they have to resit it? It helps them to build resilience for the real world.

Zombie my DS has been doing past exam papers. The teachers as far as I can tell don't set the tests themselves. Not for the big ones i.e set placements.

how about make your son revise?

His teacher is giving up her time to persuade him to push himself harder, and to inform you of the situation.

He needs to get a better mark. He is obviously able to, or the teacher wouldn't be flogging a dead horse. he is underachieving. His school is prepared to follow this up by pushing him

What a shame his mother is prepared to undermine the school in this way rather than support them.

This attitude will impact severely on your son's eventual educational outcomes, and you will be responsible.

I would also point out that I have managed good, bad and middling teachers. The bad teachers don't mark assessments, or mark them inaccurately, or set the wrong assessment (usually something so basic as to make it pointless), and they give very limited feedback. Middling teachers set and mark a relevant assessment and can usually identify areas for improvement. They may tell the students to revise more. They get their data in and can explain how they are targeting individual students in lessons. Good teachers take proactive steps to adapt teaching and assessment based on what their data is telling them. They hold students accountable for their best work, so know that an assessment grade based on assessment a student didn't revise for probably isn't indicative of how they will perform further down the line, or even what they are capable of now. Good teachers will reset the assessment, even if it means 6 hours extra work that they are under no obligation to do.

I now feel sorry for the other students in this lad's class. I would be surprised if he does not have an attitude very similar to his mother's, absolutely no idea why he is in school and what he is supposed to do there.

And I am not a teacher and definitely do not always take the teacher's side.

Parents can't overrule a teacher when it comes to setting detentions. You can complain about it, but you can't say 'my son isn't doing this detention' if the teacher maintains that they are.

As far as I can tell a detention hasn't been set and all your DS needs to do to avoid one is to study for this test and do better than he did.

As for resits and false impressions and all that stuff, what's important is that your DS learns the stuff he is supposed to have learned and appears so far not to have learned. If he doesn't learn it now, then he will have to learn it at some point in the future, because ignoring the poor assessment doesn't make that gap in the learning go away.

BoneyBack, I'm right there with you along with deliberate fire setting, spitting, etc etc.

When I was at school we were given detentions if you were deemed to have not tried/worked hard enough by one particularly teacher either in class or at home. I don't think it's the norm now and a very difficult policy to enforce fairly.

It's not difficult to enforce fairly at all, not if we trust the professionals to do their job.

See I also don't think I agree with him re-sitting the assessment at all. He has done the assessment and he got a bad score that should be the end of it.

Unless this is a final exam like a GCSE one point of testing is to assess where students are at and whether they understand certain aspects before they are built on.

So if you don't understand fractions you will struggle with some algebraic equations, there is no point moving on with a subject if it is something vital they NEED to know.

As for the detention, that depends on the actual reason, what I mean by that is a child who has tried their best and shows revision, that would be unfair.

Child that has talked all over the teacher in class then on the exam written 'we didn't do this' followed by 'Jon is X' and finally 'here is a picture of a flower, please give me a good mark' but not attempted the actual questions that they should know because you have spent the first 2 weeks of term teaching it and the week before the exam revising it with the class.

There are of course children between those extremes but you get the picture.

Yes I have spent the last week marking exam papers.

so I am now wondering whether she is worried about a certain number of her students underachieving it may look bad on her

Yeaaahhh. Ok.
Thats close to the kids who say 'you have to get me a C or you lose your job' 😴

GCSEs abd SATs are summative assessments. They are not the same as more formative assessments in class. To compare them shows little understanding of assessment.
Say child doesnt get a concept and its something next years work hangs on, would you be happy for them to just be left to revise themselves and hope they know it well enough? (Only saying that studebts are more likely to actually revise the stuff if they know its going to be tested).
Internal assessments are also used for setting etc so fine, say you want the first attempt counting but dont come back in a few months annoyed that youre unhappy with the set theyre in next year.

Since being told over and over again that she is being unreasonable I notice the OP hasn't come back.

My son is currently preparing to resit his GCSE in maths. I am very grateful for this chance because it gives him the chance to learn something he needs to know in life. I don't care if it makes the teacher look good or bad or covered in little pieces of glitter. I care that ds should learn what he needs to. And if that means him sacrificing a few lunchtimes, then I think I can live with that.

And I'm someone who has said some pretty harsh things about dc's teachers in the past.