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AIBU?

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Original poster

Should I ask teacher about her marking?

24 replies

Exhaustedpuppy · 30/06/2021 16:01

DS is in year 8. He’s severely dyslexic but verbally very articulate with a vocabulary beyond his age.
His school have a policy of marking books only every half term, DS has just has his English work marked.
DS was given ‘A’ (above expectations) for a piece of work which he did on a laptop. To me, and anyone who knows DSs writing, it’s very obvious that he’s just copy and pasted it- it’s not his work.

Do I mention to the teacher that the work she has marked is not DSs own work or just ignore? My concern about work being marked incorrectly is that the mark will be recorded and the incorrect data will be used when we review DSs EHCP and show he’s made progress when he hasn’t.

OP posts:
KatieKat88 · 30/06/2021 16:05

Yes I would - if it were me I'd get DS to re-do it, send it and ask if she'd mark the new version so that it's accurate for the reasons you've already stated. I'm a former secondary teacher and wouldn't mind doing that (and would be apologetic that I hadn't realised it wasn't his work!)

Onlyfoolsandfathers · 30/06/2021 16:16

Yes I would too. I suspect she knows the score but can't be bothered to challenge it. I'd be concerned about your son coping like this. There is support for him and it doesn't look like this.

Original poster
Exhaustedpuppy · 30/06/2021 16:28

Thanks @KatieKat88

@Onlyfoolsandfathers DS has a high level of support but it’s the wrong support - he’s pretty much just being babysat. I’m in the process of changing things for him.

OP posts:
arethereanyleftatall · 30/06/2021 16:33

I would query it, but not for the reason you gave. I'd query it with the teacher to make sure your ds understands that cheating is unacceptable. As it stands, he's cheated, has got an A, and has got away with it.

ShortBacknSides · 30/06/2021 16:59

My concern about work being marked incorrectly is that the mark will be recorded and the incorrect data will be used when we review DSs EHCP and show he’s made progress when he hasn’t.

I’m a bit aghast at your concern that your DS’s EHCP will be affected, rather than that he is cheating Hmm Surely you and the teacher both need to emphasise that cheating - plagiarism - is not allowed. It won’t help him learn and it doesn’t demonstrate his understanding.

I’m shocked that you seem unconcerned about this.

Original poster
Exhaustedpuppy · 30/06/2021 17:19

@ShortBacknSides I understand why you are shocked - I would be really cross of one of my other children had done that. DS has multiple SEN and is being failed by his school (it’s not the type of setting that can meet his needs) and our county council. He is supposed to have a 1-1 for all lessons , the work was done at school - either he didn’t get the support needed to help him do the work so he c&p it or the TA let him c&p.

OP posts:
Thehenbunringsock · 30/06/2021 17:35

He still needs to be told that cheating is wrong.

Speak to the teacher but the conversation should revolve around the plagiarism.

BlueBellsArePretty · 30/06/2021 18:02

How do you know for sure that he copied and pasted the work? If the language that he used in the work reflects his verbal abilities then his teacher might have not had any concerns. Before asking his teacher why don't you get your son (with you watching) to copy and paste parts of his work into an online plagiarism checker, which will show whether it's been copied directly.

User5827372728 · 30/06/2021 18:16

Maybe his TA acted an a scribe for him and he told her what to type?

User5827372728 · 30/06/2021 18:16

Or told him!!!

MrsTophamHat · 30/06/2021 18:21

As an English teacher, it's usually quite obvious when something has been copied. I usually type an odd sounding phrase into Google and up it comes. Another tell is when it simply does not answer the question or covers concepts that I haven't taught them.

It's possible it has been missed and it seems sensible that he would need to do it again.

Rosesareyellow · 30/06/2021 18:32

You sound more put out with the teacher than your son for some reason...
Yes I would tell her but I think you should have a serious word with your DS too.

ShortBacknSides · 30/06/2021 18:41

He is supposed to have a 1-1 for all lessons , the work was done at school - either he didn’t get the support needed to help him do the work so he c&p it or the TA let him c&p.

Can you talk him through why what he did was wrong? Surely, that is a parent's role, to instil some sort of ethical compass, not just the school's job.

Rosewood017 · 30/06/2021 18:48

I'd have a word with the SEN representative and ask her advice. And also be concerned that they only mark work every half term!

MrsTophamHat · 30/06/2021 18:54

@Rosewood017

I'd have a word with the SEN representative and ask her advice. And also be concerned that they only mark work every half term!
They only mark books once per half term. Writing comments books in the traditional way is not always a particularly effective way of checking student progess. It takes far longer for the teacher to detail mark a set of books, than the children usually spend responding to their feedback.

Whole class marking, sampling, on the spot feedback, quizzing, targeted questioning are all methods of formative assessment that require no writing in books.

DysmalRadius · 30/06/2021 19:46

Can you talk him through why what he did was wrong? Surely, that is a parent's role, to instil some sort of ethical compass, not just the school's job.

But if the TA did allow him to copy and paste the text, then it's going to be more confusing for the OP to tell her son that he's not allowed to do that.

I can see why they want to focus on the bigger picture of ensuring that this grade reflects their son's true abilities rather than getting involved in the supervision of the work in a school they're hoping to leave.

TeddingtonTrashbag · 30/06/2021 19:50

@ShortBacknSides

My concern about work being marked incorrectly is that the mark will be recorded and the incorrect data will be used when we review DSs EHCP and show he’s made progress when he hasn’t.

I’m a bit aghast at your concern that your DS’s EHCP will be affected, rather than that he is cheating Hmm Surely you and the teacher both need to emphasise that cheating - plagiarism - is not allowed. It won’t help him learn and it doesn’t demonstrate his understanding.

I’m shocked that you seem unconcerned about this.

This 100%!!!!!
zingally · 30/06/2021 20:22

I'd be a lot more concerned about the fact he was okay with turning in work that wasn't his own (whether the TA was involved or not!), than whether the teacher accurately marked what they were presented with.

redcarbluecar · 30/06/2021 20:25

I definitely think you should let the teacher know. As a teacher I’d appreciate being made aware of this. We do try to be alert to plagiarism, but sometimes something just slips through the net.

oknowimscared · 30/06/2021 20:57

You definitely need to nip this in the bud quickly. Talk to the school - obviously support your DS through, finding out why he did it, but the older he gets, the more serious the repercussions become (once he hits exam years - and if he goes on to Uni, they are sh*t hot on plagiarism) (I know that’s all a few years away, but worth addressing now). And you’re right re getting the SEN support he needs. It can be really difficult, so you don’t need anything getting in the way of it. Is he embarrassed? Other kids may be making things difficult for him, maybe? Good luck though - and even if things are sticky for him (getting into trouble at school over the C&P) you’ll have done him a long-term favour by spotting it and not letting it go

Valeriekat · 01/07/2021 12:24

Wish I taught in a school that did so little marking!

Original poster
Exhaustedpuppy · 03/07/2021 12:36

Thanks for all your thoughts.

I typed the start of his work into google - he had two paragraphs and they were 100% c&p from two different sources. To anyone who knows DSs writing it’s immediately obvious it isn’t his - his punctuation is appalling as is his spelling. DS uses autocorrect but for example he will have mistakes like applauding for appalling or extremism for extremely. His own work is also generally 2-4 sentences long when it should be around a page of A4. I am really disappointed that it wasn’t picked up by the teacher as it’s a core subject that’s his biggest weakness but the data shows he’s doing brilliantly!

I haven’t brought it up with DS as he has such high school anxiety he’s already on a reduced timetable and even then not attending every day.

OP posts:
fourminutestosavetheworld · 03/07/2021 12:53

Surely you need to speak to ds before you speak to the teacher, as there is so much you don't know about the circumstances.

If his lazy TA encouraged him to cheat and his lazy teacher gave him an A without properly reading it or considering it in the context of the usual work standard - unacceptable.

If his TA became ill and had to leave the lesson, or was caught up in an emergency elsewhere, and this was one of 200 papers the teacher marked and she took it at face value without even looking at the name of the student, then it is significantly less unacceptable IMO.

Seems like school staff aren't allowed to be human anymore. Ask him for the details, then approach the teach if it still feeels appropriate.

ShortBacknSides · 04/07/2021 19:35

I typed the start of his work into google - he had two paragraphs and they were 100% c&p from two different sources. To anyone who knows DSs writing it’s immediately obvious it isn’t his - his punctuation is appalling as is his spelling. DS uses autocorrect but for example he will have mistakes like applauding for appalling or extremism for extremely. His own work is also generally 2-4 sentences long when it should be around a page of A4. I am really disappointed that it wasn’t picked up by the teacher as it’s a core subject that’s his biggest weakness but the data shows he’s doing brilliantly!

What age is he? In Year 8 - 13 or 14 or so?

He should know by Year 8 that cutting & pasting someone else's writing from the internet is cheating.

Wy are you blaming a) a "lazy TA" or a b) busy TA, whose time/attention is over-stretched, when your DS cheated?

And why are you castigating the teacher? No teacher goes into a stint of marking assuming that all their pupils are cheating & plagiarising. And if your DS' teacher has several full classes of work books to mark, in a short turn around, would s/he have had the time to treat your DS' work with the extra scrutiny you seem to desire? Your DS is one special unique child for you; to his teachers, he's one of maybe 100 pupils they teach over their working week.

You need to stop blaming only those around your DS, and you need to parent him & help him develop an ethical/moral sense: work with him to explain that cutting & pasting someone else's work from a website is dishonest & cheating. I'm a bit shocked that you seem to want to blame everyone else.

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