To think asking a teacher how many passed GCSEs isn’t rude?

[Indoorvoicesbluey]

Dd15 is currently sitting mock GCSEs and is anxious about her future as everyone is atm.

she asked her English teacher how many of her students passed their GCSEs and she was told to stay behind class and was told off for asking it as the teacher found it rude and disrespectful. She said she didn’t mean it to be rude she was genuinely wondering.

I can’t see what’s rude about asking this question. My son’s school listed percentages of cohort mock results and percentage of class results in our son’s performance reviews/ parent’s consultation. It showed the science department was massively underperforming and in particular my son’s class which explained why he had dropped grades.

I agree that it is all about tone and context. It could be asked in a ‘setting expectation’ context, maybe parents evenings or in a 1-2-1 setting, or if the teacher was doing a GCSE presentation with Q&A at the end. It wouldn’t be appropriate if the pupil asked the question in a conflict scenario, say they were being disclipined. As for the points re sets and different abilities, that’s an important point and surely nuances like that would be included in the answer? I do appreciate that teachers don’t have time to have hour long classroom debates about this stuff, though.

FWIW, my children went to different schools. Both schools published GCSE results anyway, so they were freely available. Though not by individual teacher. Just by subject, as most do. X% of pupils achieved a grade of Y etc in <SubjectA>

Apparently after today’s discussion in the car, the teacher told the class she isn’t actually qualified to teach gcse level and she normally teachers the younger classes?

Anyway, il tell her not to express concerns to her teachers anymore lol

I can’t see why it’s rude, as schools publish this information all the time (though not teacher specific).

Wonder why she got defensive?

if that’s the case then that’s something for you to discuss with the senior leadership team at the school.

I always used to claim that my deliberately rude questions were perfectly innocent when I was a teenager, it's what teenagers do. They're arseholes and they do love to lie and gaslight! 'She's overly sensitive and always picking on me because she hates me.'

If she’s secondary trained and not primary trained, she’s qualified. You don’t do a teaching training qualification in KS3. If she’s a primary school teacher, that’s a different matter. I would bet my life she isn’t though…

So she was being deliberately rude and questioning the abilities of the teacher, not 'genuinely wondering' then.

She will know what level she is working at. If she thinks she may not pass, why on earth is she choosing to do English at A level? In most schools there will be a specific grade necessary for continuation post-16, eg 6 or 7.

The phrasing and tone could have been rude but I find it quite rude when people shut down a rude question as being rude and completely without merit.

The teacher could have explained why the delivery could come across as rude and given the stats for last year for the topic in the school and enquired about the origin of the question. The flat "that's rude" shuts down communication and makes you come across as someone unapproachable. Not ideal for a teacher!

No one is "qualified" to teach GCSE or A level. You do a teacher training qualification, in a specific subject. So perhaps the teacher means that she isn't a subject specialist in English, hence usually only teaching English to KS3. Or that she hasn't taught a GCSE class before. Either way, it's an odd thing for a teacher to say directly to a pupil.

Has your DD had this teacher for Year 10 as well as so far in Year 11? Are you as a parent concerned that this teacher is not competent? Perhaps you should ask for a meeting with the Head of Year, or Head of English to discuss your concerns?

This is why I’d be taking my daughter’s version of events with a massive pinch of salt

The data are public at school level so if she wants to know, you and she can look it up on the web together.

How many of HER students passed is clearly implied as a dig at the teacher and is disrespectful.
But also irrelevant because it depends on the class/cohort ability.

That's you.

My dc wouldn't so I'd take them on face value.

The fact your daughter seems to know this information, it would imply they have been quizzing the teacher about it.
If you are secondary trained in a subject, you are qualified to teach that subject, the year groups you teach is irrelevant. You may have more experience with lower school and less with exam classes, but you are still qualified. You can also teach any other subject and it’s common place now for teachers to teach a wide range of subjects, despite it not being their specialist subject.

I really hate the constant teacher bashing on this forum. It’s genuinely one of the hardest and most thankless jobs you can imagine, with poorly behaved children and their pandering parents making life even harder. It’s not even well paid when you work out the hours you end up doing and the constant stress, jumping through hoops and ridiculous level of paperwork on top of the day job.

I feel like everyone should be thrown into a state comp to teach for 12 months and see if their opinion of the teaching professions changes after that!

No teacher said they aren't qualified to teach GCSE. That's just not a thing. So lol all you like but I can see how very likely this is playing out in class.

Rude she’s implying teachers is shit

if she asked generally how many past at a national level fine but she asked her directly about her students

Because kids get anxious about exams, especially those they haven't sat before. Knowing what you are on course for doesn't stop someone worrying.

Bit like life in general.

It depends on context.. was she saying it in a sarcastic manner in front of her peers to embarrass teacher or did she ask in a sincere manner when it was the correct time

This is an insecure teacher.

Pass rates are not protected data and schools love to flaunt them as advertising. Asking what a specific students results were is inappropriate, but not a pass rate.

As mentioned above, could only be inappropriate if used as a way to disparage the teacher or if asking for individuals data.

If she’s genuinely worried she’s not going to pass English GCSE then it’s either rational, in which case she needs to rethink her a level choices and you need to support her more in passing, or it’s irrational and she needs some help with anxiety.

If she’s that worked up about exams in November, what will she be like in 6 months time at actual exam time?