Children who try their very best and get D-G grades - do you think this is ok? Is punishment for getting low grades despite effort ever appropriate?

[user1472033916]

I am a teen but wondered what parents thought about this.

From experience I have learnt that effort does not always guarantee good or satisfactory grades, but I know some people think differently and think that a certain grade is achievable by everyone if they try hard enough.

Personally I think a child achieving a low grade is OK if the child has done their best - the way I see it, you can't really expect any more and even a low grade may show some basic skills and knowledge.

I know a few parents punish children for low grades - what do you think about this? Do you think it is ever fair to punish children for low grades on the assumption that everyone can achieve a certain grade if they try (which I think is ridiculous tbh - I definitely think effort is important but I don't believe that is true)? Or do you think it needs to be lack of effort instead of grades that are punished?

What do you think about the education system and lower-achieving children? I think ability sets in secondary school cater for lower-achieving children well, but I also think it can wait until secondary and doesn't need to be done in primary.

Do you think there needs to be more focus on apprenticeships and such for academically lower-achieving children?

Thank you for any responses.

You write just like a journalist, have you thought about such a career...?

Very journalistic. But I will bite just to say as a teacher (with over 16 years of teaching experience in English) I have never known a parent punish a child for getting the grade they have been predicted - low or not.

I have seen parents angry that their child didn't work hard enough and as a result for lower than predicted. or that they got an A instead of an A* - but never someone predicted an E being punished for getting an E.

I will be very proud of some of my pupils this year who have additional needs of they reach their targets of E/D. It's all about progress 8 now, don't you know, not A-C

Excuse typos

You can only compare to yourself, if you work hard, you will get better result compare to you don't work hard, be it academic or PE, music. And, unfortunately, how to work hard does count as well. That's why for a same child, if he get correct help, he may achieve better. That’s why you can never make it really fair for every children.

I don't know anyone who punishes for low grades. My school reports had two columns- one for attainment and one for effort. Good effort grades got celebrated much more. Attainment grades were celebrated if they were matched with good effort grades theoretically anyway, never really arose...

My children get regular reports which show a mark for effort in addition to their actual attainment. I always scan the effort marks first, and that is what I comment on first. I would like to see much more publicity about students that achieved beyond expectations, rather than only ever see stories in newspapers about the straight A* students. My children will be encouraged to follow a path that makes them happy, and that may not involve reaching the grades that their teachers believe they are capable of.

I just wonder why you joined to ask this question.

I'll keep my thoughts to myself because if you're fishing for an article then I'd rather you have the decency to say so.

There is a lot of it about.

I was just curious about parents' perspectives.

As for parents punishing their children for low grades, it has happened to a schoolmate who I believe had tried hard, but not sure about how her grade compared to her predicted grade (don't know what her predicted grade was). I have also heard of it happening, I guess less in England though.

My school also gives both effort and attainment grades.

I have taught teenagers for a reasonably long time now I have never heard one use the phrase 'schoolmate'.

What you consider trying hard and why her parents consider trying hard are two different things.

Students who don't revise and put the extra effort in won't get the best grades, going to revision classes after school is also proven to up grade levels.

I would be very proud of some of my students getting a G or any grade as they have SEN and that would be an achievement for them based on their start levels. However there are also a minority of students who write their names on the paper and nothing else.

Apprenticeships are already tailored toward those who find academic work difficult.

I used the term 'schoolmate' because she was in my school but not in my class or year.

DD came home with really bad grades this year - we haven't punished her, as she's disappointed enough in herself for the grades. All we can do is support her from now to make the best choice for herself. XP is her primary parent now, so there's little I can do when her visits are infrequent, and communication from XP is negligible (for other reasons) so we can only really support emotionally. But parents are all different, as much as teenagers are, and they should only do what they think is right. We just feel that being angry is pointless when something's already happened - you can only deal with it and try and improve things.

It might be worth people remembering that a teenager for whom English is their second language may well use antiquated terminology and sound more formal in their writing than those brought up here.

The cynics here may well be right but I thought I'd mention this just in case...

I'd reward effort . Attainment is kind of genetic luck !!

I don't reward or punish school grades and I think it's just as bad to reward as to punish.

I've never heard of people punishing. But heard of lots of people rewarding.

I consider not revising slacking off... but I'm glad that most people here seem to think that effort is more important. I think the grades itself are important if there is something you want to achieve that requires them, but not everyone can achieve that, and I think that aside it is the effort that counts.

I think grades are a combination of effort, teaching and aptitude, and effort can help you greatly but good teaching and aptitude is also important to an extent. Although I have heard people say "a good student (academically) would do well anywhere", and I think that to an extent is true as well.

SaltyMyDear - are you talking about rewarding school grades itself or effort or a combination of both?

FTFOAFOSM - hope everything goes well for your DD.

I'm talking about rewarding school grades at all. In any way. People give presents or money for GCSE grades. Which I think is dreadful.

The reward is having done your best. Receiving the best GCSE grades you could get, which will open the doors you want to open.

OP, are you considering an apprenticeship?

I used to think rewarding children for good grades was a bad idea but now having a very lazy teenager who just doesn't bother to work (he is very capable) I am slightly inclined to offer him a bribe for getting decent results.

I know that he should appreciate that good grades will open doors etc for his future but I can't make him see that.

I've never 'punished' him for poor grades, but I am disappointed in that he is clearly capable but just bone idle. . That's a lot different from a child who tries his/her best but is just not particularly academic.