Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Dd got a zero on assignment...

Ugh. I think dd12/7th grade just got a zero on a heavily weighted writing assignment in language arts. Her grade was suddenly much lower and, in the place where it would normally say the number of points received, there is a Z. It was a science fiction/fantasy novel(la). She wrote it about a time-traveling piano that takes the main character back to different events in the Civil Rights movement. So I can only guess that possibly it wasn't science fictioniny enough? I think dd thought the time travel aspect fit the assignment. I would think if there certain elements required dd would have included them, she has great attention to detail.

She has had straight As all year, and was very excited to close the year with straight As. To think that 2 weeks before school is out, and on an assignment that she worked her butt off on and was proud of, she could get a zero that would leave her without an A in her favorite subject would be very upsetting to her.

The teacher just got her PhD and wrote her thesis on perfectionism in gifted kids so I know she has a clue, and dd really likes her.

I feel stupid when we have just had the helicopter parent discussion, I really am not one, and dd has handled the majority of communication with her teachers, but I sent an e-mail asking for clarification.

I just know if she got a zero when that paper gets handed back she will be devastated. And then cry in front of the class. And them be embarassed for crying.

Just feeling bad for dd. And honestly...I think it must have been a failure to clearly communicate the requirements of the assignment. It may not seem like a big deal but it will be a very big deal to her.

Oh man. I'm so sorry. I would clarify with the teacher. Because, really, even if the novella (novella!!! That's awesome she wrote a novella!) didn't perfectly fit the original conceit, the fact remains she worked on it to completion and therefore the work doesn't deserve a zero. (FWIW, it fits in my mind)

It's perfectly reasonable to say to the teacher the things you wrote here: how much this will bother your DD, that this is her favorite subject, how hard she worked on it etc....

ETA: I missed the fact you've already sent an email asking for clarification. Wonderful. Please let us know how it turns out.

I hope you get some clarification from the teacher. Zero does seem pretty extreme, so hopefully there is some kind of explanation. I feel bad for your DD too, though, regardless.

BTW, I can't imagine that a time-traveling piano story would not be science fiction-y enough, unless the teacher was looking for some more specific elements in the story (that were explicitly stated in the assignment, of course). Regardless, that story sounds pretty cool and interesting, and maybe your DD should start her own writing journal outside of school to explore her interest in writing. As you are probably aware, there are a gazillion stories of now-famous writers whose work was criticized by uninformed teachers or reviewers early in their career, so I hope your DD isn't discouraged by this from pursuing writing if she enjoys it. Good luck

Oh no! I remember being that age and a zero would have been devastating. I'd be really surprised if a teacher gave a zero for a completed assignment merely because it wasn't science fiction *enough*. And, FWIW, time travel in my mind fits the bill.

Is there a chance that your daughter didn't turn it in on time? Or maybe she missed a big direction (for example, it had to be typed and double spaced and instead she hand wrote it)? Or, even worse, is there a chance that her teacher thinks she didn't do her own work. I recall at this age my niece getting a zero on a work because her teacher believed she'd plagiarized. It was worked out, thank goodness. But my point is a zero is a pretty harsh grade- so I can't help but think the teacher is addressing something other than the science fiction content.

I'm glad you sent an email. I hope it goes well and is cleared up before too long!!! And no- I don't think it's a helicopter mom move to address a zero. An 80- yes. A zero- never.

This reminds me of an assignment my ds had recently. They were to create a 3D model of an animal cell and label each of the parts. DS worked on it for hours over a period of a day or two, and did a beautiful job. He was finished early (unlike my older ds who was always energized by waiting until the last minute). The teacher had the class first grade their own work and then each project was to be graded by a peer. Well, ds thought it would be "braggy" to give his project a perfect score so took a few random points off. And the peer that graded his project after followed suit. Gave him the same points off for the same "issues". The teacher recorded the grade. DS was upset. He felt he deserved a better grade.

Now regardless of how I feel about peers grading work in 5th grade, the biggest lesson for ds was to value his effort and work and that false modesty is not only unnecessary but also can bite you later. I would not go in and talk to the teacher about it, and I feel badly about it in some ways, but also knew that the lesson was more important than the grade.

*However, this is different than the OP's situation.

Time travel is pretty darned scifi-ish to me. If you won't take my word for it then ask H.G.Wells!

I hope you've already heard back, but I'm guessing it had nothing to do with the content. In our system, "x" means excused, while "z" means zero due to not being received (missing assignment). If a child really gets a zero, it would just be recorded as 0 points, but that's pretty unlikely. The "z" can be handed in one day late for 20% off, or two days late for 50% off, while the "x" does not need to be made up. I think this is a pretty common grading system.

Yeah. I feel dumb, lol! I had not seen that before, but I couldn't think of any other explanation. Thankfully the teacher responded. She was absent one day and hadn't turned in some pre-writing portion of the assignment yet, but grade will not be penalized and all is fine. I also asked teacher if she thought it would be a good fit for HS to encourage dd to apply to International Spanish Academy. Dd had expressed fear that it would be too hard. I am going to put teacher's reply in ultimate brag thread b/c it is pretty braggy, lol!

Thanks for all of the feedback. I really bend over backwards to not helicopter and have dd handle things herself, but I am glad I asked the teacher directly this time and she doesn't seem to think I am too over-bearing!

I appreciate the support during my early-morning freak out...back to regularly scheduled programming and tormenting myself over when/with whom to test younger dd!

This is GREAT news!!

DH is an art professor and ends each semester with an individual critique with each student in every class. As part of it he has them fill out some paperwork about the course, what they like best/least, what they did/didn't learn, etc. On that form he asks them what grade they think they deserve for the course. I think this is mostly to address the issue so many people have of "but HOW can you grade art?". Every semester he has stories about the students who skip class, don't turn in assignments or generally turn in work reflecting absolutely no effort - inevitably these student indicate that they "deserve" a grade several letters above what the actual course work should have earned. On the other hand there is a percentage of his "best" or "better" students who put down a lower grade than they actually earned.

I find this interesting since all assignments are graded and returned prior to the final critique. I've never been clear on how a stack of graded work with C's and D's can become "B+" in a student's mind. Somehow the modesty of a pile of A's with an occasional B becoming a "B" makes more sense to me. I think it has to do with the whole "over achiever" mind set. I wonder if this is a bigger problem with our kids than we know...