Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Noticed that teacher changed previous grades???

Hello all,

This morning, I was going through report cards (first quarter, second quarter) of DD8 and got into a shock.

All her reading grades in quarter 1 is 3 (grade scale is 1-4 and 4 being the best).

In her second quarter report card (which lists previous quarters grades as well), her 1st quarter grades for reading are dropped down to 2.

Is it possible to drop down previous quarter's grades?

This is from public gifted program.

I had a feeling that the teacher is ticked by something and kind of working against my daughter, but I kept saying myself it can not true. Now, I am having second thoughts...

Whoahhhh-- I thought this kind of thing only happened to US.

We've had this happen, too-- my explanation ultimately is that it isn't about MY kid at all-- but about demonstrating "efficacy" in the program.

The problem is that if kids are already at "mastered" at the beginning, then it's hard to aggregate data including those students when they fail to show IMPROVEMENT over the course of the school year.


Seriously-- my DD's had beginning-and-end-of-year test scores shifted. I took screen shots, so I can PROVE it was done.

Maybe the record is being concocted to give the appearence of academic progress in the form of increasing scores.

If some accountability method calls for a pattern of increasing scores over time, then the incentive is not only to have higher scores at later times, but to have lower scores at earlier times.

Yup - what Howler and 22b said...

So they can go back and change the previously given grades??

What should I do? I feel that she needs to fix these...

The data is not doing the driving. The data is being driven.

I would alert teacher and principal (and whomever else - iep team if there is one or whatever) to the issue via email and request a meeting. Chances are they will change them back to avoid meeting...

Honestly-- ask yourself this. How much goodwill would it burn? Is it worth it?

If you truly feel that you need to signal to SOMEONE that you're aware of this practice... I'd approach it light-heartedly with a laugh...

Well, I guess that's one way to 'demonstrate academic progress' in the students who are already highly capable at the start of the school year....


It's not as though this is a transcript that colleges are going to look at. Bear that in mind. JMO, but I'd not make this kind of thing my personal hill to die on. There's a lot more nonsense than this to spend energy on, but that's just my experience. It's possible that for you, it matters that much.

Do you have the actual report cards (the paper copies) the school sent? If so, I would go to the teacher or school with them and ask that they be corrected. It is possible that the teacher made a mistake when looking up the first quarter's grade and wrote down scores for another student.

22B - I am sorry I didn't understand. Isn't a quarterly report snapshot of quarter based on student's performance vs expected performance for a given time?