In such a situation, where students are scrambling to secure their grades just after returning from break, the result is troublesome for students and teachers. If students wish to make a correction in their grades, it is difficult to get ahold of their teachers due to a lack of face-to-face conversation over break, and students will have to rely on email to exchange information with their instructors. This method of dialogue is tedious and inefficient, as students will struggle to get their messages and concerns across, while teachers will find it equally difficult to make the proper corrections to the student’s grade. There is plenty of room for misunderstanding in this email dialogue of grade corrections, and a personal conversation between the student and instructor after winter break would be much more effective at mending potential discrepancies in a student’s grade.
Now, with grades being due just two days after students and teachers return from break, there are bound to be errors that students find in their grades that they wish to correct as soon as possible. Two days means that students will only have a chance to discuss the matter with their teachers just one time before grades are submitted, due to alternating day schedules at RBHS. If they were unable to contact their teachers via email, students will have to resort to clambering to discuss their grades with their teachers after just one class period, while there may be other students requesting the same thing.
With the short amount of time students have after winter break to finalize their grades, which are most definitely an important aspect of high school for many, students are absorbed into perfecting every point and percentage of their grades. All their efforts and learning that took place over the course of the entire semester becomes almost meaningless, as the scramble for a couple points here and there overtakes all else during this time before grades are due. Without having adequate time to understand and discuss their grades with teachers, even if it means sacrificing learning for points, when rushed, students ultimately fall back on doing whatever it takes to make sure the grade they receive is one they wish to see.
To solve this dilemma of hurrying to fix student grades, it would be effective in the upcoming years to have the date of grade submission be perhaps a week or so after students return from winter break. This way, students will have the vital opportunity to discuss any discrepancies with their teachers in order to ensure that their grades are as accurate as possible when it is time for grades to finally be submitted. Without this key opportunity for enough conversation, both students and teachers will be at a loss, as students may end up with grades that do not accurately represent their performance over the course of the semester, and teachers requesting for grade changes to ensure their students receive the proper marks.
If students know they have plenty of time to make sure their grades are an accurate representation of their efforts, they will have the opportunity to focus more on the knowledge they have obtained throughout the year, rather than scraping for points at the last minute. Sanctioning several days for students and teachers to discuss any issues helps to calmly and effectively solve any unintended mistakes, and allows teachers to officially submit the grades students will be expecting to receive.
By Manal Salim
What do you think? Would creating a time for teachers to meet with their students to discuss grades help?
