Dear graduate program, I'm ready to keep fighting up the chain over your stupid AI scanning tool that you use. It is not accurate. There are multiple articles in reliable education sources stating how inaccurate it is. And yet, you have professors penalizing us over "high match percentages" with AI. I have never once used AI to generate any of my assignments. My undergraduate degree is in writing and I graduated with high honors. I am a good writer. But my grades are being docked because of that? This is total bullshit. I shouldn't drop from an A to a C over this. I pay too much money and work too hard to get bad grades over something untrue. Signed, Raging Student
Dear professor, Stop telling me that other students have admitted that they use Chat GPT for inspiration and forget to edit it enough before turning it in. I did not do that and will never do that. Give me back my A. Signed, Frustrated
Ah the irony of a professor relying on a computer program instead of his own judgment in matters related to students’ use of a computer program.
Fight on, sister!
MommyAtty
Dear Expensive Private School Leadership,
I cannot believe a violent student who was suspended last year was at the returning students’ social last night. You will meet with me to explain yourselves.
I'm looking forward to learning things, settling in and getting to know my coworkers!
signed,
excited for my first full time job in 7 years
Dear H,
I know your work is so stressful right now. We'll get through this bumpy adjustment of figuring out how to parent while both working full time.
Love,
your favorite wife
Dear autistic DS(7),
There are a lot of changes in your life right now. You might be more disregulated or overstimulated that usual. Your dad & I love you. We'll help you through it. Once you settle into school and get comfortable it will all feel better.
I don't want to be "that parent" already, but I think DD1 was misleveled in math. After the head of school went to great lengths to ensure that MATH IS NOT LEVELED, imagine my surprised when I saw that math is, indeed, leveled, but that DD1, with straight A's at her old school, has been placed in the lowest level math class.
I know that her school was a bit behind in math, but... the lowest level? I'm concerned that his is going to royally screw things up when she gets to high school.
Signed, Can you please move her?
Dear WPs -
I'm not quite sure what to do here. DD1 does not love math, but she seems to do pretty well. She took pre-algebra last year - straight A's. So I assumed she would be placed in the non-leveled 8th grade algebra class. Her schedule came out yesterday, and of the 4 options (Geometry, Accelerated Algebra, Standard Algebra, and pre-algebra), she was placed in pre-algebra again.
Her standardized test scores were bad, but she's not a good standardized test taker.
If I leave her in the prealgebra class, her track is set for high school and she will be a year behind - she won't get to calculus in high school.
I know there will be some adjustments socially, with the workload in general, etc.
Would you leave her in the easier class and let her coast a little, knowing it messes up her track for high school? Or push to move her and let her struggle a bit, but know she will be on a good track for high school?
I really can't ask her - she doesn't know what she's walking into.
mae0111, could you meet or have a phone call with the math teacher and/or principal/head master soon? You make some good points about her grades not aligning with standardized test scores. After you get their take, you may be able to make a more informed decision about whether to push for algebra or have DD stay in pre-algebra.
twinmomma, Professors depending on an AI tool to find plagiarism can be dangerous in the hands of those who don't fully understand them. I teach an ethics class and we have a lesson on plagiarism and using the tools constructively. If the match percentage is high, it could be from a number of reasons - are you citing references? Are the references included in the match result? What type of paper is this? Is it describing known, accepted research methods for that area of science? Bottom line is that a good professor should not use that match percentage only. You should ask the professor what tool they are using and run your paper through it yourself. I'd be curious to see what threshold they use and how they justify it. I have access to some tools as well and would be happy to help you in any way I can. Signed, Not all AI is good
dglvrk2, I just crafted an email to the math department head and sent it to DH for a double check to make sure I hit all of the points. But I'm wondering if I should go to the head of school since we are new?
I don't know if the grades aren't aligning with standardized tests because she really doesn't test well/consistently? Or if it's because there was insane grade inflation at that school. She has never had an issue with the concepts introduced - I just wonder if they didn't hit all of the necessary topics for her to go into Algebra. I did ask if there was another way to evaluate her beyond the standardized tests. I'd reach out to her pre-algebra teacher, but she retired. She wrote a recommendation for DD1, so maybe she made this recommendation - I don't know.
It's going to be a tough transition, and I don't want to cause any additional struggles. She should have been put in some accelerated/high school classes in other areas, but I didn't push because I just wanted her to adjust. But this feels like it will cause more of an impact longer-term.
mae0111 , I would check in with the math teacher/ counselor.
I don't feel that calculus is necessary in high school. I was on the highest math track, and got off of it take probability and statistics instead of calculus, and that was a great decision and more helpful in my career.
Our public high school offers a variety of math options, so while I looked at the tracks, I was excited to see lots of options instead of just Trig/ Calc. It looks like integrated math until Senior year when they have the option to do Calculus, Statistics, Stem, Modern (whatever that means) and Quantitative math. We have AP and non AP tracks.
ETA- I would be interested to see why standardized test scores are low. I know that is a known quantity, but I am interested in the why behind that and any accommodations that could be made to see if they make an impact.
DS has a similar issue but regular classroom tests and not standardized tests, and the why behind it means we can address it better.
waverly, I've tried to dig in to her inconsistent test scores (seriously, looking at them on a plot it looks like a mountain range - she's all over the place - her old school tested 3x per year). She doesn't manage her time well, and I'd pushed for untimed standardized tests at the old school to no avail because her scores were "fine". We never seem to dig into it with our current therapist/neuropsych because we have so many other issues to address. But this is moving up the list of priorities as she gets closer to SAT/ACT/PSAT stuff.
Post by librarychica on Aug 16, 2023 10:11:26 GMT -5
mae0111, I’d in no way see not taking calculus in high school as behind. Personally, I’d let it be and focus on getting an accommodation for untimed standardized tests unless your DD is especially interested in math. I know our middle school counselors advise not to push too hard on acceleration to reduce chances of them burning out or getting into a narrative of “math is too hard.”
polecat8, I'll send you a PM! It's using TurnItIn. This professor in particular is super strict on not exceeding percentage matches - even if that includes references that are correctly cited. It is crazy.
mae0111, Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't think I'd care if my kids were on track for calculus in high school, unless they were planning to pursue something that required it. I never took it. I never even took chemistry either in high school. My schedule in high school was very much like college - lots of English based electives filling my day and the bare minimum on other requirements. I wouldn't stress about her track.
Put your freaking supply lists somewhere where parents can access them. It’s not reasonable to not respond to emails about it. It’s not ok to not mention anything in any communication. “Syllabi are on Canvas” doesn’t work when new kids don’t have Canvas accounts yet. We do this in middle school. WHY ARE YOU SO LAZY? I’m in for a long four years.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Dear graduate program, I'm ready to keep fighting up the chain over your stupid AI scanning tool that you use. It is not accurate. There are multiple articles in reliable education sources stating how inaccurate it is. And yet, you have professors penalizing us over "high match percentages" with AI. I have never once used AI to generate any of my assignments. My undergraduate degree is in writing and I graduated with high honors. I am a good writer. But my grades are being docked because of that? This is total bullshit. I shouldn't drop from an A to a C over this. I pay too much money and work too hard to get bad grades over something untrue. Signed, Raging Student
Dear professor, Stop telling me that other students have admitted that they use Chat GPT for inspiration and forget to edit it enough before turning it in. I did not do that and will never do that. Give me back my A. Signed, Frustrated
That’s actually crazy. Is there a way to have them show you what they think you are copying? I’d fight this hard.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
mae0111, she won’t be “behind”. Algebra 1 is the common 9th grade class and lots of kids double up on math in high school to get to Calculus. However, that does seem a little odd — if she’s already taken the class and done well, she should be in Algebra 1.
Did she have to take a placement test at the new school? That’s how we place kids. It’s not a standardized test but it’s the test we give our returning students to place them in our classes. If she took that and her scores place her with the pre-algebra cohort, she’s appropriately placed. But they should be able to tell you that (I have always told parents that their kid’s score placed them in the range of the class — we can’t give specific scores out to parents for other kids)
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
polecat8, I'll send you a PM! It's using TurnItIn. This professor in particular is super strict on not exceeding percentage matches - even if that includes references that are correctly cited. It is crazy.
If they are using turn it in, they should be able to dig a tiny bit harder and see that your “matches” are citations, which come up as plagiarism on turn it in. I had kids show high percentages for quoting the constitution, which was part of the assignment 🙄
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
erbear, This professor is weird with the percentage matches. She puts a max threshold, whether it is correctly cited references or not. You can't have too high a match.
But the AI matching is a whole new issue. I can't actually see my percentage match for what is supposedly written by AI. That's only available to the professor. So I turn something in, she sees that I have a high AI match percentage, and docks me points. She sent me back a word doc with it all highlighted for what was supposedly "written by AI" instead of by me. But how am I possibly supposed to prove that one way or the other? It's a BS policy and tool.
erbear, there was no placement test. They just said "Don't worry! We will put her in the right place!"
She had to take the ISEE for admission (as expected, she didn't do well 20-30th percentile for quant/math). Her school used NWEA map testing, and her math ranged from 60th to 75th percentile. Her grades have been all A's in math since 4th grade, when they started with letter grades.
I don't want her to drown, but I don't want her to be bored just because I didn't push a little. I don't want her in accelerated algebra or geometry - just the standard algebra because supposedly, that's what she's been prepared to take. But it's very possible that she didn't learn everything she needed to learn, and that she's placed appropriately.
The head of dept still has their out of office on, and I cc'd the head of school. It was very much a "can we have a conversation" email and not a "MOVE MY PRECIOUS NOW" so hopefully they will be open to a conversation. If they feel strongly that she needs to stay where she is, I won't fight it.
erbear , there was no placement test. They just said "Don't worry! We will put her in the right place!"
She had to take the ISEE for admission (as expected, she didn't do well 20-30th percentile for quant/math). Her school used NWEA map testing, and her math ranged from 60th to 75th percentile. Her grades have been all A's in math since 4th grade, when they started with letter grades.
I don't want her to drown, but I don't want her to be bored just because I didn't push a little. I don't want her in accelerated algebra or geometry - just the standard algebra because supposedly, that's what she's been prepared to take. But it's very possible that she didn't learn everything she needed to learn, and that she's placed appropriately.
The head of dept still has their out of office on, and I cc'd the head of school. It was very much a "can we have a conversation" email and not a "MOVE MY PRECIOUS NOW" so hopefully they will be open to a conversation. If they feel strongly that she needs to stay where she is, I won't fight it.
sounds like the right email. I assume they use the ISEE for placement then, and it's certainly possible that her Pre-Algebra class didn't cover the same as theirs did.
FWIW, I'm almost always in favor letting kids have an easier class if it's not a subject they love and they are pushing themselves in other places. Math is a place where kids (especially girls) drop confidence quickly so I think it's better to have a year to feel really good about how she's doing before it gets really hard.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
mae0111, We discussed DD taking 8th grade math in this year as a 7th grader at her IEP meeting last spring and then taking algebra as an 8th grader. But...the district is changing the entire math curriculum this school year. There is no more algebra, geometry, algebra 2, pre-calculus. It will be standard 9th, 10th math and then specialty math. The only way to take algebra or calculus is to opt into the international high school program as an 9th grader. DD loves math and learned nothing last year at school. Her 6th grade math teacher and her IEP lead agreed it would make sense for DD to take 8th grade math but they didn't know if they could convince the district to allow it. Counselors and admin return to school on Monday and I plan on emailing them Monday afternoon asking for a meet/phone call for math, PE, and academic support scheduling.
Dear School District Can you please update the website and let us parents know if we need to buy supplies this year? COVID had bought them for the last 3 years. Also can you please announce if all student get free lunch? Parent trying to plan
Dear DD Yes I made you go to bed early last night 8:15. All summer you have pushed bedtime to 9pm and have had the ability to sleep until you naturally wake up around 7:45-8:15. I want to start training your body to go to sleep and get up when you need to at 6:50am which means bedtime back to normal. School starts in 3 weeks and you take forever to adjust. Mom
Post by mustardseed2007 on Aug 16, 2023 14:00:11 GMT -5
I think this is a tough call regarding the math class depending on how GPA is calculated where you are. At my high school/the public high school we are zoned to, in the area of math, if you weren't on track for taking calculus it would impact your GPA because kids on track for calculus were given an extra grade point for their grade point average. GPA rank was really important at the time for admissions into the better state schools.
But if there is no GPA advantage I would not mind for mental health reasons for your kid to be in the easier class that will likely build her confidence at a new school.
mustardseed2007, that is interesting because I heard many universities recalculate the GPA of high schools since they are all so different. But they do look at "rigor" in the HS curriculum. Maybe the universities and high schools are more aligned in your state.
Post by mustardseed2007 on Aug 16, 2023 14:26:20 GMT -5
waverly, I think a lot of the way our GPAs our calculated has to do with the top 10% rule. In our state (and maybe this is common, I don't know) but the top 10% of students get automatic admission into a state school. That and the rule that valedictorians get a year free ride at a state school has created some interesting numbers. Like our school had 11 valedictorians with no tie breaking because they wanted those kids to get an option to take advantage of the benefit (although most didn't). A few years ago they had 50 valedictorians, so not only has the process continued but it's apparently expanded.
I don’t think being in calculus affects GPA per se. There is calculus, accelerated calculus, Calculus AB, Calc BC, and multivariable Calc (which I think is calc 2 at a university level). I’d get concerned about colleges thinking calc is standard, even if she’s not going into a science related field.
mae0111, I'm maybe remembering wrong,.. didn't you move your kids to a more rigorous school? It could just be that their standards are higher. I know during covid, a lot of folks locally were considering moving to private schools so they could be in person only to find out that their kids that were performing at or above grade level in their existing schools would be at least a full grade level behind at the private school.
I get where you're coming from - math is something that we struggle with in our house. It's the only subject DD *loves* and she is always so bored in math. We talked to the teacher about it, and he basically said he had kids who were struggling with addition and subtraction still and he had to cater to the lowest common denominator. She tested at "meets grade level" in 4th grade, so has almost no shot of accelerated math in 6th grade based on how our district does it. FWIW, we know of at least 5 kids in her grade who got all 3's on report cards (meets grade level) but tested below grade level.
My super annoyance? Our district doesn't not provide ANY comments on report cards. You get a number for subject level mastery (1, 2, 3) and a letter for behavior type stuff. No fluff comments like "it's a joy to have Suzy in class!" but no feedback at all "Suzy is approaching grade level in math, and just needs to focus on XYZ!" Teacher friend in the district says they are not allowed to provide those comments in written form because they are admissible in court.
I don’t think being in calculus affects GPA per se. There is calculus, accelerated calculus, Calculus AB, Calc BC, and multivariable Calc (which I think is calc 2 at a university level). I’d get concerned about colleges thinking calc is standard, even if she’s not going into a science related field.
I’m probably overthinking.
I'm old, but I did not need to take Calc in college unless I was in a science/ math field. I did take Algebra.
k3am - yes to a more rigorous school. And it is entirely possible that they placed her where they did because they saw other kids from their old school struggling with math.
I DEFINITELY don’t want her to be in over her head. But I don’t want her to just do all the same things as last year and have it impact hwr high school placement.
I’m not going to push hard. I just want to see if there’s another way to evaluate her placement. If they come back and say she’s placed in the right class after a review, then that’s a-ok.
There are another areas where she could have been placed higher, but it would have required putting her in classes at the high school. So I didn’t push for that and she can maybe coast in those classes.
I don’t think being in calculus affects GPA per se. There is calculus, accelerated calculus, Calculus AB, Calc BC, and multivariable Calc (which I think is calc 2 at a university level). I’d get concerned about colleges thinking calc is standard, even if she’s not going into a science related field.
I’m probably overthinking.
Calc is definitely not standard in high school anymore. Most kids do not take it (they get to Trig or Pre-calc) and take it in college - I think the statistic is 20%
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”