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How should I approach the teacher if my child had a disagreement with the teacher about a grade?

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Host: How should I approach the teacher if my child had a disagreement with the teacher about a grade?

Lee Dorman: Students often have disagreements with teachers about a grade that they received or did not receive on an assignment, and as a parent depending upon the age of the child, you need to help the child problem solve.

If the student is an elementary school student, it maybe that you need to go in with the student, to try and figure out why the grade was not as expected by the student. If your student is a middle school student, sixth, seventh and eighth grade, this is an opportunity for you to begin to develop some of those independent skills that your child is going to need, need as they go through life, and you may want to sit down with the student and ask the student some questions about the assignment, some questions about the grade, did you complete it, did you do everything you were supposed to do, and do you think you can handle this yourself or do you need for me to go with you.

High school students more often than not will not even let parents know that they are having difficulty with an assignment until it's too late, and there again you need to tell the student, Gosh! Maybe you should have asked about this earlier, but as a parent every single time along the way you have the responsibility and you have the right to call the teacher and say, I am not exactly sure that this is the right grade for my student and we can talk about it, and let the teacher know what you are going to talk about so that you'll be prepared with work samples and with the grades.

Expert: Lee Dorman

President of the Arlington Education Association, Member of the Board of DIrectors of the National Education Association and the Virginia Education Association

P: 703-379-1650

Email: lee_dorman@apsva.us

I am a middle school science teacher in Arlington, Virginia with over 35 years of teaching experience. I have taught in elementary, middle and high school and have experience teaching and endorsements in special education and gifted and talented. Currently I am serving on both the National Education and Virginia Education Associations Boards of Directors as well as president of the Arlington More »