adjusting grades?

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sanlee6142
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2003 6:44 am
Location: korea, republic kungbuk

Post by sanlee6142 » Sat Jul 12, 2003 9:43 am

Roger wrote:You know that we expats are the last ones to be formally told. All we know is usually gathered from anecdotes.
Here are a few from my pile of experiences over several years in China:
In my first school - a college - I taught English literature and English writing. At the end of the first semester, all of us expat teachers were informed that we had to examine our students' English and we "were totally free" in The school upgraded his score anyway, as I later learnt!

In another school, a private one, I taught a bunch of somewhat mischievous students from a school in the vicinity. They were in parallel to other students from different schools. Interestingly, all the students from the same school were misbehaved, while the students in the mixed class were my darlings. They actually asked if I could go on giving them lessons for another term.
I made it clear to the unmotivated ones that they had to earn their grade in an honest way. Towards the end of the summer holidays, exam time was up. I was unexpectedly withdrawn from this class by the head of our school. I learnt from a colleague that our head could not afford to lose customers simply by "offending" the parents of minors enrolled at that school. Needless to say that they all got much better scores than they actually deserved!

In my kindergarten, parents expect our teachers to grade their kids' performance in several subjects. What amazes me even more than the fact that three-year olds to five-year olds are being subjected to a somewhat rigorous English test is the fact that these tests are being given by Chinese teachers. I even suggested that our colleagues would ask us two expat teachers what topics and vocabularies we had covered over the past half a year - but we were ignored.

In sum: Students can always keep their face, no mater whether their performance in the subject is anywhere near the minimum level.
Someone pointed out that teaching and learning in East Asia is a "communitarian" exercise, in which individuals don't hesitate to ask their neighbours for help even during the very exam!

sanlee6142
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2003 6:44 am
Location: korea, republic kungbuk

Post by sanlee6142 » Sat Jul 12, 2003 9:44 am

sanlee6142 wrote:
Roger wrote:You know that we expats are the last ones to be formally told. All we know is usually gathered from anecdotes.
Here are a few from my pile of experiences over several years in China:
In my first school - a college - I taught English literature and English writing. At the end of the first semester, all of us expat teachers were informed that we had to examine our students' English and we "were totally free" in The school upgraded his score anyway, as I later learnt!

In another school, a private one, I taught a bunch of somewhat mischievous students from a school in the vicinity. They were in parallel to other students from different schools. Interestingly, all the students from the same school were misbehaved, while the students in the mixed class were my darlings. They actually asked if I could go on giving them lessons for another term.
bibiibibye
I made it clear to the unmotivated ones that they had to earn their grade in an honest way. Towards the end of the summer holidays, exam time was up. I was unexpectedly withdrawn from this class by the head of our school. I learnt from a colleague that our head could not afford to lose customers simply by "offending" the parents of minors enrolled at that school. Needless to say that they all got much better scores than they actually deserved!

In my kindergarten, parents expect our teachers to grade their kids' performance in several subjects. What amazes me even more than the fact that three-year olds to five-year olds are being subjected to a somewhat rigorous English test is the fact that these tests are being given by Chinese teachers. I even suggested that our colleagues would ask us two expat teachers what topics and vocabularies we had covered over the past half a year - but we were ignored.

In sum: Students can always keep their face, no mater whether their performance in the subject is anywhere near the minimum level.
Someone pointed out that teaching and learning in East Asia is a "communitarian" exercise, in which individuals don't hesitate to ask their neighbours for help even during the very exam!

kev7161
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2004 3:17 am
Location: China

Post by kev7161 » Mon Jan 19, 2004 3:24 am

I teach in China and have been for about a half year now. I do my best, give all the students (of each level I teach) the same quizzes and give them the earned grade. If the school wants to change it (and they will), so be it. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. In reality, I don't even have to give tests or assignments. I know I am mostly there for "show" and, although I've been frustrated over this, I'm coming to terms with it. I look at it as a learning experience for me. Hopefully, some of my students will get something out of my class. As for the lazy ones . . . I can't be too concerned about them. Since I am teaching an ORAL SPEAKING class, my main goal is too get most of my students to speak some English in each class (2x a week, 45 minutes per). I have noticed some improvement in a few of my weaker students so I am happy. I have no idea if I'll be welcomed back next year (should I choose to stay). The staff and students seem to love me, but I take that with a grain of salt.

cimarch
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2004 11:49 pm

Post by cimarch » Mon Apr 19, 2004 4:30 am

Personally, I make it a point to tell each student their grade BEFORE I submit them to the school. That way at least each student knows what grade they earned from me whether the school changes them or not.

On a slight tangent, my school decided to amalgamate two classes which had been taught by different teachers when they were due to advance to the next section of the course. I gave each class the same test. One class complained the test was too difficult (I aim to have a 60 average) and the other just went ahead and did it. Unsuprisingly the first class averaged 8 out of 20 and the second averaged 15 (even after I marked one girl down 5 points for cheating, my standard punishment). Yet the school went right ahead and joined them together. I feel sorry for the good kids who now have to drag the lazy ones behind.

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