I found out that a parent tested my young child on the identification and value of a quarter, nickel, dime and penny. This parent stated that my child did not know the value of these coins, and the teacher put this on my daughter's report card. On the contrary, my child does know the value of coins, which is why I questioned the teacher about this in the first place.
When I asked that a parent no longer evaluate my child, the teacher's response was: "That is not going to happen. I don't have time to do it myself." Little to say, I was shocked and disappointed. I know that these parents do not have the credentials or the qualifications to do such evaluations. I would accept an aid's evaluation.
I know that schools are suffering from budget cuts - but taking shortcuts and having laypersons evaluate the students is not the answer. I question these actions after talking to another parent who also had some concerns about the accuracy of evaluations on her child's report card.
My husband and I have contemplated whether to discuss this issue with the principal, but we are afraid that our daughter could suffer repercussions from this teacher. We are also torn because our daughter likes this teacher and really enjoys school this year. How do we proceed? - Incorrect Evaluation
Answer: Relax! This might seem like a major injustice to your child, but calm down and reconsider. All testing situations are different from knowing things at home. Surely you have known the answers to test questions at home and then been unable for some reason or other to recall them at school because the questions were asked differently. We'd downplay this incident if this is the only time you feel that your child has been unfairly evaluated.
Although a parent certainly should not have any difficulty in determining how well children can identify coins, it is not really the right thing to do, as parents may not keep the test results confidential. Furthermore, in some school districts, union contracts prevent parents from doing any testing or correction of schoolwork.
Schools vary greatly in their policies about what parents can do to help teachers in the classroom. Budget cuts do make parental help more important than ever before. If you genuinely feel that too much formal evaluation of students' work is being done by parents rather than an occasional evaluation, find out what your school's policy is on this issue.