Do you think a 3rd grader should get 10 points off a test for not writing her name?

Question

He never writes his names so he has at least 100 points off different tests and now will go from a A average to possibly much lower.

Answer 1

Okay- you need to think about several things here. First of all- 10 points off of a test is fair IF and ONLY IF the teacher told the class at the beginning of the test that this would happen and reminded the students to write their names. This is simply "fair warning."

Secondly, any good teacher should have noticed after about 2 to 3 times of this consequence that it was not working for your son and should look into another way of getting him to write his name.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you need to consider your son's personal characteristics. Does he usually listen and follow directions in school, or does he have a pattern of not paying attention? If he usually pays attention but can't seem to remember his name, then it's just a matter of continuing to remind him. Maybe the teacher could fold over the corner of his paper when handing it to him so that he remembers to write his name when he sees the folded corner.

However, if he is constantly not following the rules with lots of things, you need to consider if he is doing it by choice or because he can't focus. If he often doesn't follow the rules, this would be something to discuss with his teacher, because you're looking at something much bigger than just forgetting to write his name.

Answer 2

1. Some months have 30 days, some months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days? Only one. 2. If a doctor gives you 3 pills and tells you to take one pill every half hour, how long would it be before all the pills had been taken? 1hr :30min 3. I went to bed at eight o'clock in the evening and wound up my clock and set the alarm to sound at nine o'clock in the morning. How many hours sleep would I get before being woken by the alarm? 13 hours. 4. Divide 30 by half and add ten. What do you get?25 5. A farmer had 17 sheep. All but 9 died. How many live sheep were left? 8 6. If you had only one match and entered a COLD and DARK room, where there was an oil heater, an oil lamp and a candle, which would you light first? An oil lamp 7. A man builds a house with four sides of rectangular construction, each side having a southern exposure. A big bear comes along. What colour is the bear? Brown 8. Take 2 apples from 3 apples. What do you have? 1 apple 9. How many animals of each species did Moses take with him in the Ark? 2 10. If you drove a bus with 43 people on board from Chicago and stopped at Pittsburgh to pick up 7 more people and drop off 5 passengers and at Cleveland to drop off 8 passengers and pick up 4 more and eventually arrive at Philadelphia 20 hours later, what's the name of the driver: Phil

Answer 3

I think that punishment is a little harsh. He's only in 3rd grade, and might compare to training a dog. The negative reinforcement he receives from not writing his name doesn't teach him anything, other than the teacher is a "meany". Maybe, find a way to positively reinforce his action of actually writing his name on something that is his. If he has something tangible to look forward to, and knows that putting his name on a paper will get him that, I almost guarantee improvement immediately.
Hurting his average doesn't help him at all. And the reason for the punishment probably makes no sense at all to him. I'm sure he doesn't realize that it complicates a teachers job when they don't know whose paper they have in front of them. He's not aware of the many other papers that have to be considered, and that it is a load on someone. The punishment seems selfish, and founded on nothing more than a need to shorten the time it takes to correct papers. After 100 points, it would seem that you are beating your head against the wall........try something different.

Answer 4

Yes, I agree a 3rd grader should get 10 pts off a test for not writing her name.
She should know by the 3rd grade to put her name on any papers that she submits to the teacher.

Answer 5

Parents need to stop making excuses for their child's lack of responsibility. Third graders are not babies! I bet he can remember all the rules to play all his video games!
Actually 10 points is more than fair especially if more than one student does this in a class. This causes a lot of difficulties and waste of time during a class trying to figure out whose paper is who. I think after the third paper without a name the next step would be not to count the grade and it should be a zero. Everyone is constantly yelling about Teachers being accountable. When do the students start being accountable for their own work!?

Answer 6

Honestly, no. Because the kid might of worked REALLY hard on it and if you really have to take off points, take off 5 points MAX. Then, if he does it over two or three times, take off 8 points MAX and write a little note on the side of the test or talk to him (it IS a him, right?) about it.

Answer 7

I think for a 3rd grader, 10 points off for that reason, isn't the fairest punishment. He or she is still only a young 3rd grader.

Answer 8

Well after the 5th time i think its time to have a talk with him.
its probably a forgetful problem and nothing that deserves a C instead of "A" work which you said his average was.

It's my opinion that 100 points is harsh. Perhaps a good smack in tha face would do tha trick :|

Answer 9

Following directions can be as an important skill as the content he's learning. You don't "write your name" on your tax form; you're in trouble. Plus, it's a huge headache for the teacher if there's more than one student's paper without a name.

Answer 10

Yes because after 5th grade, if you don't put your name on a test/homework assignment, most teachers don't even accept it or throw it away. No worries mate, it's only 3rd grade, nothing even matters in third grade anyways.