Legality in Teachers' Actions?

Question

Hello, I am a high school student and I have a few questions regarding the legality of some of the things my teachers do. If you know of any legislation/litigation that applies to some of my questions, I would greatly appreciate a link.

1. Can teachers test on things that they have not taught?
2. Can teachers have an inconsistent grading scale, ex. giving two students the same grade when there is a large difference in the amount of errors?
3. Can a teacher give quizzes and then allow students who did notes to use those to get full credit if they missed any on the quiz, thus having their grade reflect that they know as much as the person who got everything right?
4. Can a teacher put things on a test that one was absent for and make it one's job to get the notes from someone else, even if the rest of the class has inaccurate notes (does this responsibility not fall on the teacher)?
5. Can a teacher forbid a student to go to the bathroom, especially if it is a girl on her monthly?

Answer 1

These are not legal issues - they are ethical issues.

1. yes they can if they can rationalize why they can
2. yes if the students are on IEP's
3. yes again
4. yes
5. yes if the teach reasonably believes the student is doing it cut out of class and is making up an excuse.

Again - none of these are legal issues - they are ethical issues

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

1. Can teachers test on things that they have not taught?
In their own subject area? As long as you knew that information was going to be on the test, then the answer would be yes. Is it something new or something that should have been a prerequisite for the course?

2. Can teachers have an inconsistent grading scale, ex. giving two students the same grade when there is a large difference in the amount of errors?
Depends...if it were English, I would only count a few points for small errors such as commas, capitalization, etc but count off more points for bigger errors such as run on sentences or subject verb agreement.

3. Can a teacher give quizzes and then allow students who did notes to use those to get full credit if they missed any on the quiz, thus having their grade reflect that they know as much as the person who got everything right?
Did all students have the option to use their notes? If they all had the same option, then yes.

4. Can a teacher put things on a test that one was absent for and make it one's job to get the notes from someone else, even if the rest of the class has inaccurate notes (does this responsibility not fall on the teacher)?
At my school yes. There are NO excused absences so if you are out, it is your responsibility.

5. Can a teacher forbid a student to go to the bathroom, especially if it is a girl on her monthly? Yes. Do you get a break between classes? Then you are getting a bathroom break every hour, which is much more than you will ever get at a job, whether you are on your period or not.

If you want specifics, try to find your school or school system website. Some districts are more regulated about grading policies than others. But, it has been my experience that the grading policy is up to the teacher who turns it in for approval by the principal.

Answer 3

As a teacher, let me add my two cents' worth:

1. Teachers can test on anything they want. Some teachers give quizzes or tests on untaught material so that they can assess the students' levels of understanding before she begins the lesson, to better know how to cover the material.

3. A teacher grades papers based on lots of things: some are serious mistakes, and some are small. It depends on the paper and the written style. But yes, she can be inconsistent, especially in papers like English and other subjects.

4. No. The responsibility is yours. If you missed an assignment or notes, you can discuss with the teacher the best way to get the notes, but if you don't do it yourself, then there is little a teacher can do other than spoon feed you material. That's why attendance is so important in school.

5. Teachers have to maintain control of their environment at all times. If you had already gone to the bathroom, or were beginning to make a habit of going often, then yes. She can stop you. Also, she can ask you to wait sometimes because the bell is close to ringing, or that she is teaching an important point that you need to know.

We are really not that bad as folks, really we're not. There is usually a method to our madness when we do things that seem arbitrary. They really aren't, at all.

Answer 4

1, Teachers can test on information they have told you to read or study, even if they have not lectured on it. If you are given an assignment to read a chapter in the book, a teacher can test you the next day.
2. It depends on the errors and the points for each question. If a student gets ten one point questions wrong, or one ten point questions wrong, they have the same grade. The grading scale should be posted. Its not good educational practice if he or she is arbitrarily assigning grades based on favoritism.
3. If the teacher allows notes to be used on the test by everyone and has told you this in advance, yes. If notes are part of your grade, yes. This should be stated for the entire class. ERGO: IF this is a classwide policy, it is fine.
4. You are responsible for what you miss, the teacher did her job that day, you were absent. She is not obligated to repeat her lecture. You can get your notes from someone else or read the material yourself.
5. Some schools have a no pass policy and as long as this has been told to the class , yes she can. You are a young adult and you have passing time between classes to take care of that. By the way in the work world you are often not allowed to just go off duty anytime you like, you are given breaks, just like passing time.

THere is no legislation, but your school should have guidelines on teaching and testing practice available to you. THere should be a curriculum and a syllabus that is followed. Your parent has the rigth to go over this with your teacher and an administrator and bring up any questions about the teacher's teaching practice. If you have a serious charge or allegation make sure you can back it up, or your complaints will just sound foolish. The fact you bring up legality that you think is legislated makes me think you are not quite clear on the concept of who is in charge and what the chain of command in a school is, or that you are making excuses for poor test grades.

Answer 5

1. No. Teachers are held accountable for all of their students'
grades. By testing on material not yet covered they risk lower
test grades which will reflect on them.
2. Teachers must have documented proof of grades given in case there are questions. To favor some students grade wise would be a big risk.
3.Teachers can test anyway they want or how the school district mandates how test must be given.
4. Yes.
5. Yes. But then that is between the teacher and the student.
If the student is not happy it is up to that student to complain
to the principal.

Answer 6

Go to www.schwablearning.org and sign up for free to post on their parent to parent message board. The people there are very nice and knowledgable, and can point you to some legal sources for your questions.

I would say the main thing is to get a copy of the schools districts policy on grading. If what you are asking is not in their policy, then it's illegal and they can't do it. Plus, action can be taken against the teacher to stop it.

The schwab board can tell you exactly what to do.