“AITA for not going to the school board when my kid got a 12% on an exam?”
My daughter is a freshman in high school and she goes to a really good academic private schools. My older daughter went to the school and has graduated. The school has a strict test taking policies and one of the rules is you must turn in your test if you leave the classroom. You will be graded on what you turned in. There are exceptions to the rule like if you get called to the office or an emergency.
The school is structured to give extra time to go to the restroom/other stuff between periods. (You get 15 mins between each period to talk to teachers or do other stuff). The school is small it doesn’t take long to get to the next place.
The problem my daughter had a big exam last week. Halfway through the test she left to go to the bathroom, so she turned her exam in. The teacher refused to give the test back when she got back from the bathroom and she got it back yesterday. She got a 12%. Most of what she answered wasn’t right and then half of it was blank.
I asked and she admitted to taking her phone, so a real possibility she looked up some answers in the restroom. She has been extremely upset since. Her grade went from an A to be C, which we still have a few months so I am sure she can get it back up.
She wants me to go plead her case to the school board (especially since I know a few of the parents) so she can retake the test. I am refusing to do so and she needs to live with the consequences. I did ask if she was on her period but that was a no. She has been pissed since and my ex is pissed I am not fixing this.
NOTE: why did she go from an “A” student to a 12%? The teacher jacks up the difficulty in her class after winter break to see who can handle their medical track. my daughter is much more a math person.
Oldest daughter had the same think happen and she learned she wanted to go into medical with this And came home with first zero on a quiz. Same thing is happening in math to see who can handle the engineering track (she is doing well in that one).
Here’s what people had to say to OP:
JohnRedcornMassage said:
NTA. She admitted to sneaking her phone into the bathroom during an exam. Rules like this are simply necessary in these times. Smart phones and AI have led to RAMPANT cheating.
I’ve met several teenagers recently who are nearly illiterate, can’t do basic math, and can’t even do basic problem solving In their daily lives. Everything is solved with “I’ll ask ChatGPT what to do.” She’s lucky she got 12%. It should be a zero for cheating.
Delicious_Bridge_219 said:
Nta, but I think you need to have a talk…if she would cheat on this exam, is it possible the reason she had an A was by cheating too? Don’t outright accuse her, obviously, this could be a case of a smart kid panicking and having a lapse in judgement when they’re frantic to keep an A, but it might be good to sit down and find a way to maybe get a idea of why she chose to cheat now.
ckeenan9192 said:
DO NOT interfere in what the teacher did here. Former teacher here. This is a learning experience. I had a friend who always interfered in these things for her daughters.
End result they are adults who can not handle real jobs because everything is always unfair and always someone else fault. They have no ability to see things through and can not handle anything that does not go their way. She needs to learn. Rules are rues and they apply to everyone including her.
RealMacMittens said:
NTA. If you went to the school board you’re setting a bad precedent that she’ll get special treatment because of her mom. That’ll set her down the wrong path later for sure.
EconomistThat4814 said:
Honestly, if you go to the school board to fight it, they’ll laugh you out of the room unless you state an intent to sue. A student getting a low grade when she knowingly broke the rules is not a reason to go nuclear. Having said that, why isn’t your ex fighting it if it’s so important to them?
ConflictGullible392 said:
NTA. Your daughter needs to learn to fight her own battles and it sounds like she’s not necessarily in the right anyway.
deepsealobster said:
NTA unless there was an actual emergency which it doesn’t sound like from the post. Good for you for holding her accountable – it’s a small consequence now that hopefully she can learn from before something like this happens on something bigger.
