Parent cheats in the student tracking system

Tekst Karen Hagen - Redactie Onderwijsblad - 9 juli 2019 - 8 Minuten om te lezen

Image: Pixabay

She has made an agreement about it with her parents. Schoolgirl Inez Ruiter (16) from Amersfoort keeps her father and mother informed of the results achieved. Despite the fact that her parents can see the figures in the digital environment Magister and activate the message alerts for this.

“When I take the test, I have the right to share the grade myself,” says the pre-university student. “It doesn't feel good if they know my grade earlier. My parents respect it: my father has not installed the app and my mother only occasionally checks the timetable. The advantage is that I can share a good grade for a difficult subject, such as biology, with great enthusiasm. If my mother knew, the surprise would be gone. And in case of a bad score, I would like to explain myself or be able to cover myself. "

Impact

That student tracking systems have quite an impact, Dutch teacher Nelleke den Daggelder of the secondary school Het Heerenlanden noted: “One of my tests was made very badly. My students then asked if I didn't want to put the grades online yet, because they were afraid of sanctions at home. I waited to enter it until a few weeks later they had made an easier test for which better grades were obtained. ”

After inquiring in several classes, Den Daggelder takes her students into account, because she finds their privacy important and allows them to sometimes hide an insufficient mark. “I don't enter numbers on Friday evenings or before holidays. I usually do this in the morning, so that several hours have passed by the time the students come home. They are happy with this solution. ”

Pleasure

During her lessons, Kyra van Brakel, English teacher at Campus 013, also noticed that her students enjoy it more when she marks the tests in class and they can give the grade themselves at home. “They regularly say that I have to wait with entering numbers. So we deprive them of that pleasure. Isn't that a shame? Why is it not possible anymore as it used to be? Schools shouldn't actually facilitate this way. ”

Schools themselves choose which data they will or will not make available

Magister and Somtoday are the two major software players in the market for student tracking systems in secondary education. Schools can easily keep track of absenteeism, grades, schedules, schedules and other administration in their systems. Both companies say that the majority of the affiliated high schools send parents a login code. “What we see is that they usually get access to results, absences and announcements about their child,” explains Somtoday spokesman Erik Dikkers. Schools themselves choose which data they make available and whether they activate alerts.

Glass cage

'A digital glass cage', is what Member of Parliament Paul van Meenen (D66) called the situation in which adolescents find themselves. He thinks that sharing all kinds of data could be less and pleaded for more freedom so that students can take their own responsibility. The Ombudsman for Children also made comments earlier, spokesperson Aafke Plug said. 'In order to break free from your parents, it is important that not everything is controlled by your parents', she emails.

We live in an age where everyone wants information

What are parents allowed and not allowed to know about their children? According to Plug, there are no specific regulations for this: just like the national legislation on privacy, the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not provide a ready answer.

André Hoogmoed, French teacher at the Wolfert Lyceum, does not find that parents see results of tests really a problem. “Pupils also share their grades themselves. We live in an age where everyone wants information. I do see that parents of seventh graders are more often on top because everything is new. And also in the third grades there is often a peak because of the profile choice. One parent wants to know everything, another has less. ”

Compelling

Pride does notice that minutes are lost in class when a colleague outside the classroom enters grades that the system shows immediately. “Then the student starts with the 'A' in the last name to say that there is a message of a number. The concentration is then gone. In that respect it is a compelling system. ”

The teacher sometimes receives an email in which parents ask why their child has achieved a 4. “In that case I invite them to come to school,” says Hoogmoed. "That can sometimes create a barrier and then they can work it out with their child."

Their calendars have become more coloring books, because they don't write anything in them

For him it also means a lot of registration. “You have to include all absences and the homework. When I tell them to learn words in class, students say, "Can't you put that in Magister?" According to school rules, I have to do that, but when I'm in a rebellious mood, I don't. I wasn't hired to fill their agenda, have I? Their calendars have become more coloring books, because they don't write anything in them. They gain enormous confidence in a system that is not completed by themselves. ”

Skip class

At the Barlaeus Gymnasium in Amsterdam, parents do not receive any login details at all. “That is a conscious pedagogical choice that we made a long time ago and that is partly related to the privacy of students,” says Rector Alwin Hietbrink. “We believe that we have a relationship with the pupil in the first instance and build a bond with them. They are given space. So if they skip school, we tell them to tell them at home before we call about this. They are at an age that you can have the conversation with them yourself. The parents are only step two. We inform parents and do not hesitate to call in case of concerns, but do not share this type of information in real time via Somtoday. ”

They are at an age that you can have the conversation with them yourself. The parents are only step two

Until now, there have hardly been any complaints about it. Hietbrink: “A parent wanted to have access once. Then we run a paper file. But we do not provide the login details. We also think that this is legally possible. ”

Internet law

Secondary schools have to deal with the Secondary Education Act, says teacher and researcher Arnoud Engelfriet, internet law specialist, of the VU University. “Schools are obliged to inform parents of the progress until a student is 18 years old. I think schools should think carefully about the way in which they inform. They should not do something just because ICT makes it possible. In the past, no courier was sent to report every digit. The legislator has determined that reporting to parents, but how and what is pedagogically justified is up to the school. ”

Vice-principal Tim Strik of the Van Maerlantlyceum does see that the arrival of technology is not necessarily good for the freedom of the child. At his school, parents do have access to the data that students see, such as grades. They also receive alerts from this. If parents want the complete file, with notes from teachers, they must request it. According to Strik, students, parents and school form a relationship triangle with the mentor as the pivot.

At the start of my career, there was much more time available to focus on students themselves and the lessons

“The triangle can ensure that a student's school career is a success,” says Strik. “Information provision creates a better triangle in which parents are not surprised. They may actually enjoy guiding and guiding their child during a school year. I now also see that in my own child. ”

Den Daggelder, Dutch teacher, knows them: the bad planners. "But then you could agree as a parent to sit and watch together once a week."
Pride teacher sometimes thinks back to years ago. “At the start of my career, there was much more time available to pay attention to the students themselves and the lessons. Now I spend too much time on administration and it often takes up an unnecessary amount of class time. ”