I (16M) had a math quiz that I’d spent over five hours studying for the day before. The teacher passed the test around as usual, and I started answering. The test seemed relatively easy and short – only one page with three problems.
I was pretty much done in under 20 minutes and spent the rest of the time reviewing. About 7-8 minutes before time was up, a classmate asked the teacher if problem number 4 was solvable. I panicked and said something along the lines of, “Sorry, what number 4?!” The teacher then replied, “Problem number 4 on page 2.”
I almost fainted (literally). I told her I didn’t have the second page, so she walked over and handed me the paper. I barely had time to answer the questions. I gave fragmented solutions due to not having enough time. Then she stood at my desk and told me to hand in the paper because “time’s up.”
Later, my friends asked me how I did. I said that I had no time, to which they responded that I should’ve just asked for a few extra minutes. Now considering the fact that Ms. Jane was literally wrestling the paper out of my hands I don’t think that was a viable option.
I later discussed this with the principal who just casually dismissed it as a ‘we’ll look into that later’ .
Now, AITAH for not asking for extra time before the teacher came over?
For context:
\-This teacher has been in an ongoing unreasonable, biased (due to previous issues with a sibling) conflict with me for over 1 semester so far.
\-I didn’t ask for extra time because I knew that the teacher would refuse and tell my that it was my problem. My ‘theory’ was proved later when she forced me to hand over the paper.
\-I got 18/20 instead of 20/20 on the test.
P.S.
This happened around 2 months ago and the ‘conflicts’ are still on and don’t seem like they’re gonna be ‘resolved’.
TL;DR AITAH for not asking for extra time on a test that I received missing almost half of the problems. Only to notice that towards the end of the exam.
NTA. The teacher should have volunteered to give you the extra time since she’s the one who neglected to give you the second page of the text until late into the test.
NTA if she was the one handing out the exams and you made no mistake leading to this. I’d push the issue with the principal further
NTA. Document everything this teacher is doing and go to the principal with your parents to lodge a complaint and cite that she’s deliberately sabotaging your academic learning. Tell him you’ll go above his head if you do. Then do so if he does nothing.
NTA. She didn’t give you the complete test. That’s her fault.
You need to get your parents to escalate this, and not let the principal blow you off. Most teachers I’ve had would just grade the part you got and consider that a completed test. You can’t punish kids for the teacher’s mistakes.
OK You’re not NTA in this scenario, and you would have been NTA to ask for more time or to push back against being dismissed over this. However you got 90% on the quiz. Let it go. There’s far more important things to put your energy into and far more fun things to do. Take from a guy with multiple degrees, 2 points on a quiz in high school aren’t going to matter.
This just made my day. I actually heard this from my dad ‘There’s far more important things to put your energy into and far more fun things to do’. He also has multiple degrees 🙂 . u/GregTheTerrible , you are not terrible. In fact, you’re amazing!! Have a great day, Sir.
NTA, the teacher is out of line for having a personal bias against you because of a sibling. It is on her to pass out your test with all the pages attached. I’d push the principal on the fact that she has ongoing problems with you that are completely unwarranted
What kind of math test is only 3 questions? Did you not know how many questions to expect? That is usually laid out in the syllabus and mentioned several times before the test in class. Also did you not hear your classmates flipping their pages? The whole thing is weird.
NTA…but, were you the only one not given 2 pages? You didn’t notice that everyone else was handed 2 papers?
NTA. You’ve done nothing here that would make you an asshole, but there are better strategies for handling situations like this.
Every student needs to sit exam papers under equitable conditions. (Not necessarily EQUAL conditions. “Equal” and “equitable” aren’t the same thing.)
You completed this test under inequitable conditions. The teacher failed to give you the complete exam paper, and given your past history with her, I can’t help wondering if that was deliberate. When her mistake was discovered, you only had about 7 minutes to complete the rest of the paper, and you had to do so in a state of increased anxiety. That is manifestly unfair.
You were entitled to complain, and you were entitled to have your complaint dealt with fairly, not have the principal “casually dismiss it”.
If I’d been the principal, I would have instructed the teacher to mark your answers as though there had never been a Page 2. So if Page 1 is worth (say) 50 marks and Page 2 is worth 30, you’d get a total mark out of 50 instead of a mark out of 80.
(Also, if I were the principal, I would have quietly told the teacher that if she ever makes a serious careless mistake like this again, it would go on her performance record. And if I suspected her of having a bias against this particular student, it’s going on her record immediately.)
Now, you may choose to put this incident behind you and do nothing further. That would be a reasonable option, given that (a) you did extremely well despite the missing page, (b) you are only 16, so this test probably doesn’t count for a lot in your overall future, and (c) two months have gone by since it happened.
But if it still rankles, and/or if it DOES count towards your future in a significant way, and/or if you think the teacher might STILL be looking for subtle ways to undermine your performance, you would not be wrong for pursuing it further.
Whether you do pursue it or not, you’re going to be taking much more important exams in your future, in your senior year and later on at college. There are valuable lessons you can take from this experience, which will help you in those future exams:
\* If something like this ever happens again in an exam – a missing page, a question containing material your class was never taught, a multiple choice question you are sure has two correct answers or even no correct answers, a fire alarm going off in the middle of the exam – don’t panic. Take deep breaths and try to calm yourself. Remember the principle I explained above: *all students must sit exams under equitable conditions.* Inequities can be corrected at a later date if necessary. This room, this day, isn’t the be-all and end-all of the exam.
\* Be aware that the teacher may not have the power to correct the inequity on the spot. She may agree that you are entitled to extra time, but she may not be able to give that to you without first getting the principal’s approval. In fact, at college level, the exam invigilator may not even be the person who taught the course. I’ve sat in vast exam halls with hundreds of students completing many different exam papers, overseen by invigilators hired from outside who had nothing to do with teaching any of those courses. There’s no point saying to such a person that Question 7 was outside the scope of the syllabus or Question 12 contains an obvious error, because they can’t do anything about it. Just hand in the paper, leave the room, then sit and gather your thoughts and consider your next move.
\* Raise the issue with your teacher or professor as soon as possible after the exam. If she or he won’t correct the inequity (e.g. in your case, by saying she will mark only Page 1), say politely that you will be escalating the matter, and do just that. (Which you did, by going to the principal.)
\* If the higher authority won’t correct it, go higher still. If your case is valid and you’re not just shit-stirring or looking for an unfair advantage, someone somewhere has the power to fix it.
At every stage, whoever you’re talking to, be firm, but also polite and respectful. This will get you much further with academic authorities than any amount of angry words and insults and accusations.