What is an average report card?

[Anonymous]

My DC goes to a parochial school and is in 4th grade. Report card was half A's half B's. Assume this means she is middle of pack. Any teachers or others in the kbow who could comment. Is a C considered a flunking grade in parochial school? I have always considered C' s flunking grades.

[Anonymous]

I would say that is a good/better than average report card.

I think mostly Bs is average. I don't consider Cs flunking, but it really depends on the school and how much grade inflation/retesting they allow. If there is an Honor Roll, count how many names are on it--that will be very revealing.

At the public middle school where I teach, a C means you either aren't trying or you struggle with that subject. There are few D/Fs because the kids have the opportunity to retest.

[Anonymous]

Wow - no retesting at our school and the cut off for an A is 93%. If it was 90% DC would have had only 2 B's. Our school doesn't have honor roll in 4th. It starts in 5th and 75% of the kids make it with 20% of the class being high honors. It so frustrating because I work so hard with DC. We are sending her to academic camp this summer so that she can get a headstart next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow - no retesting at our school and the cut off for an A is 93%. If it was 90% DC would have had only 2 B's. Our school doesn't have honor roll in 4th. It starts in 5th and 75% of the kids make it with 20% of the class being high honors. It so frustrating because I work so hard with DC. We are sending her to academic camp this summer so that she can get a headstart next year.

My daughters' math class allows one retake for each test in 4th grade (MoCo magnet). Honestly, looking at the difficulty of the tests and the really strict way they they grade them they almost have to offer a retake. I sometimes wonder if the difficulty of the tests/grading is ramped up because they know the kids will get another try.

[Anonymous]

Don't county magnets take only 3 percent? If so I understand that tests would be harder. Not sure I understand the logic of the retest but I imagine their tests would be very difficult.

[Anonymous]

Depends on which school. Some schools have a lot of grade inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on which school. Some schools have a lot of grade inflation.

Very true. The retake thing cracks me up too. What's good is a test if you can just take another one if you do poorly?

Our principal is tough on grade inflation (reminds regularly that C is average) and I hear our parochial school "grades harder" than others. That said, we are still in an affluent area where kids come from highly educated families and have a lot of academic support at home so there are lots on honor roll even with the higher scale that ADW schools use.
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[Anonymous]

Your child is in 4th grade, got over 90% in all but two classes, and you're sending her to summer school (sorry, "academic camp") because that's not good enough for you? Way to make sure your kid burns out before grades even matter. Is she trying hard? Developing good study skills? Enjoying the process of learning? If yes, then she's doing exactly what she should be doing at her age.

[Anonymous]

PP IT has nothing to do with being good enough for me. She is my daughter and she will always be good enough for me. It has to do with trying to prepare her for challenges ahead. She is also going to fun summer camps too. I'm not a Tiger mom.

With so many articles on grade inflation, what does an average report card look like today? I'm thinking at a parochial school that half a's and half b's is average. Is it the same at public?

[Anonymous]

I get all a+'S

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on which school. Some schools have a lot of grade inflation.

Very true. The retake thing cracks me up too. What's good is a test if you can just take another one if you do poorly?

Our principal is tough on grade inflation (reminds regularly that C is average) and I hear our parochial school "grades harder" than others. That said, we are still in an affluent area where kids come from highly educated families and have a lot of academic support at home so there are lots on honor roll even with the higher scale that ADW schools use.
.

So you can learn from your mistakes and better learn the material being taught? Isn't that the point of school, especially in elementary school?

[Anonymous]

I have one child in public, one private (both elementary). The private school is much stricter when grading. It's very traditional. The public...i don't know. My child gets the highest grade in every category. I'm sure there are others in her class who do as well. I don't think they're very tough...they want all the kids to feel they are doing well. Comment section in private school is specific and thoughtful. The comment section in public school is complimentary but vague.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on which school. Some schools have a lot of grade inflation.

Very true. The retake thing cracks me up too. What's good is a test if you can just take another one if you do poorly?

Our principal is tough on grade inflation (reminds regularly that C is average) and I hear our parochial school "grades harder" than others. That said, we are still in an affluent area where kids come from highly educated families and have a lot of academic support at home so there are lots on honor roll even with the higher scale that ADW schools use.
.

So you can learn from your mistakes and better learn the material being taught? Isn't that the point of school, especially in elementary school?

+1 DS is in algebra in 7th grade and the teacher allows them to resubmit questions they got wrong on unit tests to get partial credit. The point is to learn the material.

[Anonymous]

I'd say most As and Bs with maybe a C or two in there would be "middle of the pack". At my DS's middle school "honor roll" means you have all As and Bs and less than half his grade achieves that (including him -- he's ended up with 1 C each semester so far, but looking better for this semester!)

[Anonymous]

Does the report card not tell you how to interpret the grade levels? If you don't know how to interpret them, you should ask the school. They should have clear answers that look like e.g. C -- struggles to meet grade level standards; B -- meets grade level standards; A -- exceeds grade level standards.

Also, doesn't matter if the report card is "average" -- the school should be measuring the students against the specific things they expect them to learn, not against the performance of other students.