My middle schooler never opened her backpack at home all year and got all A's and two B's

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It depends on the class. Some are more rigorous than others but they aren't very rigorous. However, everything is done online so no need for a backpack. Why is she getting B's if its so easy? Weren't you monitoring things?

You are that mom. All A's or you are the worst? Not the PP but my kids can get all A's and B's and that is just fine. You have no idea who is trying their best or not. And honestly trying your absolute best for all A's in middle school and stressing about it is a huge waste of time. No one cares.

DP. I agree with the PP. middle school is a lot easier than high school and if she’s already getting two B’s, it doesn’t bode well for a GPA good enough for something like UMD. It’s gotten very competitive. Moreover, her work ethic is going to have to improve because AP classes are no joke. And she’s not going to get into even average schools without a bunch of AP’s. Honors and below will not cut it even for the flagship.

AP's are the biggest money making scam of this generation. Most have to retake them in college and many colleges don't accept a lot of them.

Find me a student that has fun through high school without popping Adderall to stay up and study - goes to JUCO for 2 years and transfers to the same college as Adderall-popping anxious depressed kids who paid WAY over 5 figures for tutors, AP's, AP testing, ACT/SAT prep, and five SAT/AC tests. Not to mention all of the money spent to make your kid look college perfect on a piece of paper.

Not only do those A's with mixed B's and C's kids have a more normal fun life, they graduate college with the same degree with half the debt and half the stress.

So please please stop pointing people in the direction of all A's and AP's all of the time. You wonder why so many high schoolers are f'ing miserable.

Both my kids graduated in 3 years from UMD due to AP credit so they sure saved us a ton of money. One of my kids got a merit scholarship so saved us even more money. AP’s were not a scam for us.

Can someone explain, if a kid takes an AP class in public high school at have to pay? How? How are they a scam?

Not the PP, but many kids don't even pass the AP test, have you seen the percentages? They are abysmal. And most colleges don't allow 3's anymore and some aren't allowing any - even 5's now. Some only allow 2-3 AP's max. And if you use one and fail the following course, college advisors will make your retake that AP course. Example. You come in with a Calc AP, but fail the next level Calc course. You are retaking your AP Calculus your 2nd semester and you are now further behind than those that never took the AP. It happens more than you know. Many advisors recommend just retaking certain courses if they are in your major because they know (and so do all of you parents) that a high school teacher with a BA from Towson isn't teaching Calc BC like a professor at an engineering college.

You're clueless. Over 70% of MCPS students passed with 3 or higher.

Cite your sources and the breakdown for each course. And please do it pre-covid because the AP were dumbed down in 20 and 21

Even with the dumbed down tests hardly anyone is getting a 4 or higher

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions

There
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/publicinfo/MCPS_AP_IB_Enrollment.pdf

These are so vague because the truth hurts. MCPS does not list per class or how many got a 3, 4, or 5 but the AP board does. Why? Because it will show how poorly it is. No one is denying they are better than the state and national level averages. But we live in a privileged wealthy county where everyone hires tutors. It isn't that impressive overall, especially when they are afraid to break it down and show the odds are against you. A 3 on an AP is meaningless at most colleges.

In reality many top colleges do not accept AP's or only accept 4 and sometimes JUST 5's. And many colleges will allow you to use credits for extra courses but not your major which is also a huge scam. My friend's son went to Harvey Mudd and they accepted nothing. More and more colleges each year are getting rid of them because 1. They make more money and 2. They have realized the students aren't truly prepared for the next class beyond their AP. They will be obsolete in 5 years.

MCPS lists scores by school and by exam here:
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2019/191219%20HS%20Princ_2019_AP_IB_Exams.dh.pdf

But this is the last one that I can find. It looks like the pass rate is similar to the one posted above by PP: 71.5%. This obviously beats the national average.

This is the most recent report, published last month:

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2022/220519%20APIBGraduatesMemoPrincipal.pdf

Where is the breakdown by courses and breakdown of who is getting 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in those courses? That is what I would like to see too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In contrast, my kid went to Eastern magnet and it kicked his butt.

Was it the neighborhood kids or the homework that kicked their butt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the class. Some are more rigorous than others but they aren't very rigorous. However, everything is done online so no need for a backpack. Why is she getting B's if its so easy? Weren't you monitoring things?

You are that mom. All A's or you are the worst? Not the PP but my kids can get all A's and B's and that is just fine. You have no idea who is trying their best or not. And honestly trying your absolute best for all A's in middle school and stressing about it is a huge waste of time. No one cares.

DP. I agree with the PP. middle school is a lot easier than high school and if she’s already getting two B’s, it doesn’t bode well for a GPA good enough for something like UMD. It’s gotten very competitive. Moreover, her work ethic is going to have to improve because AP classes are no joke. And she’s not going to get into even average schools without a bunch of AP’s. Honors and below will not cut it even for the flagship.

AP's are the biggest money making scam of this generation. Most have to retake them in college and many colleges don't accept a lot of them.

Find me a student that has fun through high school without popping Adderall to stay up and study - goes to JUCO for 2 years and transfers to the same college as Adderall-popping anxious depressed kids who paid WAY over 5 figures for tutors, AP's, AP testing, ACT/SAT prep, and five SAT/AC tests. Not to mention all of the money spent to make your kid look college perfect on a piece of paper.

Not only do those A's with mixed B's and C's kids have a more normal fun life, they graduate college with the same degree with half the debt and half the stress.

So please please stop pointing people in the direction of all A's and AP's all of the time. You wonder why so many high schoolers are f'ing miserable.

Both my kids graduated in 3 years from UMD due to AP credit so they sure saved us a ton of money. One of my kids got a merit scholarship so saved us even more money. AP’s were not a scam for us.

Can someone explain, if a kid takes an AP class in public high school at have to pay? How? How are they a scam?

Not the PP, but many kids don't even pass the AP test, have you seen the percentages? They are abysmal. And most colleges don't allow 3's anymore and some aren't allowing any - even 5's now. Some only allow 2-3 AP's max. And if you use one and fail the following course, college advisors will make your retake that AP course. Example. You come in with a Calc AP, but fail the next level Calc course. You are retaking your AP Calculus your 2nd semester and you are now further behind than those that never took the AP. It happens more than you know. Many advisors recommend just retaking certain courses if they are in your major because they know (and so do all of you parents) that a high school teacher with a BA from Towson isn't teaching Calc BC like a professor at an engineering college.

You're clueless. Over 70% of MCPS students passed with 3 or higher.

Cite your sources and the breakdown for each course. And please do it pre-covid because the AP were dumbed down in 20 and 21

Even with the dumbed down tests hardly anyone is getting a 4 or higher

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions

I'm not sure you understand how AP scores work. They estimate and set the scoring to allow roughly half of the kids to pass the exam. Then they grade the actual exams and sometimes more or fewer kids pass (because the score criteria were set before administration), but it is intentional to have a half and half split.

MCPS does do better than average on AP exams, but this is not universal for all MCPS schools.

Yikes, you don't know how AP scoring works.

+1 that post is so wrong

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the class. Some are more rigorous than others but they aren't very rigorous. However, everything is done online so no need for a backpack. Why is she getting B's if its so easy? Weren't you monitoring things?

You are that mom. All A's or you are the worst? Not the PP but my kids can get all A's and B's and that is just fine. You have no idea who is trying their best or not. And honestly trying your absolute best for all A's in middle school and stressing about it is a huge waste of time. No one cares.

DP. I agree with the PP. middle school is a lot easier than high school and if she’s already getting two B’s, it doesn’t bode well for a GPA good enough for something like UMD. It’s gotten very competitive. Moreover, her work ethic is going to have to improve because AP classes are no joke. And she’s not going to get into even average schools without a bunch of AP’s. Honors and below will not cut it even for the flagship.

AP's are the biggest money making scam of this generation. Most have to retake them in college and many colleges don't accept a lot of them.

Find me a student that has fun through high school without popping Adderall to stay up and study - goes to JUCO for 2 years and transfers to the same college as Adderall-popping anxious depressed kids who paid WAY over 5 figures for tutors, AP's, AP testing, ACT/SAT prep, and five SAT/AC tests. Not to mention all of the money spent to make your kid look college perfect on a piece of paper.

Not only do those A's with mixed B's and C's kids have a more normal fun life, they graduate college with the same degree with half the debt and half the stress.

So please please stop pointing people in the direction of all A's and AP's all of the time. You wonder why so many high schoolers are f'ing miserable.

Both my kids graduated in 3 years from UMD due to AP credit so they sure saved us a ton of money. One of my kids got a merit scholarship so saved us even more money. AP’s were not a scam for us.

Can someone explain, if a kid takes an AP class in public high school at have to pay? How? How are they a scam?

Not the PP, but many kids don't even pass the AP test, have you seen the percentages? They are abysmal. And most colleges don't allow 3's anymore and some aren't allowing any - even 5's now. Some only allow 2-3 AP's max. And if you use one and fail the following course, college advisors will make your retake that AP course. Example. You come in with a Calc AP, but fail the next level Calc course. You are retaking your AP Calculus your 2nd semester and you are now further behind than those that never took the AP. It happens more than you know. Many advisors recommend just retaking certain courses if they are in your major because they know (and so do all of you parents) that a high school teacher with a BA from Towson isn't teaching Calc BC like a professor at an engineering college.

You're clueless. Over 70% of MCPS students passed with 3 or higher.

Cite your sources and the breakdown for each course. And please do it pre-covid because the AP were dumbed down in 20 and 21

Even with the dumbed down tests hardly anyone is getting a 4 or higher

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions

There
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/publicinfo/MCPS_AP_IB_Enrollment.pdf

These are so vague because the truth hurts. MCPS does not list per class or how many got a 3, 4, or 5 but the AP board does. Why? Because it will show how poorly it is. No one is denying they are better than the state and national level averages. But we live in a privileged wealthy county where everyone hires tutors. It isn't that impressive overall, especially when they are afraid to break it down and show the odds are against you. A 3 on an AP is meaningless at most colleges.

In reality many top colleges do not accept AP's or only accept 4 and sometimes JUST 5's. And many colleges will allow you to use credits for extra courses but not your major which is also a huge scam. My friend's son went to Harvey Mudd and they accepted nothing. More and more colleges each year are getting rid of them because 1. They make more money and 2. They have realized the students aren't truly prepared for the next class beyond their AP. They will be obsolete in 5 years.

MCPS lists scores by school and by exam here:
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2019/191219%20HS%20Princ_2019_AP_IB_Exams.dh.pdf

But this is the last one that I can find. It looks like the pass rate is similar to the one posted above by PP: 71.5%. This obviously beats the national average.

This is the most recent report, published last month:

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2022/220519%20APIBGraduatesMemoPrincipal.pdf

Where is the breakdown by courses and breakdown of who is getting 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in those courses? That is what I would like to see too.

The course breakdown for the previous year is here:

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2021/02%20Attachment%202020_AP_IB%20Exams_Appendicies%20A%20to%20D.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the class. Some are more rigorous than others but they aren't very rigorous. However, everything is done online so no need for a backpack. Why is she getting B's if its so easy? Weren't you monitoring things?

You are that mom. All A's or you are the worst? Not the PP but my kids can get all A's and B's and that is just fine. You have no idea who is trying their best or not. And honestly trying your absolute best for all A's in middle school and stressing about it is a huge waste of time. No one cares.

DP. I agree with the PP. middle school is a lot easier than high school and if she’s already getting two B’s, it doesn’t bode well for a GPA good enough for something like UMD. It’s gotten very competitive. Moreover, her work ethic is going to have to improve because AP classes are no joke. And she’s not going to get into even average schools without a bunch of AP’s. Honors and below will not cut it even for the flagship.

AP's are the biggest money making scam of this generation. Most have to retake them in college and many colleges don't accept a lot of them.

Find me a student that has fun through high school without popping Adderall to stay up and study - goes to JUCO for 2 years and transfers to the same college as Adderall-popping anxious depressed kids who paid WAY over 5 figures for tutors, AP's, AP testing, ACT/SAT prep, and five SAT/AC tests. Not to mention all of the money spent to make your kid look college perfect on a piece of paper.

Not only do those A's with mixed B's and C's kids have a more normal fun life, they graduate college with the same degree with half the debt and half the stress.

So please please stop pointing people in the direction of all A's and AP's all of the time. You wonder why so many high schoolers are f'ing miserable.

Both my kids graduated in 3 years from UMD due to AP credit so they sure saved us a ton of money. One of my kids got a merit scholarship so saved us even more money. AP’s were not a scam for us.

Can someone explain, if a kid takes an AP class in public high school at have to pay? How? How are they a scam?

Not the PP, but many kids don't even pass the AP test, have you seen the percentages? They are abysmal. And most colleges don't allow 3's anymore and some aren't allowing any - even 5's now. Some only allow 2-3 AP's max. And if you use one and fail the following course, college advisors will make your retake that AP course. Example. You come in with a Calc AP, but fail the next level Calc course. You are retaking your AP Calculus your 2nd semester and you are now further behind than those that never took the AP. It happens more than you know. Many advisors recommend just retaking certain courses if they are in your major because they know (and so do all of you parents) that a high school teacher with a BA from Towson isn't teaching Calc BC like a professor at an engineering college.

You're clueless. Over 70% of MCPS students passed with 3 or higher.

Cite your sources and the breakdown for each course. And please do it pre-covid because the AP were dumbed down in 20 and 21

Even with the dumbed down tests hardly anyone is getting a 4 or higher

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions

There
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/publicinfo/MCPS_AP_IB_Enrollment.pdf

These are so vague because the truth hurts. MCPS does not list per class or how many got a 3, 4, or 5 but the AP board does. Why? Because it will show how poorly it is. No one is denying they are better than the state and national level averages. But we live in a privileged wealthy county where everyone hires tutors. It isn't that impressive overall, especially when they are afraid to break it down and show the odds are against you. A 3 on an AP is meaningless at most colleges.

In reality many top colleges do not accept AP's or only accept 4 and sometimes JUST 5's. And many colleges will allow you to use credits for extra courses but not your major which is also a huge scam. My friend's son went to Harvey Mudd and they accepted nothing. More and more colleges each year are getting rid of them because 1. They make more money and 2. They have realized the students aren't truly prepared for the next class beyond their AP. They will be obsolete in 5 years.

MCPS lists scores by school and by exam here:
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2019/191219%20HS%20Princ_2019_AP_IB_Exams.dh.pdf

But this is the last one that I can find. It looks like the pass rate is similar to the one posted above by PP: 71.5%. This obviously beats the national average.

This is the most recent report, published last month:

https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2022/220519%20APIBGraduatesMemoPrincipal.pdf

This is really different than previous years. No break-down by course, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the class. Some are more rigorous than others but they aren't very rigorous. However, everything is done online so no need for a backpack. Why is she getting B's if its so easy? Weren't you monitoring things?

You are that mom. All A's or you are the worst? Not the PP but my kids can get all A's and B's and that is just fine. You have no idea who is trying their best or not. And honestly trying your absolute best for all A's in middle school and stressing about it is a huge waste of time. No one cares.

DP. I agree with the PP. middle school is a lot easier than high school and if she’s already getting two B’s, it doesn’t bode well for a GPA good enough for something like UMD. It’s gotten very competitive. Moreover, her work ethic is going to have to improve because AP classes are no joke. And she’s not going to get into even average schools without a bunch of AP’s. Honors and below will not cut it even for the flagship.

AP's are the biggest money making scam of this generation. Most have to retake them in college and many colleges don't accept a lot of them.

Find me a student that has fun through high school without popping Adderall to stay up and study - goes to JUCO for 2 years and transfers to the same college as Adderall-popping anxious depressed kids who paid WAY over 5 figures for tutors, AP's, AP testing, ACT/SAT prep, and five SAT/AC tests. Not to mention all of the money spent to make your kid look college perfect on a piece of paper.

Not only do those A's with mixed B's and C's kids have a more normal fun life, they graduate college with the same degree with half the debt and half the stress.

So please please stop pointing people in the direction of all A's and AP's all of the time. You wonder why so many high schoolers are f'ing miserable.

Both my kids graduated in 3 years from UMD due to AP credit so they sure saved us a ton of money. One of my kids got a merit scholarship so saved us even more money. AP’s were not a scam for us.

Can someone explain, if a kid takes an AP class in public high school at have to pay? How? How are they a scam?

Not the PP, but many kids don't even pass the AP test, have you seen the percentages? They are abysmal. And most colleges don't allow 3's anymore and some aren't allowing any - even 5's now. Some only allow 2-3 AP's max. And if you use one and fail the following course, college advisors will make your retake that AP course. Example. You come in with a Calc AP, but fail the next level Calc course. You are retaking your AP Calculus your 2nd semester and you are now further behind than those that never took the AP. It happens more than you know. Many advisors recommend just retaking certain courses if they are in your major because they know (and so do all of you parents) that a high school teacher with a BA from Towson isn't teaching Calc BC like a professor at an engineering college.

You're clueless. Over 70% of MCPS students passed with 3 or higher.

Cite your sources and the breakdown for each course. And please do it pre-covid because the AP were dumbed down in 20 and 21

Even with the dumbed down tests hardly anyone is getting a 4 or higher

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions

I'm not sure you understand how AP scores work. They estimate and set the scoring to allow roughly half of the kids to pass the exam. Then they grade the actual exams and sometimes more or fewer kids pass (because the score criteria were set before administration), but it is intentional to have a half and half split.

MCPS does do better than average on AP exams, but this is not universal for all MCPS schools.

Yikes, you don't know how AP scoring works.

Yeah... I do.

[Anonymous]

I teach middle school in nyc. Since COVID we are being pushed to pass everyone and give good grades. Kids who should have 75/80 are getting in the 90s. Its crazy. They want us to pass kids we see once a month (not COVID related) and do no work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach middle school in nyc. Since COVID we are being pushed to pass everyone and give good grades. Kids who should have 75/80 are getting in the 90s. Its crazy. They want us to pass kids we see once a month (not COVID related) and do no work

Its the same thing here and it is really failing the kids as its very hard for them to work at a higher level if they missed so much material. Schools are failing kids by socially passing them and giving higher grades than they deserve. No one can blame covid or virtual anymore. The sad part is where are all these parents monitoring their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach middle school in nyc. Since COVID we are being pushed to pass everyone and give good grades. Kids who should have 75/80 are getting in the 90s. Its crazy. They want us to pass kids we see once a month (not COVID related) and do no work

Its the same thing here and it is really failing the kids as its very hard for them to work at a higher level if they missed so much material. Schools are failing kids by socially passing them and giving higher grades than they deserve. No one can blame covid or virtual anymore. The sad part is where are all these parents monitoring their kids.

plenty of B and C students at our school.

[Anonymous]

What is the percentage of junior honor society in say a middle school like Hoover?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach middle school in nyc. Since COVID we are being pushed to pass everyone and give good grades. Kids who should have 75/80 are getting in the 90s. Its crazy. They want us to pass kids we see once a month (not COVID related) and do no work

Its the same thing here and it is really failing the kids as its very hard for them to work at a higher level if they missed so much material. Schools are failing kids by socially passing them and giving higher grades than they deserve. No one can blame covid or virtual anymore. The sad part is where are all these parents monitoring their kids.

No it isn''t, but believing this just helps support your world is in decline fantasy.

[Anonymous]

I don't think my kids every did a second of homework this year in 6th or 8th grade. They got it done in school. All A's and neither of them are that inspiring. Hoping high school is harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think my kids every did a second of homework this year in 6th or 8th grade. They got it done in school. All A's and neither of them are that inspiring. Hoping high school is harder.

Same here. I feel like my 8th grader is going to bomb 9th grade

[Anonymous]

This is American education, not just in DC or NYC, but everywhere.

No homework = no study habits and no work ethic.

DD’s friend in 7th grade this year was failing several classes through the year mostly due to incomplete assignments. Her mom would ask teachers to help her make up her grade. They ended up giving her Cs in failed classes.

And then you wonder why kids depression and suicides are through the roof. Because they have no obstacles to overcome, no adversity, no hard things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you announcing that you raised a lazy kid? That’s not something to be proud of.

It's showing how pitiful the learning and grading are in MCPS. How easy it is to work around. All of my kids know if they get an A in Q1, they can get as low as a 79.5 in Q2 and still get an A for the first semester. Then in Q3 get another A and can get as low as a 69.5 in Q4 and still get an A for a final grade.

Can you provide documentation regarding your statement in bold? There are no final grades in MCPS so not sure what you are asserting is true.