Is grade inflation mostly a thing at high SES public schools?

[Anonymous]

On one hand you may have the valedictorian at the “bad public school” getting a 1500+ on the SAT, but it drops off sharply from there. At low SES public’s in my experience (teaching and as a student), there are still a lot of kids who get bad grades, drop out, never graduate etc. Meanwhile on DCUM I read that everybody has all As, usually accompanied by “for just showing up.” So which is it? At the high SES public’s kids have better test scores so it might not be inaccurate if they have mostly As.

[Anonymous]

I’ve worked at low and high SES schools. Grade inflation is happening everywhere. There isn’t a school where everyone had As for just showing up. That’s a myth you only see here.

[Anonymous]

Read about standards based grading. An A means you consistently meet the standard. It does not mean outstanding and they are not rare.

[Anonymous]

Given the fact that a large percentage of DC's schoolkids can't do math or read at grade level, I'm going with "no", grade inflation is NOT just a thing for high-SES kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given the fact that a large percentage of DC's schoolkids can't do math or read at grade level, I'm going with "no", grade inflation is NOT just a thing for high-SES kids.

But they’re getting bad grades from their teachers, too. They’re certainly not getting all As.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the fact that a large percentage of DC's schoolkids can't do math or read at grade level, I'm going with "no", grade inflation is NOT just a thing for high-SES kids.

But they’re getting bad grades from their teachers, too. They’re certainly not getting all As.

PP here. Meant the DC school kids get poor grades from their teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the fact that a large percentage of DC's schoolkids can't do math or read at grade level, I'm going with "no", grade inflation is NOT just a thing for high-SES kids.

But they’re getting bad grades from their teachers, too. They’re certainly not getting all As.

They are passing when they literally can't read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the fact that a large percentage of DC's schoolkids can't do math or read at grade level, I'm going with "no", grade inflation is NOT just a thing for high-SES kids.

But they’re getting bad grades from their teachers, too. They’re certainly not getting all As.

They are passing when they literally can't read.

Passing them when they can't read seems like SOME sort of grade inflation, if not the exact one that OP is thinking of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On one hand you may have the valedictorian at the “bad public school” getting a 1500+ on the SAT, but it drops off sharply from there. At low SES public’s in my experience (teaching and as a student), there are still a lot of kids who get bad grades, drop out, never graduate etc. Meanwhile on DCUM I read that everybody has all As, usually accompanied by “for just showing up.” So which is it? At the high SES public’s kids have better test scores so it might not be inaccurate if they have mostly As.

Grade inflation is more pronounced in schools with high SES, large numbers of white and private schools.

[Anonymous]

Compare the school profiles from local private and public schools. Most private schools in this area aren't inflating grades.

[Anonymous]

It's hard to compare. As a teacher having taught in different types of schools, I can tell you that the student work being turned in is drastically different. Some kids work hard regardless of their peers. However, there are others who follow along with what they see their peers doing.

For example, my daughter has ADHD. When she is in a class surrounded by hard workers, she strives to be like them and keep up. When she is in classes with lots of disruptions, she tends to get distracted and become a problem. We moved between middle and high school into a higher-performing school and her work is now far superior and she actaually studies and tries. We no longer receive emails and calls from her teachers about her behaviors. When I have spoken to her about it, she says that when she acts out, she gets embarrassed at her new school because she stands out. All of her friends are thinking about colleges and AP tests and she wants to fit in so she actaully tries.

So, her grades are higher at the new school, but it is because she is putting in the effort. That is also what I see as a teacher. That doesn't mean that kids can't put in the effort at the lower performing schools- they can! It's just that it takes more willpower that some kids do not have. I do not think that the grades are higher just because the school is whiter or richer...

[Anonymous]

It's not hard to compare with the profile schools sent to colleges. It puts everything into perspective.

[Anonymous]

DCPS, which is the worst school district in this area, has ridiculous grade inflation. So it’s happening everywhere. It’s just that high SES kids tend to turn in more work and attend school more regularly (generalized obviously). So you will fail if you miss 50 days of school and turn nothing in. But that doesn’t negate grade inflation policies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Compare the school profiles from local private and public schools. Most private schools in this area aren't inflating grades.

I don’t care what private schools do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the fact that a large percentage of DC's schoolkids can't do math or read at grade level, I'm going with "no", grade inflation is NOT just a thing for high-SES kids.

But they’re getting bad grades from their teachers, too. They’re certainly not getting all As.

They are passing when they literally can't read.

Passing them when they can't read seems like SOME sort of grade inflation, if not the exact one that OP is thinking of.

Yes, it’s grade inflation. It’s a different form of it, though. Like giving everyone Cs when they deserve Fs, versus giving everyone As when they deserve B-s.