High school repeat year in mcps?

[Anonymous]

Can a student repeat a grade in high school in mcps? Reason would be anxiety which has resulted in poor grades. Student feels they could do a much better year if they repeated, but they’re worried about whether they’re allowed to repeat and if colleges look poorly on repeating a high school grade. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

no

[Anonymous]

No way can you repeat in mcps. But my kid did 9th in mcps and then went to boarding at st Andrews (Delaware) for 9-12. He was very young so made it the right decision. Look at the school. They have lots of financial aid even for middle class families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can a student repeat a grade in high school in mcps? Reason would be anxiety which has resulted in poor grades. Student feels they could do a much better year if they repeated, but they’re worried about whether they’re allowed to repeat and if colleges look poorly on repeating a high school grade. Thanks!

Retake the classes during summer school and the new grade will replace the old grade.

In high school, students earn credits towards graduation, not “advance grade by grade”. All students have an original year of graduation (OYG) set when they enter MCPS. There are a specific number of credits needed to be classified a particular grade level (a kid failing English 9 is classified a 9th grader until they pass it). The only way to not graduate on time is to fail a required course or not have enough credits. You can’t just hang out an extra year. If your student isn’t ready to go away to college right after they graduate, they should go to community college.

[Anonymous]

OP here- Thanks all! I’m new to the USA so this is super helpful

[Anonymous]

So what happens if a kid repeatedly fails a required course?

Or does not have enough credits to graduate his senior year?

What happens then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what happens if a kid repeatedly fails a required course?

Or does not have enough credits to graduate his senior year?

What happens then?

They become a “super-senior”. They can take the course(s) in summer school, online pathway to graduation, or the next year in school. There is a significant amount of effort from teachers, counselors, and administrators to get kids who failed a required course to make it up before they get to spring senior year. But even so, there are always a handful of kids who just don’t believe they won’t graduate, even though they skipped classes more than 75% of the time and never turned in any work. Some don’t even attempt to scramble around the last few weeks to turn in work to get a passing grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what happens if a kid repeatedly fails a required course?

Or does not have enough credits to graduate his senior year?

What happens then?

They become a “super-senior”. They can take the course(s) in summer school, online pathway to graduation, or the next year in school. There is a significant amount of effort from teachers, counselors, and administrators to get kids who failed a required course to make it up before they get to spring senior year. But even so, there are always a handful of kids who just don’t believe they won’t graduate, even though they skipped classes more than 75% of the time and never turned in any work. Some don’t even attempt to scramble around the last few weeks to turn in work to get a passing grade.

+1. That's why they have HS years 5 and 6 included on the graduation requirements

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/graduation-requirements.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can a student repeat a grade in high school in mcps? Reason would be anxiety which has resulted in poor grades. Student feels they could do a much better year if they repeated, but they’re worried about whether they’re allowed to repeat and if colleges look poorly on repeating a high school grade. Thanks!

No, but they can retake classes during summer school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can a student repeat a grade in high school in mcps? Reason would be anxiety which has resulted in poor grades. Student feels they could do a much better year if they repeated, but they’re worried about whether they’re allowed to repeat and if colleges look poorly on repeating a high school grade. Thanks!

Colleges look at both low grades and repeats or interruptions in the school schedule. College apps allow you to explain if something was going on that caused low grades or a repeat.

If your child has severe anxiety, I'd worry more about that than about pushing their grades up. College pressure in MCPS can create mental health issues. Don't let that happen to your kid. They will find a college and career that works for them.

Also, talk to your child's counselor. if they passed classes, they may not be allowed to "repeat" the entire year. However, they can retake core classes in the summer for grade improvement.

[Anonymous]

What does "poor grades" mean? Did they fail one or more classes? Do they have an IEP for the anxiety?

[Anonymous]

Grade level in MCPS is defined by the last year of English that your child passed. So a kid can be in the fourth year of HS and be considered an 11th grader if the last year of English passed was 10th grade English. That same student can graduate that year if the student takes and passes 11th and 12th grade english.

Also there are few hard and fast rules on the order in which you take classes which means that seniors are sometimes taking classes with 9th graders.

Point is that for HS, grade level doesn’t tell the whole story. You don’t graduate until you receive credit for all required courses. And in some instances you can retake courses or take courses elsewhere and get credit for them.

OP your questions would best be answered by the HS counselor. Hopefully you have one that is responsive and easy to work with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grade level in MCPS is defined by the last year of English that your child passed. So a kid can be in the fourth year of HS and be considered an 11th grader if the last year of English passed was 10th grade English. That same student can graduate that year if the student takes and passes 11th and 12th grade english.

Also there are few hard and fast rules on the order in which you take classes which means that seniors are sometimes taking classes with 9th graders.

Point is that for HS, grade level doesn’t tell the whole story. You don’t graduate until you receive credit for all required courses. And in some instances you can retake courses or take courses elsewhere and get credit for them.

OP your questions would best be answered by the HS counselor. Hopefully you have one that is responsive and easy to work with.

I wanted to clarify that this is not quite correct. There are several criteria for promotion, not just the English class. And it is based on total credits, not the last passed course. For example, a s/b 11th grader may still be classified as a 10th grader, even if they passed 10th grade English, because they failed a semester of 9th grade English. They only have 1.5 credits instead of the required 2.0 to be promoted to 11th grade.

Relevant policy: https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/jebra.pdf
3. For students in Grades 9 through 12, the following applies:
a) To be promoted to Grade 10, a student must earn a minimum of five credits including one credit for a required English course and one credit for a required mathematics course.
b) To be promoted to Grade 11, a student must earn a minimum of ten credits including two credits in required English courses, two credits in required mathematics courses, one credit in a required social
studies course, and one credit in a required science course.
c) To be promoted to Grade 12, a student must earn a minimum of fifteen credits including three credits in required English courses, three credits in required mathematics courses, two credits in required
social studies courses, and two credits in required science courses.