Honors for All: when will it end

[Anonymous]

This is a horrible trend in mcps middle & high schools. Any end in sight?

[Anonymous]

No end in sight, but do you want to be a bit more specific about your gripes and experiences with the policy?

[Anonymous]

Not OP but I tutored a mainstreamed student in Honors English in 9th grade. He is a good reader and wants to do well, but the curriculum was too far above him and he failed the class. Who did that serve?

[Anonymous]

It is here to stay. Agree it really doesn't serve anyone.

[Anonymous]

As a parent who recently moved with two kids out of MCPS I can tell you know, I'm actually grateful for the enforced general push to make everyone a super star academic. It means my kids have cumulative WGPAs higher than everyone in their current HS.

[Anonymous]

My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a horrible trend in mcps middle & high schools. Any end in sight?

It's worse than you think. These days in ES unless you are below grade level they just warehouse you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

Except they are all coming out of the same small number of high schools, which reduces their chances. My DD had friends at Whitman that were doing 2 science AP classes in sophomore year and taking college level classes at home, to give herself the edge. The more you push, the more pressure you put on everyone and the more it takes to be something higher than the general output of 4.0 (unweighted) kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

That's the way it was a few years ago, but now what's happening is the schools are not even offering Regular classes. Everyone gets put together in what they are calling Honors classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

Except they are all coming out of the same small number of high schools, which reduces their chances. My DD had friends at Whitman that were doing 2 science AP classes in sophomore year and taking college level classes at home, to give herself the edge. The more you push, the more pressure you put on everyone and the more it takes to be something higher than the general output of 4.0 (unweighted) kids.

What's true is that if you're in a wealthy MCPS cluster and you want do be competitive for college admissions, you have to take more APs than if you were at a school that offers fewer, since universities get the info sheet from each high school, and want to see that an applicant has taken advantage of their opportunities. It's the price you pay for getting overall better teachers and a more studious student body. I've had kids at Walter Johnson and will have kids at BCC, and I think it's a fair deal. Pros and cons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

That's the way it was a few years ago, but now what's happening is the schools are not even offering Regular classes. Everyone gets put together in what they are calling Honors classes.

Not for every topic, but yes. I don't think my son took regular classes in anything except PE, art and 12th grade electives. Even his tech requirement was fulfilled by AP Computer Science Principles in 9th grade.

But I saw his Honors English 9 and 10 - completely basic curriculum. It's a regular class they call Honors, it's not an advanced class whatsoever.
Same for his Honors science classes: very easy. He took nothing but APs in social studies all 4 years of high school, and none of it was hard: just a lot of reading and processing, but not intellectually difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

That's the way it was a few years ago, but now what's happening is the schools are not even offering Regular classes. Everyone gets put together in what they are calling Honors classes.

Even Health is Honors for everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

Except they are all coming out of the same small number of high schools, which reduces their chances. My DD had friends at Whitman that were doing 2 science AP classes in sophomore year and taking college level classes at home, to give herself the edge. The more you push, the more pressure you put on everyone and the more it takes to be something higher than the general output of 4.0 (unweighted) kids.

What's true is that if you're in a wealthy MCPS cluster and you want do be competitive for college admissions, you have to take more APs than if you were at a school that offers fewer, since universities get the info sheet from each high school, and want to see that an applicant has taken advantage of their opportunities. It's the price you pay for getting overall better teachers and a more studious student body. I've had kids at Walter Johnson and will have kids at BCC, and I think it's a fair deal. Pros and cons.

The teachers aren't always better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

Except they are all coming out of the same small number of high schools, which reduces their chances. My DD had friends at Whitman that were doing 2 science AP classes in sophomore year and taking college level classes at home, to give herself the edge. The more you push, the more pressure you put on everyone and the more it takes to be something higher than the general output of 4.0 (unweighted) kids.

What's true is that if you're in a wealthy MCPS cluster and you want do be competitive for college admissions, you have to take more APs than if you were at a school that offers fewer, since universities get the info sheet from each high school, and want to see that an applicant has taken advantage of their opportunities. It's the price you pay for getting overall better teachers and a more studious student body. I've had kids at Walter Johnson and will have kids at BCC, and I think it's a fair deal. Pros and cons.

The teachers aren't always better.

True.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My senior just graduated, OP, with a dozen AP classes, like many students.

AP is the new Honors.
Honors is the new Regular.
Regular is the new Remedial.

This has been going on for years.
If you don't know this, you haven't been paying attention.

If you care at all about college admissions, you have to play that game. There are plenty of 4.2 wgpa, multiple-AP students who are rejected from UMD.

That's the way it was a few years ago, but now what's happening is the schools are not even offering Regular classes. Everyone gets put together in what they are calling Honors classes.

Even Health is Honors for everyone!

Last year they had regular and honors health, but I'm hoping they offer honors PE soon.