The deflated grading is just exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

You read on the college forum here about public school kids with 10 APs and 4.5 GPAs but the kids have a low SAT or ACT. However, they insist there is no grade inflation at their public school, their kids are “bad test takers” and the SAT/ACT aren’t relevant, are racist, etc. How did they get a 4.5 if they are not good at tests? Retakes? In contrast, my Big3 kids had 3.2 and 3.4 GPAs and ACT of 33 and 34.

It is not as black and white (public v private) as you'd think. My kids are at a public high school in FCPS. No grade inflation. Zero retakes. Nothing counts except major assessments, like a test, major paper, or major foreign language presentation. The grading scale is not generous. Getting an A is incredibly difficult at their high school. Take the same students and plop them elsewhere, they'd have incredible grades. Please, please don't lump all public school kids together. If your kids get anything to help puff their grades up (classwork, homework, quizzes, practice work, presenting in class, etc.), consider them incredibly lucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

You read on the college forum here about public school kids with 10 APs and 4.5 GPAs but the kids have a low SAT or ACT. However, they insist there is no grade inflation at their public school, their kids are “bad test takers” and the SAT/ACT aren’t relevant, are racist, etc. How did they get a 4.5 if they are not good at tests? Retakes? In contrast, my Big3 kids had 3.2 and 3.4 GPAs and ACT of 33 and 34.

It is not as black and white (public v private) as you'd think. My kids are at a public high school in FCPS. No grade inflation. Zero retakes. Nothing counts except major assessments, like a test, major paper, or major foreign language presentation. The grading scale is not generous. Getting an A is incredibly difficult at their high school. Take the same students and plop them elsewhere, they'd have incredible grades. Please, please don't lump all public school kids together. If your kids get anything to help puff their grades up (classwork, homework, quizzes, practice work, presenting in class, etc.), consider them incredibly lucky.

Shh, now. You are ruining the “disadvantaged” narrative.

[Anonymous]

You will get an excellent education at the top private schools in the DC area but the question is at what cost? It is a tough decision and will obviously vary from family to family and kid to kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the good news, after 4 years, your kid will be incredibly well prepared for college and likely find college to be easy.

-parent of big3 kids who are in college

I am not sure how that is "good" news. Also, are you claiming Big3 kids are somehow able to just waltz through college senior-level STEM classes because of their Big3 training?

My class of '22 big 3 grad is killing it currently at their T15 school. They are not waltzing, no, but they work fairly hard and get results that are superior to most of their T15 peers, so far.

Their professors repeatedly tell them what an excellent writer and thinker they are, actually. One prof, who many DC parents would know, called my kid a 'standout.' I attribute a LOT of this to kid's HS experience, which was indeed rigorous. And excellent.

Are you now claiming your Big3 grad is superior to the boarding school and LA/NYC private school kids?

No idea. That wasn’t the prompt though. The above post responded to someone wondering if a deeply rigorous HS education at a (grade-deflating) big3 might make even a top college feel like a “waltz.” The answer for my kid is a qualified Yes. Perhaps their Andover alum college classmates feel exactly the same, who knows

Actually, the question was whether your kid was a STEM major and is finding their upper level college classes a “waltz”. You answered by saying their writing and critical thinking is great…so, I gather no, they aren’t a STEM major.

You then blathered on about how supposedly your kid is the tops in the class…which means I guess your Big3 is the most rigorous school in the country because top 15 schools are full of lots of private school kids from schools that would claim they are tops in the country.

[Anonymous]

When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.

I don’t think retakes are an expected thing. In my kid’s private MS and now in (a different) HS, there are no retakes. Some teachers (math and science most commonly) allow students to turn in test corrections to get partial additional credit (about 1/3 of the points back that they missed, in the case of DC’s current science teacher, for example). I see that as a good thing because it encourages the students to review and learn from the mistakes they make on tests, and they probably do better when finals come around, or when they need to apply those skills to the next unit that relies on them. But they can’t completely retake a test and can’t earn back full credit. DC is only in 9th so I don’t know if this is a way of easing kids into high school expectations and will change in later years. How many schools actually offer full test retakes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.

I don’t think retakes are an expected thing. In my kid’s private MS and now in (a different) HS, there are no retakes. Some teachers (math and science most commonly) allow students to turn in test corrections to get partial additional credit (about 1/3 of the points back that they missed, in the case of DC’s current science teacher, for example). I see that as a good thing because it encourages the students to review and learn from the mistakes they make on tests, and they probably do better when finals come around, or when they need to apply those skills to the next unit that relies on them. But they can’t completely retake a test and can’t earn back full credit. DC is only in 9th so I don’t know if this is a way of easing kids into high school expectations and will change in later years. How many schools actually offer full test retakes?

This is really generous! NCS would shutter their doors before they offered test corrections. 🙁😡

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.

I don’t think retakes are an expected thing. In my kid’s private MS and now in (a different) HS, there are no retakes. Some teachers (math and science most commonly) allow students to turn in test corrections to get partial additional credit (about 1/3 of the points back that they missed, in the case of DC’s current science teacher, for example). I see that as a good thing because it encourages the students to review and learn from the mistakes they make on tests, and they probably do better when finals come around, or when they need to apply those skills to the next unit that relies on them. But they can’t completely retake a test and can’t earn back full credit. DC is only in 9th so I don’t know if this is a way of easing kids into high school expectations and will change in later years. How many schools actually offer full test retakes?

This is really generous! NCS would shutter their doors before they offered test corrections. 🙁😡

Many math teachers offer test corrections. My daughter is at NCS in the Upper School. Corrections couldn't take you over an 80 ... but they do happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.

I don’t think retakes are an expected thing. In my kid’s private MS and now in (a different) HS, there are no retakes. Some teachers (math and science most commonly) allow students to turn in test corrections to get partial additional credit (about 1/3 of the points back that they missed, in the case of DC’s current science teacher, for example). I see that as a good thing because it encourages the students to review and learn from the mistakes they make on tests, and they probably do better when finals come around, or when they need to apply those skills to the next unit that relies on them. But they can’t completely retake a test and can’t earn back full credit. DC is only in 9th so I don’t know if this is a way of easing kids into high school expectations and will change in later years. How many schools actually offer full test retakes?

This is really generous! NCS would shutter their doors before they offered test corrections. 🙁😡

Many math teachers offer test corrections. My daughter is at NCS in the Upper School. Corrections couldn't take you over an 80 ... but they do happen.

Interesting. For hard upper level classes, I see nothing wrong with offering test corrections and giving up to half the points back. Isn’t the whole point to actually master the content?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.

I don’t think retakes are an expected thing. In my kid’s private MS and now in (a different) HS, there are no retakes. Some teachers (math and science most commonly) allow students to turn in test corrections to get partial additional credit (about 1/3 of the points back that they missed, in the case of DC’s current science teacher, for example). I see that as a good thing because it encourages the students to review and learn from the mistakes they make on tests, and they probably do better when finals come around, or when they need to apply those skills to the next unit that relies on them. But they can’t completely retake a test and can’t earn back full credit. DC is only in 9th so I don’t know if this is a way of easing kids into high school expectations and will change in later years. How many schools actually offer full test retakes?

This is really generous! NCS would shutter their doors before they offered test corrections. 🙁😡

Many math teachers offer test corrections. My daughter is at NCS in the Upper School. Corrections couldn't take you over an 80 ... but they do happen.

huh. My daughter is at NCS in the honors math track (honors precalc, BC calc) and she's never been offered test corrections. They must only offer them in the lower level classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.

I don’t think retakes are an expected thing. In my kid’s private MS and now in (a different) HS, there are no retakes. Some teachers (math and science most commonly) allow students to turn in test corrections to get partial additional credit (about 1/3 of the points back that they missed, in the case of DC’s current science teacher, for example). I see that as a good thing because it encourages the students to review and learn from the mistakes they make on tests, and they probably do better when finals come around, or when they need to apply those skills to the next unit that relies on them. But they can’t completely retake a test and can’t earn back full credit. DC is only in 9th so I don’t know if this is a way of easing kids into high school expectations and will change in later years. How many schools actually offer full test retakes?

This is really generous! NCS would shutter their doors before they offered test corrections. 🙁😡

Many math teachers offer test corrections. My daughter is at NCS in the Upper School. Corrections couldn't take you over an 80 ... but they do happen.

huh. My daughter is at NCS in the honors math track (honors precalc, BC calc) and she's never been offered test corrections. They must only offer them in the lower level classes.

My daughter was in the lower math track (non-AP calculus/stats in 12th) and was not offered test corrections. Class of 2023.

[Anonymous]

Maybe only for kids of Big Donors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

You read on the college forum here about public school kids with 10 APs and 4.5 GPAs but the kids have a low SAT or ACT. However, they insist there is no grade inflation at their public school, their kids are “bad test takers” and the SAT/ACT aren’t relevant, are racist, etc. How did they get a 4.5 if they are not good at tests? Retakes? In contrast, my Big3 kids had 3.2 and 3.4 GPAs and ACT of 33 and 34.

It is not as black and white (public v private) as you'd think. My kids are at a public high school in FCPS. No grade inflation. Zero retakes. Nothing counts except major assessments, like a test, major paper, or major foreign language presentation. The grading scale is not generous. Getting an A is incredibly difficult at their high school. Take the same students and plop them elsewhere, they'd have incredible grades. Please, please don't lump all public school kids together. If your kids get anything to help puff their grades up (classwork, homework, quizzes, practice work, presenting in class, etc.), consider them incredibly lucky.

Name the high school. I’m skeptical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

You read on the college forum here about public school kids with 10 APs and 4.5 GPAs but the kids have a low SAT or ACT. However, they insist there is no grade inflation at their public school, their kids are “bad test takers” and the SAT/ACT aren’t relevant, are racist, etc. How did they get a 4.5 if they are not good at tests? Retakes? In contrast, my Big3 kids had 3.2 and 3.4 GPAs and ACT of 33 and 34.

It is not as black and white (public v private) as you'd think. My kids are at a public high school in FCPS. No grade inflation. Zero retakes. Nothing counts except major assessments, like a test, major paper, or major foreign language presentation. The grading scale is not generous. Getting an A is incredibly difficult at their high school. Take the same students and plop them elsewhere, they'd have incredible grades. Please, please don't lump all public school kids together. If your kids get anything to help puff their grades up (classwork, homework, quizzes, practice work, presenting in class, etc.), consider them incredibly lucky.

Name the high school. I’m skeptical.

Of course you are.

[Anonymous]

No one here has made an argument here that test corrections is a bad thing. I think NCS, etc., need to be pushed to update how they do things