Explain how grades are inflated.

[Anonymous]

I constantly see people talk about how MCPS inflates grades and makes things too easy, but many private schools—both local and national—have similar, if not identical, grading scales. Retakes aren’t that common either. Maybe it’s just my kid’s school, but it seems normal to me. Maybe there’s something I’m missing. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We live in another state, but my sister lives in MCPS. Based on our conversations ...

1.) Her kids can always retake tests/quizzes. Mine have almost never had that option.
2.) Written work. In my kids' district, a pretty good term paper with a couple of lapses in logic, sourcing, etc., might get an 86. They'd get some detailed feedback and edits. In my niece's and nephew's, the same paper would get an A, with very little feedback.
3.) Extra credit. I remember her telling me once that her kid had a 110 in Spanish, LOL.

[Anonymous]

I think it's mostly the HS semester grades people are referring to. If a student gets a low B quarter one (79.5% which rounds to 80%) and a low A quarter two (89.5% which rounds to 90%), they get an A for the semester. The same as a student who gets 100% for both quarters.

[Anonymous]

And then there's Honors for All, which inflates weighted GPAs.

[Anonymous]

I have kids with very different abilities at two different high schools. Policies on reassessments vary widely. My kid who struggles in math can’t retake unit tests, but can retake all quizzes. My kid at a magnet gets two retakes per semester in math (because that’s the bare minimum set by MCPS), but the teachers in the math department jointly choose what can be reassessed by everyone, so if the only re-assessible items are things kid already did well on…no chance to improve grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids with very different abilities at two different high schools. Policies on reassessments vary widely. My kid who struggles in math can’t retake unit tests, but can retake all quizzes. My kid at a magnet gets two retakes per semester in math (because that’s the bare minimum set by MCPS), but the teachers in the math department jointly choose what can be reassessed by everyone, so if the only re-assessible items are things kid already did well on…no chance to improve grade.

Op here. My kid got no retakes at all this is very surprising.

[Anonymous]

I think this is very school and teacher dependent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids with very different abilities at two different high schools. Policies on reassessments vary widely. My kid who struggles in math can’t retake unit tests, but can retake all quizzes. My kid at a magnet gets two retakes per semester in math (because that’s the bare minimum set by MCPS), but the teachers in the math department jointly choose what can be reassessed by everyone, so if the only re-assessible items are things kid already did well on…no chance to improve grade.

Op here. My kid got no retakes at all this is very surprising.

In fairness, my kid who is struggling has a diagnosed learning disorder related to math, has an IEP, and is in co-taught classes. That may be the reason for the liberal retakes.

[Anonymous]

Retake policies depend on individual teachers or teacher groups in each school. Some teachers are very lax indeed, some are strict.
Academic standards are generally not high, for everything except AP and some advanced high school classes. This means that in a regular class, a kid is expected to know only small amount of information, regurgitate it in a mediocre way, and they get an A. *This hurts advanced students the most*, because there is no way to distinguish between a stellar student and a run-of-the-mill student who paid a modicum of attention in class and submitted their assignment on time. They both get As. Hence the arms race to more APs, and extra-curriculars outside of school.

Keep in mind that MCPS is regarded as one of the top public school systems in the nation. A random private school won't be any better, but a top private will be, in writing and literature, but not necessarily in math, as MCPS offers a wide range of math tracks, including very advanced ones.

My kids are in high school and college and have spent the bulk of their education in MCPS. I pushed them to read classics outside of school, tutored them in math, exposed them to history and current events discussions outside of school. I'm a scientist and DH is a doctor, so science was picked up along the way at home. They were able to do a dozen APs each: one kid with learning disabilities struggled in high school, but is now doing well in college. My other kid is gifted and sails through regardless of difficulty.

[Anonymous]

In my kids math class, there are no retakes but if you show mastery in a test of material that you have a lower quiz grade, the teacher can raise it.

Tbh, there are so many high schools and they all have different vibes. I think some high schools allow a lot more retakes than others.

Where I think the inflation comes from, is county policies such as 50% minimum, kids earning an A then a B still getting an A, no final exams, no required attendance in class, etc…

That all said, my older two are now in college and they and all their friends adjusted just fine so I’m not sure how much of a problem it really is.

[Anonymous]

I think it's related to Honors and AP classes both which can boost the GPA significantly. It seems that you can take multiple APs starting as early as freshman year. At my kid's private there are no APs till Junior/Senior year and those classes are teacher invite only for appropriate students.

[Anonymous]

It really is school and teacher specific. Some schools are very liberal about it and others are not.

[Anonymous]

Middle school teachers have to use a conversion chart to enter in the grades for the extended writing project and the end of unit assessment. For example, if a student scored a 45% on the assessment, it is entered in synergy as a 60%. 74% is converted to an 84%, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I constantly see people talk about how MCPS inflates grades and makes things too easy, but many private schools—both local and national—have similar, if not identical, grading scales. Retakes aren’t that common either. Maybe it’s just my kid’s school, but it seems normal to me. Maybe there’s something I’m missing. Thanks!

Is this a serious post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I constantly see people talk about how MCPS inflates grades and makes things too easy, but many private schools—both local and national—have similar, if not identical, grading scales. Retakes aren’t that common either. Maybe it’s just my kid’s school, but it seems normal to me. Maybe there’s something I’m missing. Thanks!

Is this a serious post?

Op here. Yes it is, i was seriously wondering.