Do you think GPAs have gone down with new grading policies?

[Anonymous]

With the emphasis on assessments and retakes only to 90, do you think grades are as high as they have been in the past? Wondering especially for those in honors and AP classes. I know we hear about grade inflation a lot, but this seems like a high bar to meet. Would love to hear from any teachers as well, who see a broader cross section of grades.

[Anonymous]

Grades are ridiculously inflated. It is so out of control, and has been for a number of years, that people now think it is normal for a kid who can't pass an SOL to have a 4.25 or for an entire class to have A's.

There needs to be a huge overhaul in grading. Do not allow retakes at all. Do not allow late submissions other than when a kid has an excused absence.

The grade inflation is out of hand.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know about overall GPA. I think the retake policy is OK. (Wish you could get higher than 90 percent.). But the retakes do encourage my kid to learn the material. If he gets a D, he will realize he didn’t know the material so well, study and turn around and get a B. If the goal is learning - then retakes help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know about overall GPA. I think the retake policy is OK. (Wish you could get higher than 90 percent.). But the retakes do encourage my kid to learn the material. If he gets a D, he will realize he didn’t know the material so well, study and turn around and get a B. If the goal is learning - then retakes help.

He needs to study the first time. If retakes must occur, the cap should be 65% to 70%.

[Anonymous]

The tests are often worth very few points. One teacher gives summatives with only 5 questions. It’s challenging to get all 5 correct and when you miss one, you are sitting on an 80%.

[Anonymous]

Grades have dropped with the new grading criteria. They should report this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The tests are often worth very few points. One teacher gives summatives with only 5 questions. It’s challenging to get all 5 correct and when you miss one, you are sitting on an 80%.

What is the problem? A 4/5 is indeed an 80%. It means the person understood 80% of the material in the questions that were asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The tests are often worth very few points. One teacher gives summatives with only 5 questions. It’s challenging to get all 5 correct and when you miss one, you are sitting on an 80%.

+1 It’s expecting perfection, not just learning material.

[Anonymous]

I’m fine with lower grades, just wanted to get a sense of if others are seeing that too.

[Anonymous]

It would be nice to see a distribution before and after the forced grading criteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The tests are often worth very few points. One teacher gives summatives with only 5 questions. It’s challenging to get all 5 correct and when you miss one, you are sitting on an 80%.

+1
This is the biggest issue. My recollection of school was that tests were all worth 100 and if I got something wrong points would start to come off but most summarizes are worth such a small # of points it is easy to miss one or two things and end up with a bad grade now.

[Anonymous]

The 70% summative/ 30% formative had a huge impact. Yes, grades are inflated but there were far fewer Ds and Fs before the change was made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 70% summative/ 30% formative had a huge impact. Yes, grades are inflated but there were far fewer Ds and Fs before the change was made.

I think it is the 70/30 that has led to the biggest change. If you do so-so on tests, your grade will be so-so. I have a junior who had all As except for one A- until this year. He currently has at least a couple of B+ grades plus several A- grades. Honestly, that is a more realistic representation of his actual performance. But you used to be able to raise your grade more with homework and that kind of thing.

No question, he also used to retake a test to move a 91 to 98 or an 88 to a 95 and, well, I assume now he doesn't bother. (I don't really ask.)

But to answer OP, in my house, yes, grades have gone down.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Grades are down. Science summatives might be 20 questions and you miss 3-4 questions and you are digging yourself out of a whole with only 2 summative tests.

[Anonymous]

Yes, having third kid in HS now, the new grading system is definitely affecting GPA. It used to be that quizzes, class work and small projects could bring your grade up. Now they have a marginal effect. It is hard to compare as one kid was in during the Covid years where leniency was on overload. Middle kid HS experience was when they transition away from the Covid leniency and things became “normal”. The 70:30 split now(third kid had 1year of old grading system ) has been a bit rough. Studying habits are good, never an issue. And they are doing fine just more B/B+ than A’s. They sometimes just fall on the cusp and not in favor of the A but so close. It will be interesting to see how our 4th child does. Arlington mixed the 70:30 after only one semester.