Are straight As meaningful anymore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only class my kid was allowed a retake was in AP Physics and often the retake was harder than the initial test.

And it should be. Kids need to learn to prepare for tests the first time.

[Anonymous]

MCPS with the huge budget it has, should offer intensive free preparation classes/summer camps for all low income students. That will put these kids on pair with the families that afford private tutoring.
Taking the standardized tests out doesn't solve anything. An "A" at a regular HS worth way less than an "B" at Thomas Jefferson for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With all of the opportunities given to students (retakes, no late penalties), are straight As meaningful anymore? I have read when students spend hours on course work and other no time, but both end up with straight As. My DD works hard and uses the retakes whenever possible. A parent I know complains her DS does nothing and is getting mostly As. How is a college supposed to figure out who's the best fit? It seems like a GPA doesn't mean anything anymore. Thoughts?

They're just as meaningful now as they ever were. Even when I was in school there were several kids above me in class rank who never took a single AP or Honors class. Grades by themselves aren't that meaningful since they only tell part of a story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS with the huge budget it has, should offer intensive free preparation classes/summer camps for all low income students. That will put these kids on pair with the families that afford private tutoring.
Taking the standardized tests out doesn't solve anything. An "A" at a regular HS worth way less than an "B" at Thomas Jefferson for example.

Are you kidding? TJ pales to insignificance compared to Blair. It's not even close. Also, TJ is prep center central. People there spend 20k+ to buy test answers and get easy admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With all of the opportunities given to students (retakes, no late penalties), are straight As meaningful anymore? I have read when students spend hours on course work and other no time, but both end up with straight As. My DD works hard and uses the retakes whenever possible. A parent I know complains her DS does nothing and is getting mostly As. How is a college supposed to figure out who's the best fit? It seems like a GPA doesn't mean anything anymore. Thoughts?

Pretty much every child is straight As to ensure everyone is at same level. Putting students first
Not sure if someone is looking at their work quality and accuracy of answers though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS with the huge budget it has, should offer intensive free preparation classes/summer camps for all low income students. That will put these kids on pair with the families that afford private tutoring.
Taking the standardized tests out doesn't solve anything. An "A" at a regular HS worth way less than an "B" at Thomas Jefferson for example.

Blair HS offers free SAT prep but few student attended the classes when DS was there. The recruiters set up the table during school events and offer free pizza, but year after year the tutor often has to face an empty classroom.
The in school free SAT class pes are sponsored by MCPS together with CB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS with the huge budget it has, should offer intensive free preparation classes/summer camps for all low income students. That will put these kids on pair with the families that afford private tutoring.
Taking the standardized tests out doesn't solve anything. An "A" at a regular HS worth way less than an "B" at Thomas Jefferson for example.

We offer free summer programs for our low income stuednts. It's academic in the morning and many students work one-on-one with college or grad students doing their reading practicums so they essentially get free one-on-one tutoring. The afternoon is fun stuff with an all-day field trip on Fridays. Very few kids opt in for this and the ones who do usually stop coming. You can lead a horse to water....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS with the huge budget it has, should offer intensive free preparation classes/summer camps for all low income students. That will put these kids on pair with the families that afford private tutoring.
Taking the standardized tests out doesn't solve anything. An "A" at a regular HS worth way less than an "B" at Thomas Jefferson for example.

Well, it does help eliminate another standardized test with dubious merit. One can argue that SATs for example no longer mean anything. The scores are so jacked up that any slightly above average kid who takes a prep class can score 1500+ these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our FCPS high school there would be a reception for the The All "A" Honor Roll. Year after year it was typically 3% of the class. So, no Op not in our experience. And it's a HS where almost all are college bound.

FCPS does not have the same grading system MCPS uses. Actually there is no school system I know that has such a bloated incorrect grading policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our FCPS high school there would be a reception for the The All "A" Honor Roll. Year after year it was typically 3% of the class. So, no Op not in our experience. And it's a HS where almost all are college bound.

FCPS does not have the same grading system MCPS uses. Actually there is no school system I know that has such a bloated incorrect grading policy.

That's not true. MCPS grading policies are mainstream and in wide use today. Even FCPS today is remarkably similar. The problem here is the OP offspring take easy classes and then complain that A's are easy. Go figure...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our FCPS high school there would be a reception for the The All "A" Honor Roll. Year after year it was typically 3% of the class. So, no Op not in our experience. And it's a HS where almost all are college bound.

FCPS does not have the same grading system MCPS uses. Actually there is no school system I know that has such a bloated incorrect grading policy.

That's not true. MCPS grading policies are mainstream and in wide use today. Even FCPS today is remarkably similar. The problem here is the OP offspring take easy classes and then complain that A's are easy. Go figure...

Agree you can use the search function to find plenty of FCPS threads with the same premise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS with the huge budget it has, should offer intensive free preparation classes/summer camps for all low income students. That will put these kids on pair with the families that afford private tutoring.
Taking the standardized tests out doesn't solve anything. An "A" at a regular HS worth way less than an "B" at Thomas Jefferson for example.

Well, it does help eliminate another standardized test with dubious merit. One can argue that SATs for example no longer mean anything. The scores are so jacked up that any slightly above average kid who takes a prep class can score 1500+ these days.

You are probably living in a bubble. 1500+ will place a kid in the top 2 percentile. 1350+ will place them in the top 10 percentile. https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/understanding-sat-scores.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our FCPS high school there would be a reception for the The All "A" Honor Roll. Year after year it was typically 3% of the class. So, no Op not in our experience. And it's a HS where almost all are college bound.

FCPS does not have the same grading system MCPS uses. Actually there is no school system I know that has such a bloated incorrect grading policy.

That's not true. MCPS grading policies are mainstream and in wide use today. Even FCPS today is remarkably similar. The problem here is the OP offspring take easy classes and then complain that A's are easy. Go figure...

If the other poster was referring to Fairfax county, they are right - Fairfax uses A, A-, B+, B, ... scale. And they allow teachers to choose something they call rolling gradebook to get semester grades, though I don't know how many teachers choose that. With rolling gradebook, a student who gets 89.5 in the first quarter can not just blow off the second quarter since getting 79.5 in the second quarter will not get them a final A for the semester.

So, no, Fairfax does not use a similar grading system to MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our FCPS high school there would be a reception for the The All "A" Honor Roll. Year after year it was typically 3% of the class. So, no Op not in our experience. And it's a HS where almost all are college bound.

FCPS does not have the same grading system MCPS uses. Actually there is no school system I know that has such a bloated incorrect grading policy.

That's not true. MCPS grading policies are mainstream and in wide use today. Even FCPS today is remarkably similar. The problem here is the OP offspring take easy classes and then complain that A's are easy. Go figure...

If the other poster was referring to Fairfax county, they are right - Fairfax uses A, A-, B+, B, ... scale. And they allow teachers to choose something they call rolling gradebook to get semester grades, though I don't know how many teachers choose that. With rolling gradebook, a student who gets 89.5 in the first quarter can not just blow off the second quarter since getting 79.5 in the second quarter will not get them a final A for the semester.

So, no, Fairfax does not use a similar grading system to MCPS.

Yes, as a recent graduate of FCPS I can safely say it's comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS with the huge budget it has, should offer intensive free preparation classes/summer camps for all low income students. That will put these kids on pair with the families that afford private tutoring.
Taking the standardized tests out doesn't solve anything. An "A" at a regular HS worth way less than an "B" at Thomas Jefferson for example.

Well, it does help eliminate another standardized test with dubious merit. One can argue that SATs for example no longer mean anything. The scores are so jacked up that any slightly above average kid who takes a prep class can score 1500+ these days.

You are probably living in a bubble. 1500+ will place a kid in the top 2 percentile. 1350+ will place them in the top 10 percentile. https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/understanding-sat-scores.pdf

Not really half the well-known T3 schools have averaged in the mid-1400s. and even my alma mater which isn't all that has an average these days of 1550. These averages are very inflated compared to decades past.