APS HS Intensified/Honors Classes -- Why No GPA Bump?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remedial classes are now considered regular.

Regular classes are now considered intensified.

It’s not PC to make students feel bad.

Students read entire novels in the intensified classes. They read excerpts of novels in the regular classes. One doesn’t deserve a GPA boost because they’re capable of reading an entire novel.

Not necessarily. Or not necessarily more than one complete novel. Even AP Eng11 isn't necessarily reading more than one complete full-length novel. But these classes do have better class discussions and definitely more in-depth analysis/study than gen ed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At WHS, freshman can take AP World History, AP Human Geography, and maybe AP Comp Sci? In 10th, kids have a few AP options, including the immersion kids taking AP Spanish lang. But yes, generally (@ WHS & at most schools), AP ramps up in 11th grade, with the first chances (as far as I know) to take AP science, math, and English.

I thought the only AP open to freshmen at WHS was AP World History.

I don’t know what’s typical, but I know of at least one 9th grader in AP human Geo. And I thought AP computer Sci was open to freshmen, but I could be wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They get above a 4.0 once they have taken one of the AP history classes in 10th grade. So, you won't see kids with GPAs as high as schools that give a bonus for honors/intensified or let students start taking AP in 9th grade. The first AP doesn't boost it too much. I think my straight-A student has a 4.05 after 1 AP sophomore year.

Wakefield (& probably WL & Yorktown?) allows 9th graders to take AP World History.

Yes, 9th graders at WL are allowed to take AP World History.

[Anonymous]

APS simply doesn’t add a gpa point for intensified. This is clearly stated on the information sheet sent with every application to every college so colleges are aware about it and understand why Susie from APS has a 4.3 while Johnny from FCPS has a 5.2. It’s. It something to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Colleges don’t care about your district’s weighting system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They get above a 4.0 once they have taken one of the AP history classes in 10th grade. So, you won't see kids with GPAs as high as schools that give a bonus for honors/intensified or let students start taking AP in 9th grade. The first AP doesn't boost it too much. I think my straight-A student has a 4.05 after 1 AP sophomore year.

Wakefield (& probably WL & Yorktown?) allows 9th graders to take AP World History.

Yorktown does not. 10th graders will take AP world, AP Euro or APHUG. That is why it matters that their grade is looked at compared to others in their school. There isn’t even consistency among the three primary high schools in Arlington.

I don't get why this is an issue.
It's the GPA when you're applying to colleges and graduating that counts. So what if you don't start taking AP courses until 10th or 11th.

The reason it matters is because some of the weighted GPAss are simply not possible at some schools. A straight
A, high rigor transcript may be a 4.5 at one school and a 4.1 at the other school. Both students did well in the classes they were offered. Colleges don’t penalize students who don’t have AP options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They get above a 4.0 once they have taken one of the AP history classes in 10th grade. So, you won't see kids with GPAs as high as schools that give a bonus for honors/intensified or let students start taking AP in 9th grade. The first AP doesn't boost it too much. I think my straight-A student has a 4.05 after 1 AP sophomore year.

Wakefield (& probably WL & Yorktown?) allows 9th graders to take AP World History.

Yorktown does not. 10th graders will take AP world, AP Euro or APHUG. That is why it matters that their grade is looked at compared to others in their school. There isn’t even consistency among the three primary high schools in Arlington.

I don't get why this is an issue.
It's the GPA when you're applying to colleges and graduating that counts. So what if you don't start taking AP courses until 10th or 11th.

The reason it matters is because some of the weighted GPAss are simply not possible at some schools. A straight
A, high rigor transcript may be a 4.5 at one school and a 4.1 at the other school. Both students did well in the classes they were offered. Colleges don’t penalize students who don’t have AP options.

But it doesn’t actually matter because colleges know each schools grading/weighting system and compare accordingly. They have software that recalculates everything to be the easiest comparison possible. You shouldn’t worry about this whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They get above a 4.0 once they have taken one of the AP history classes in 10th grade. So, you won't see kids with GPAs as high as schools that give a bonus for honors/intensified or let students start taking AP in 9th grade. The first AP doesn't boost it too much. I think my straight-A student has a 4.05 after 1 AP sophomore year.

Wakefield (& probably WL & Yorktown?) allows 9th graders to take AP World History.

Yorktown does not. 10th graders will take AP world, AP Euro or APHUG. That is why it matters that their grade is looked at compared to others in their school. There isn’t even consistency among the three primary high schools in Arlington.

I don't get why this is an issue.
It's the GPA when you're applying to colleges and graduating that counts. So what if you don't start taking AP courses until 10th or 11th.

The reason it matters is because some of the weighted GPAss are simply not possible at some schools. A straight
A, high rigor transcript may be a 4.5 at one school and a 4.1 at the other school. Both students did well in the classes they were offered. Colleges don’t penalize students who don’t have AP options.

Yeah. So, again, why is this a problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS simply doesn’t add a gpa point for intensified. This is clearly stated on the information sheet sent with every application to every college so colleges are aware about it and understand why Susie from APS has a 4.3 while Johnny from FCPS has a 5.2. It’s. It something to worry about.

Do you mean it's NOT something to worry about?
If you don't mean that, then please expand on why you say it's something to worry about when colleges make the adjustments anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colleges don’t care about your district’s weighting system.

Was just coming here to say this. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At WHS, freshman can take AP World History, AP Human Geography, and maybe AP Comp Sci? In 10th, kids have a few AP options, including the immersion kids taking AP Spanish lang. But yes, generally (@ WHS & at most schools), AP ramps up in 11th grade, with the first chances (as far as I know) to take AP science, math, and English.

I thought the only AP open to freshmen at WHS was AP World History.

WHS offers AP World history and AP Human Geography in 9th grade, as per this year's open house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remedial classes are now considered regular.

Regular classes are now considered intensified.

It’s not PC to make students feel bad.

Students read entire novels in the intensified classes. They read excerpts of novels in the regular classes. One doesn’t deserve a GPA boost because they’re capable of reading an entire novel.

Not necessarily. Or not necessarily more than one complete novel. Even AP Eng11 isn't necessarily reading more than one complete full-length novel. But these classes do have better class discussions and definitely more in-depth analysis/study than gen ed.

FFS. What are we doing to these kids? So happy we pay tons in taxes to support a sh!tty school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS simply doesn’t add a gpa point for intensified. This is clearly stated on the information sheet sent with every application to every college so colleges are aware about it and understand why Susie from APS has a 4.3 while Johnny from FCPS has a 5.2. It’s. It something to worry about.

Do you mean it's NOT something to worry about?
If you don't mean that, then please expand on why you say it's something to worry about when colleges make the adjustments anyway?

Sorry it ISN’T something to worry about. ISN’T