Does everyone get all or mostly As at APS in HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Maybe it just "seems" like a common thing for high school students in APS. We've observed that the AP classes haven't been as hard as talked about or promised. Maybe things have loosened up after Covid. Feels like it's hard to distinguish yourself as a student out of APS high schools unless you've got some amazing extracurricular activity or sport.

I mean, yes, it’s hard to distinguish yourself in northern VA period. Way too many high achieving kids, and colleges like geographic diversity.

And the grade inflation doesn’t help, because there isn’t a way for the top kids to actually demonstrate they are in any way academically stronger. It’s not true that everyone is equally good at school because everyone in Nova is smart. That’s a copout.

AP curriculum is standardized, so I’m not clear on how APS high schools are somehow gaming the system.

Curriculum is standard but how individual school or teacher implements it is not. They can make their own tests through the year and cover (or not cover) the units as they like. So plenty of kids get an A in the class and a 2 on the exam

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Maybe it just "seems" like a common thing for high school students in APS. We've observed that the AP classes haven't been as hard as talked about or promised. Maybe things have loosened up after Covid. Feels like it's hard to distinguish yourself as a student out of APS high schools unless you've got some amazing extracurricular activity or sport.

I mean, yes, it’s hard to distinguish yourself in northern VA period. Way too many high achieving kids, and colleges like geographic diversity.

And the grade inflation doesn’t help, because there isn’t a way for the top kids to actually demonstrate they are in any way academically stronger. It’s not true that everyone is equally good at school because everyone in Nova is smart. That’s a copout.

AP curriculum is standardized, so I’m not clear on how APS high schools are somehow gaming the system.

Curriculum is standard but how individual school or teacher implements it is not. They can make their own tests through the year and cover (or not cover) the units as they like. So plenty of kids get an A in the class and a 2 on the exam

+1 Some teachers call their class "AP" to give students a GPA boost but then don't teach the AP curriculum. Since APS requires all students in an AP class to take the AP exam, the whole class takes the exam and scores poorly. That is one factor which holds down APS's overall AP passing rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Maybe it just "seems" like a common thing for high school students in APS. We've observed that the AP classes haven't been as hard as talked about or promised. Maybe things have loosened up after Covid. Feels like it's hard to distinguish yourself as a student out of APS high schools unless you've got some amazing extracurricular activity or sport.

I mean, yes, it’s hard to distinguish yourself in northern VA period. Way too many high achieving kids, and colleges like geographic diversity.

And the grade inflation doesn’t help, because there isn’t a way for the top kids to actually demonstrate they are in any way academically stronger. It’s not true that everyone is equally good at school because everyone in Nova is smart. That’s a copout.

AP curriculum is standardized, so I’m not clear on how APS high schools are somehow gaming the system.

Curriculum is standard but how individual school or teacher implements it is not. They can make their own tests through the year and cover (or not cover) the units as they like. So plenty of kids get an A in the class and a 2 on the exam

We have not experienced that at all. All of DC's teachers have prepared them for the AP exams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if your daughter is in AP classes and comparing grades with just friends - who I assume are also in AP classes - then you’re looking at a data set of students who all strive for As.

As an APS HS sped teacher, I can say that no, not everybody gets A’s. 15 students across my 5 classes failed for the year, and that includes 1 senior who will not be able to graduate and a junior who had a baby earlier this year.

If you’re looking for an actual answer, I’d suggest you look outside of your bubble and ask the parents of struggling students if “everybody gets As.”

Yep, APS is and continues to be focused on the outside the bubble kids. Which is fine and a conscious choice of this community. It doesn’t help my kids, however, who are high achieving. And we as parents will do best for our own kids, that’s the deal. So I pulled them for private school. And I’m not the only one.

So this post doesn't even apply to you. Other bubble kids are doing just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if your daughter is in AP classes and comparing grades with just friends - who I assume are also in AP classes - then you’re looking at a data set of students who all strive for As.

As an APS HS sped teacher, I can say that no, not everybody gets A’s. 15 students across my 5 classes failed for the year, and that includes 1 senior who will not be able to graduate and a junior who had a baby earlier this year.

If you’re looking for an actual answer, I’d suggest you look outside of your bubble and ask the parents of struggling students if “everybody gets As.”

Yep, APS is and continues to be focused on the outside the bubble kids. Which is fine and a conscious choice of this community. It doesn’t help my kids, however, who are high achieving. And we as parents will do best for our own kids, that’s the deal. So I pulled them for private school. And I’m not the only one.

So this post doesn't even apply to you. Other bubble kids are doing just fine.

Confused. Do you mean other high achieving kids are doing fine? And, if by doing “fine,” you mean they feel good as they are easily earning As then I disagree. My kid could also be described as fine when s/he gets to eat cake all day and play video games. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it alright for these kids. I don’t believe that that kind of “fine” is what is best in the long run for my kid or the other high achieving kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Maybe it just "seems" like a common thing for high school students in APS. We've observed that the AP classes haven't been as hard as talked about or promised. Maybe things have loosened up after Covid. Feels like it's hard to distinguish yourself as a student out of APS high schools unless you've got some amazing extracurricular activity or sport.

I mean, yes, it’s hard to distinguish yourself in northern VA period. Way too many high achieving kids, and colleges like geographic diversity.

And the grade inflation doesn’t help, because there isn’t a way for the top kids to actually demonstrate they are in any way academically stronger. It’s not true that everyone is equally good at school because everyone in Nova is smart. That’s a copout.

AP curriculum is standardized, so I’m not clear on how APS high schools are somehow gaming the system.

Curriculum is standard but how individual school or teacher implements it is not. They can make their own tests through the year and cover (or not cover) the units as they like. So plenty of kids get an A in the class and a 2 on the exam

We have not experienced that at all. All of DC's teachers have prepared them for the AP exams.

How many AP exams and what were their scores? Your experience is not reflected in the overall scores APS is achieving according to PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if your daughter is in AP classes and comparing grades with just friends - who I assume are also in AP classes - then you’re looking at a data set of students who all strive for As.

As an APS HS sped teacher, I can say that no, not everybody gets A’s. 15 students across my 5 classes failed for the year, and that includes 1 senior who will not be able to graduate and a junior who had a baby earlier this year.

If you’re looking for an actual answer, I’d suggest you look outside of your bubble and ask the parents of struggling students if “everybody gets As.”

Yep, APS is and continues to be focused on the outside the bubble kids. Which is fine and a conscious choice of this community. It doesn’t help my kids, however, who are high achieving. And we as parents will do best for our own kids, that’s the deal. So I pulled them for private school. And I’m not the only one.

So this post doesn't even apply to you. Other bubble kids are doing just fine.

Confused. Do you mean other high achieving kids are doing fine? And, if by doing “fine,” you mean they feel good as they are easily earning As then I disagree. My kid could also be described as fine when s/he gets to eat cake all day and play video games. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it alright for these kids. I don’t believe that that kind of “fine” is what is best in the long run for my kid or the other high achieving kids.

Yes. My high achieving kid, who is referred to as being a bubble in this chain, is getting As, scoring 4s and 5s and has high SAT scores. They are doing fine. They also don't mess around playing video games b/c they know how to behave in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Maybe it just "seems" like a common thing for high school students in APS. We've observed that the AP classes haven't been as hard as talked about or promised. Maybe things have loosened up after Covid. Feels like it's hard to distinguish yourself as a student out of APS high schools unless you've got some amazing extracurricular activity or sport.

I mean, yes, it’s hard to distinguish yourself in northern VA period. Way too many high achieving kids, and colleges like geographic diversity.

And the grade inflation doesn’t help, because there isn’t a way for the top kids to actually demonstrate they are in any way academically stronger. It’s not true that everyone is equally good at school because everyone in Nova is smart. That’s a copout.

AP curriculum is standardized, so I’m not clear on how APS high schools are somehow gaming the system.

Curriculum is standard but how individual school or teacher implements it is not. They can make their own tests through the year and cover (or not cover) the units as they like. So plenty of kids get an A in the class and a 2 on the exam

Where is this info published? I wouldn't trust PP's statement w/o proof. My DC and their friends aren't getting 2s. Perhaps it's a self-selecting group.

We have not experienced that at all. All of DC's teachers have prepared them for the AP exams.

How many AP exams and what were their scores? Your experience is not reflected in the overall scores APS is achieving according to PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Maybe it just "seems" like a common thing for high school students in APS. We've observed that the AP classes haven't been as hard as talked about or promised. Maybe things have loosened up after Covid. Feels like it's hard to distinguish yourself as a student out of APS high schools unless you've got some amazing extracurricular activity or sport.

I mean, yes, it’s hard to distinguish yourself in northern VA period. Way too many high achieving kids, and colleges like geographic diversity.

And the grade inflation doesn’t help, because there isn’t a way for the top kids to actually demonstrate they are in any way academically stronger. It’s not true that everyone is equally good at school because everyone in Nova is smart. That’s a copout.

AP curriculum is standardized, so I’m not clear on how APS high schools are somehow gaming the system.

Curriculum is standard but how individual school or teacher implements it is not. They can make their own tests through the year and cover (or not cover) the units as they like. So plenty of kids get an A in the class and a 2 on the exam

We have not experienced that at all. All of DC's teachers have prepared them for the AP exams.

How many AP exams and what were their scores? Your experience is not reflected in the overall scores APS is achieving according to PP.

Where is this info published? I wouldn't trust PP's statement w/o proof. My DC and their friends aren't getting 2s. Perhaps it's a self-selecting group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if your daughter is in AP classes and comparing grades with just friends - who I assume are also in AP classes - then you’re looking at a data set of students who all strive for As.

As an APS HS sped teacher, I can say that no, not everybody gets A’s. 15 students across my 5 classes failed for the year, and that includes 1 senior who will not be able to graduate and a junior who had a baby earlier this year.

If you’re looking for an actual answer, I’d suggest you look outside of your bubble and ask the parents of struggling students if “everybody gets As.”

Yep, APS is and continues to be focused on the outside the bubble kids. Which is fine and a conscious choice of this community. It doesn’t help my kids, however, who are high achieving. And we as parents will do best for our own kids, that’s the deal. So I pulled them for private school. And I’m not the only one.

So this post doesn't even apply to you. Other bubble kids are doing just fine.

Confused. Do you mean other high achieving kids are doing fine? And, if by doing “fine,” you mean they feel good as they are easily earning As then I disagree. My kid could also be described as fine when s/he gets to eat cake all day and play video games. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it alright for these kids. I don’t believe that that kind of “fine” is what is best in the long run for my kid or the other high achieving kids.

Yes. My high achieving kid, who is referred to as being a bubble in this chain, is getting As, scoring 4s and 5s and has high SAT scores. They are doing fine. They also don't mess around playing video games b/c they know how to behave in school.

Great for you. Sounds like your child may have a shot at UVA 🙄

I want my child to experience significant setback, failure and to learn grit while child is under my wing. So I challenged them by removing them from APS easy world of As. For us (and I think for a lot of others), its system of grade inflation is a huge downside. My children too were earning As with little to no effort and never experienced academic failure (not an F but I mean some suggestion that an A was something incredibly difficult to achieve and set their work apart). To each their own. Glad your kid is working hard for their As. My kids just didn’t have to and that wasn’t enough for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if your daughter is in AP classes and comparing grades with just friends - who I assume are also in AP classes - then you’re looking at a data set of students who all strive for As.

As an APS HS sped teacher, I can say that no, not everybody gets A’s. 15 students across my 5 classes failed for the year, and that includes 1 senior who will not be able to graduate and a junior who had a baby earlier this year.

If you’re looking for an actual answer, I’d suggest you look outside of your bubble and ask the parents of struggling students if “everybody gets As.”

Yep, APS is and continues to be focused on the outside the bubble kids. Which is fine and a conscious choice of this community. It doesn’t help my kids, however, who are high achieving. And we as parents will do best for our own kids, that’s the deal. So I pulled them for private school. And I’m not the only one.

So this post doesn't even apply to you. Other bubble kids are doing just fine.

Confused. Do you mean other high achieving kids are doing fine? And, if by doing “fine,” you mean they feel good as they are easily earning As then I disagree. My kid could also be described as fine when s/he gets to eat cake all day and play video games. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it alright for these kids. I don’t believe that that kind of “fine” is what is best in the long run for my kid or the other high achieving kids.

Yes. My high achieving kid, who is referred to as being a bubble in this chain, is getting As, scoring 4s and 5s and has high SAT scores. They are doing fine. They also don't mess around playing video games b/c they know how to behave in school.

Great for you. Sounds like your child may have a shot at UVA 🙄

I want my child to experience significant setback, failure and to learn grit while child is under my wing. So I challenged them by removing them from APS easy world of As. For us (and I think for a lot of others), its system of grade inflation is a huge downside. My children too were earning As with little to no effort and never experienced academic failure (not an F but I mean some suggestion that an A was something incredibly difficult to achieve and set their work apart). To each their own. Glad your kid is working hard for their As. My kids just didn’t have to and that wasn’t enough for me.

The SAT and AP scores are standardized. No grade inflation is involved, so a kid who scores high on them must know the content. There is no indication if the kid was "working hard" for those scores. There is an indication that, one way or the other, the kid knew the content. Congrats to you that you found a place that you think is better for your kids. That doesn't mean you or your kids are any better than public school parents or students. It just means that your kids needed something different and that is OK. You can and should feel comfortable with that decision w/o trying to put down others. If you can't feel that way, I'm sorry. That's too bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if your daughter is in AP classes and comparing grades with just friends - who I assume are also in AP classes - then you’re looking at a data set of students who all strive for As.

As an APS HS sped teacher, I can say that no, not everybody gets A’s. 15 students across my 5 classes failed for the year, and that includes 1 senior who will not be able to graduate and a junior who had a baby earlier this year.

If you’re looking for an actual answer, I’d suggest you look outside of your bubble and ask the parents of struggling students if “everybody gets As.”

Yep, APS is and continues to be focused on the outside the bubble kids. Which is fine and a conscious choice of this community. It doesn’t help my kids, however, who are high achieving. And we as parents will do best for our own kids, that’s the deal. So I pulled them for private school. And I’m not the only one.

So this post doesn't even apply to you. Other bubble kids are doing just fine.

Confused. Do you mean other high achieving kids are doing fine? And, if by doing “fine,” you mean they feel good as they are easily earning As then I disagree. My kid could also be described as fine when s/he gets to eat cake all day and play video games. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it alright for these kids. I don’t believe that that kind of “fine” is what is best in the long run for my kid or the other high achieving kids.

Yes. My high achieving kid, who is referred to as being a bubble in this chain, is getting As, scoring 4s and 5s and has high SAT scores. They are doing fine. They also don't mess around playing video games b/c they know how to behave in school.

Great for you. Sounds like your child may have a shot at UVA 🙄

I want my child to experience significant setback, failure and to learn grit while child is under my wing. So I challenged them by removing them from APS easy world of As. For us (and I think for a lot of others), its system of grade inflation is a huge downside. My children too were earning As with little to no effort and never experienced academic failure (not an F but I mean some suggestion that an A was something incredibly difficult to achieve and set their work apart). To each their own. Glad your kid is working hard for their As. My kids just didn’t have to and that wasn’t enough for me.

There’s a wide gulf between “requiring hard work” and “incredibly difficult to achieve.” Why would we ever need an A to be “incredibly difficult” to get? What purpose does that serve? That wasn’t even true in the vast majority of my college & (STEM) grad school classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if your daughter is in AP classes and comparing grades with just friends - who I assume are also in AP classes - then you’re looking at a data set of students who all strive for As.

As an APS HS sped teacher, I can say that no, not everybody gets A’s. 15 students across my 5 classes failed for the year, and that includes 1 senior who will not be able to graduate and a junior who had a baby earlier this year.

If you’re looking for an actual answer, I’d suggest you look outside of your bubble and ask the parents of struggling students if “everybody gets As.”

Yep, APS is and continues to be focused on the outside the bubble kids. Which is fine and a conscious choice of this community. It doesn’t help my kids, however, who are high achieving. And we as parents will do best for our own kids, that’s the deal. So I pulled them for private school. And I’m not the only one.

So this post doesn't even apply to you. Other bubble kids are doing just fine.

Confused. Do you mean other high achieving kids are doing fine? And, if by doing “fine,” you mean they feel good as they are easily earning As then I disagree. My kid could also be described as fine when s/he gets to eat cake all day and play video games. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it alright for these kids. I don’t believe that that kind of “fine” is what is best in the long run for my kid or the other high achieving kids.

Yes. My high achieving kid, who is referred to as being a bubble in this chain, is getting As, scoring 4s and 5s and has high SAT scores. They are doing fine. They also don't mess around playing video games b/c they know how to behave in school.

Great for you. Sounds like your child may have a shot at UVA 🙄

I want my child to experience significant setback, failure and to learn grit while child is under my wing. So I challenged them by removing them from APS easy world of As. For us (and I think for a lot of others), its system of grade inflation is a huge downside. My children too were earning As with little to no effort and never experienced academic failure (not an F but I mean some suggestion that an A was something incredibly difficult to achieve and set their work apart). To each their own. Glad your kid is working hard for their As. My kids just didn’t have to and that wasn’t enough for me.

The SAT and AP scores are standardized. No grade inflation is involved, so a kid who scores high on them must know the content. There is no indication if the kid was "working hard" for those scores. There is an indication that, one way or the other, the kid knew the content. Congrats to you that you found a place that you think is better for your kids. That doesn't mean you or your kids are any better than public school parents or students. It just means that your kids needed something different and that is OK. You can and should feel comfortable with that decision w/o trying to put down others. If you can't feel that way, I'm sorry. That's too bad.

Lady I’m not better than you. I’m saying the grade inflation is bad for kids. I think it’s not good for your kid or any smart kid. You keep defending the grade inflation in APS as if it’s something to be applauded. APS has wonderful grade inflation; it’s ideal! My choice for my kids HS isn’t perfect and there are things I can complain about too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if your daughter is in AP classes and comparing grades with just friends - who I assume are also in AP classes - then you’re looking at a data set of students who all strive for As.

As an APS HS sped teacher, I can say that no, not everybody gets A’s. 15 students across my 5 classes failed for the year, and that includes 1 senior who will not be able to graduate and a junior who had a baby earlier this year.

If you’re looking for an actual answer, I’d suggest you look outside of your bubble and ask the parents of struggling students if “everybody gets As.”

Yep, APS is and continues to be focused on the outside the bubble kids. Which is fine and a conscious choice of this community. It doesn’t help my kids, however, who are high achieving. And we as parents will do best for our own kids, that’s the deal. So I pulled them for private school. And I’m not the only one.

So this post doesn't even apply to you. Other bubble kids are doing just fine.

Confused. Do you mean other high achieving kids are doing fine? And, if by doing “fine,” you mean they feel good as they are easily earning As then I disagree. My kid could also be described as fine when s/he gets to eat cake all day and play video games. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it alright for these kids. I don’t believe that that kind of “fine” is what is best in the long run for my kid or the other high achieving kids.

Yes. My high achieving kid, who is referred to as being a bubble in this chain, is getting As, scoring 4s and 5s and has high SAT scores. They are doing fine. They also don't mess around playing video games b/c they know how to behave in school.

Great for you. Sounds like your child may have a shot at UVA 🙄

I want my child to experience significant setback, failure and to learn grit while child is under my wing. So I challenged them by removing them from APS easy world of As. For us (and I think for a lot of others), its system of grade inflation is a huge downside. My children too were earning As with little to no effort and never experienced academic failure (not an F but I mean some suggestion that an A was something incredibly difficult to achieve and set their work apart). To each their own. Glad your kid is working hard for their As. My kids just didn’t have to and that wasn’t enough for me.

There’s a wide gulf between “requiring hard work” and “incredibly difficult to achieve.” Why would we ever need an A to be “incredibly difficult” to get? What purpose does that serve? That wasn’t even true in the vast majority of my college & (STEM) grad school classes.

Nova?

[Anonymous]

“Incredibly difficult to achieve [an A]” in a public school would be Stuyvesant or Bronx Science in NYC, or TJHSST and Montgomery Blair Science and Tech Magnet locally.