Repeating a grade at high school

[Anonymous]

Extremely difficult to do.

I will say my husband was a terror in high school (his words, not mine.)
His grades were not great, but not failing.
His parents sent him to Fork Union Military for three years (so technically they held him back and had him “repeat” 10th grade once he got there.)
He says it was the best thing for him, however every kid is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Public won’t allow him to repeat. The only way if you want that is to switch him to private for a year, repeat 9th, then come back to public for 10th.

Or home school for a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He won't "repeat" the grade. They will just move heaven and earth to make sure he passes the minimum state test requirements/credits to graduate.

Sometimes students still need five credits to pass 9th grade. A student might earn mostly C’s and D’s and technically pass classes, but without all five credits, they’re considered a freshman again. Many make up these credits through summer school or credit recovery and still graduate on time.

I’ve been teaching since 2010, but I also graduated from Mount Vernon in 2006. Back then, things were different. Attendance mattered—three unexcused absences or nine tardies in a marking period meant a 63, which was failing. Teachers made sure we knew it, and we took it seriously. Effort mattered.

Before the grading policy changed in 2014–2015, failure rates were real. About 30 freshmen each year repeated the year for insufficient credits, and a dozen or two seniors needed summer school to graduate. From 2010 to 2014, an average of 60 to 100 students failed biology each year. Students were held accountable, but they were also supported.

After 2014–2015, graduation rates went up, but expectations dropped. With a minimum grade of 53, failing became almost impossible. Credit recovery programs let students complete a year’s work in a fraction of the time. On paper, this looked good—but students often advanced without truly learning the material. In 2015–2016, only about 20 students failed biology, and administration called it an improvement. In reality, we were forcing students to pass.

Now a 60 is a D. Students can miss days and still pass. I see the same pattern at PWCS today—students moving forward without fully engaging in learning. Graduation rates may look better, but real skills and understanding aren’t always there.

This isn’t about kids not caring. Many want to do well. But the system often makes it too easy to get by without fully trying. We need to support students, yes—but we also need to hold them accountable. That’s how we ensure they’re truly prepared for what comes next

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Extremely difficult to do.

I will say my husband was a terror in high school (his words, not mine.)
His grades were not great, but not failing.
His parents sent him to Fork Union Military for three years (so technically they held him back and had him “repeat” 10th grade once he got there.)
He says it was the best thing for him, however every kid is different.

I would say your husband would be a passing 2.5 students now days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son suffers from ADHD and did very poorly in all his core courses in the freshman year (all Cs or Ds). Normal IQ. (His issues started to show early on but could not be easily helped despite of our efforts -- it's a long story) He does not seek help himself so this is something we are considering as parents.

What's people's experience in grade repeat at FCPS? Thanks in advance.

Sadly, for OP, and for teachers, and most especially students, school isn’t about education any more. Teachers want to teach but the school SYSTEM is about checking the boxes. And that’s for kids who are ready and willing to learn, and don’t have any special needs.

There was a huge scandal at Ballou HS In DC about this. It was tragic. Those kids were robbed.

Best of luck. I feel your pain too BTW.

[Anonymous]

You cannot repeat in high school. The state only allows 4 years of high school. After that, they have to go get a GED or something.

[Anonymous]

Even if a student fails, they can do a few assignments to "recover" the credit and pass with a D. Very very few students fail unless they literally do nothing and do not attempt the recovery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He won't "repeat" the grade. They will just move heaven and earth to make sure he passes the minimum state test requirements/credits to graduate.

Sometimes students still need five credits to pass 9th grade. A student might earn mostly C’s and D’s and technically pass classes, but without all five credits, they’re considered a freshman again. Many make up these credits through summer school or credit recovery and still graduate on time.

I’ve been teaching since 2010, but I also graduated from Mount Vernon in 2006. Back then, things were different. Attendance mattered—three unexcused absences or nine tardies in a marking period meant a 63, which was failing. Teachers made sure we knew it, and we took it seriously. Effort mattered.

Before the grading policy changed in 2014–2015, failure rates were real. About 30 freshmen each year repeated the year for insufficient credits, and a dozen or two seniors needed summer school to graduate. From 2010 to 2014, an average of 60 to 100 students failed biology each year. Students were held accountable, but they were also supported.

After 2014–2015, graduation rates went up, but expectations dropped. With a minimum grade of 53, failing became almost impossible. Credit recovery programs let students complete a year’s work in a fraction of the time. On paper, this looked good—but students often advanced without truly learning the material. In 2015–2016, only about 20 students failed biology, and administration called it an improvement. In reality, we were forcing students to pass.

Now a 60 is a D. Students can miss days and still pass. I see the same pattern at PWCS today—students moving forward without fully engaging in learning. Graduation rates may look better, but real skills and understanding aren’t always there.

This isn’t about kids not caring. Many want to do well. But the system often makes it too easy to get by without fully trying. We need to support students, yes—but we also need to hold them accountable. That’s how we ensure they’re truly prepared for what comes next

Worse, they graduate from HS and arrive in the work place or college and discover they were not adequately educated. They land up having to take more classes in college — and these are the kids who have higher grades than those you’re discussing. The lower threshold has some of the A/B kids believing they are doing better than they really are.