Kid’s Medicore Grades at Deal

[Anonymous]

unless he has a learning disability, I would not interfere that much other than maybe expressing disappointment. At the most I would talk to him about his routine for homework. I might take a closer look at whether he should be in 8th grade math.

[Anonymous]

average kids who are average students at average schools get average grades. Don't be daft and try to inject some narrative that makes it more complicated than it needs to be. Get him involved with electronic maintenance/military things. If he is advanced at math electronic theory might come easy to him and if you can fix electronics then education isn't always necessary for a good job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:average kids who are average students at average schools get average grades. Don't be daft and try to inject some narrative that makes it more complicated than it needs to be. Get him involved with electronic maintenance/military things. If he is advanced at math electronic theory might come easy to him and if you can fix electronics then education isn't always necessary for a good job.

Great idea. Let's base future job on middle school grades! Brilliant!!!

[Anonymous]

It is a surprisingly quick path to Bs and Cs at Deal, especially with the current grading system. I know people like to post on here how "easy" it is, and everyone gets As, but frankly a LOT of very bright kids, particularly boys, struggle to follow the academic routine in middle school. It is normal. Even kids who find the substance of a class easy, wind up with Bs. Even kids who got into top private high schools and Ivy League colleges, didn't get straight As at Deal. True.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a surprisingly quick path to Bs and Cs at Deal, especially with the current grading system. I know people like to post on here how "easy" it is, and everyone gets As, but frankly a LOT of very bright kids, particularly boys, struggle to follow the academic routine in middle school. It is normal. Even kids who find the substance of a class easy, wind up with Bs. Even kids who got into top private high schools and Ivy League colleges, didn't get straight As at Deal. True.

Agree that it is easy to slip on the grading scale.

[Anonymous]

And it is true what PP posts about many boys clicking into gear in 10th grade. Ask a high school teacher.

[Anonymous]

I also find our 7th grade team less responsive than our 6th grade team to emails.

[Anonymous]

Not turning in homework on another missing assignment can really impact their grades even when they do really well on the tests because a zero really brings down the average.

Just my two cents, but if his grades are down because of missing assignments and/or not making up tests he missed you should give him consequences he cares about. Learning to turn their homework in and following up when an assignment goes missing (which happens A LOT with some teachers) are important skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also find our 7th grade team less responsive than our 6th grade team to emails.

You might want to check your junk email box. I just did, and found a few messages from various seventh grade Deal teachers. No such problem with emails from other sources. Slim chance that’s happening in your case, but I thought I’d put it out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My boy, 12 yo and in seventh grade, got Bs and Cs on his first advisory. It does not seem good at all, but I’m trying to understand the extent of the problem relative to other students. He’s smart, has a lot of common sense, is happy, and a good group of friends. But he doesn’t particularly work hard and is quiet, which surely doesn’t help. He’s in eighth grade math, so there’s that, fwiw. He maybe spends 10-20 minutes a night on homework, and often misses assignments. I have the feeling that his grades will more or less stay the same without drastic intervention. I’ll find out more when I attend the parent-teacher conferences but am wondering what folks think of this performance. Something to worry about? If so, what to do? Do parents work with their kids nightly?

This sounds more like an organization issue, rather than an academic one. This is pretty typical for a MS boy. Does he have a system for organizing materials and recording assignments daily?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not turning in homework on another missing assignment can really impact their grades even when they do really well on the tests because a zero really brings down the average.

Just my two cents, but if his grades are down because of missing assignments and/or not making up tests he missed you should give him consequences he cares about. Learning to turn their homework in and following up when an assignment goes missing (which happens A LOT with some teachers) are important skills.

+1

It's one thing if he's getting mediocre grades because he's struggling with the material, but it sounds like he's giving away points by not completing and turning in homework. Now is the time to establish good study habits, so I'd focus on doing homework and turning it in. Then you'll know if there are any content- or testing-related issues to deal with.

[Anonymous]

OP, set aside some time each week to flip through Aspen. Those missed assignments will evaporate. The grades will take care of themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be very worried..sounds like needs assistance with executive functioning. No way 10-20 minutes a night is sufficient for homework. Drill him every night about his assignments and what he has on the horizon. That will enforce the importance and help him start to manage his time. Not working hard is a non starter and that tone needs to be set now before high school.

I totally disagree. My son’s grades are all high 90% and he usually finishes homework on the bus or in the morning before school starts. Deal’s homework isn’t time consuming.

I also disagree. Seems to be that you child just need to do work (missed assignments). Deal grades pretty much everything that a child is asked to do including stupid stuff like completing a survey. Any missed grade is assigned a zero and as you know a zero can devastate an average. Also, the school has really clamped down on the ability to make-up work so missed assignments are really starting to matter. Check his assignments on Aspen and I met you will see that most of the zeros or low grades will be in the "Homework" category. If they are however in the "Summatives" then you should worry and get help. For kids with a "work ethic" issue, Aspen is a god send - use it! and make sure your kid uses it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a surprisingly quick path to Bs and Cs at Deal, especially with the current grading system. I know people like to post on here how "easy" it is, and everyone gets As, but frankly a LOT of very bright kids, particularly boys, struggle to follow the academic routine in middle school. It is normal. Even kids who find the substance of a class easy, wind up with Bs. Even kids who got into top private high schools and Ivy League colleges, didn't get straight As at Deal. True.

Go back and read OPs post. Her kid has bad grades because he is missing assignments - that is the issue that needs to get fixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a surprisingly quick path to Bs and Cs at Deal, especially with the current grading system. I know people like to post on here how "easy" it is, and everyone gets As, but frankly a LOT of very bright kids, particularly boys, struggle to follow the academic routine in middle school. It is normal. Even kids who find the substance of a class easy, wind up with Bs. Even kids who got into top private high schools and Ivy League colleges, didn't get straight As at Deal. True.

Go back and read OPs post. Her kid has bad grades because he is missing assignments - that is the issue that needs to get fixed.

That is exactly my point. It only takes a one or two missing assignments to drop to a C or worse. This is what happens to a lot of middle school boys. As they mature, they get better at this and they can go on to do great things.