Fed up with MCPS Grading Policies

[Anonymous]

Colleges recompute based on what they themselves actually want to know and measure. WGPA is meaningless in that regard.

And OP, it doesn't sound like your problem is with your own kid - you seem to be complaining about the proximity of other kids based on the measurement systems. So you're upset that other kids aren't being filtered out aggressively enough to make your kid stand out more?

There are measures and there are measures. Is your kid great in ECs? Will teachers call your kid the most perceptive kid they've taught in X number of years? Is your kid acknowledged as remarkable in some other way? Lots of kids get As. But whether there are 50 of them in your bracket or 20, the competition will always be there. The only person who can make you truly stand out is you, not a system custom-filtered to pat you on the back for doing your homework and studying for your tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, isn’t the goal to learn and master topics? The point of taking challenging courses is to become well-educated in those subject areas. I really don’t understand why that can’t be the reward unto itself.

It's the same as the people who think the point of studying languages is for college admissions. On another thread, they are decrying starting languages in middle school (Does kids a disservice, etc.), because it doesn't help with college admissions.

So dumb.

[Anonymous]

My kid gets 79-81 and 89-92 every other quarter in her honors classes, and the relaxed schedule (she stops doing work once she hits the target for the quarter) gave her plenty of time to be President of her Girls in eSports club, and hundreds of SSL hours volunteering with foster dogs that we bring to the house to sit with her while she plays.

We are ever the moon with her Ivy acceptance. Cornell, of course!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid gets 79-81 and 89-92 every other quarter in her honors classes, and the relaxed schedule (she stops doing work once she hits the target for the quarter) gave her plenty of time to be President of her Girls in eSports club, and hundreds of SSL hours volunteering with foster dogs that we bring to the house to sit with her while she plays.

We are ever the moon with her Ivy acceptance. Cornell, of course!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My senior is starting to receive their college decisions, and while they are doing fine (UMD honors, etc.), I'm getting more furious every time I think about their HS grades.

Take 14 AP classes? Same GPA/WPGA as a kid who takes 14 honors classes. Earn grades between 94 and 100 every single quarter in every single class in high school? Same GPA as a kid who gets 79.5 and 89.5 in their quarterly grades. I know colleges evaluate rigor, but if that 79.5/89.5 kid takes the same classes as my kid their rigor is identical.

So instead of maybe 20 or so kids who really stand out at each high school, you end up with 50+ kids applying to every top college.

I know small differences in academics can be outweighed during college admissions by ECs, jobs, volunteering, etc. But this grading system might as well be pass/fail.

Why did my kid put effort into her MCPS schooling? I guess the jokes on us. It would have been smarter just to coast through high school and still get As.

This is your problem not MCPS

This is not only MCPS every suburban area across this country near large cites has this. Why because people want their kid educated! Omg your kid got an education poor you ,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take 14 AP classes? Same GPA/WPGA as a kid who takes 14 honors classes. Earn grades between 94 and 100 every single quarter in every single class in high school? Same GPA as a kid who gets 79.5 and 89.5 in their quarterly grades. I know colleges evaluate rigor, but if that 79.5/89.5 kid takes the same classes as my kid their rigor is identical.

I thought some colleges used their own formulas to do their own GPA calculations, instead of relying on schools' numbers. I don't know how many colleges do this.

True but OP needs something to complain about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My senior is starting to receive their college decisions, and while they are doing fine (UMD honors, etc.), I'm getting more furious every time I think about their HS grades.

Take 14 AP classes? Same GPA/WPGA as a kid who takes 14 honors classes. Earn grades between 94 and 100 every single quarter in every single class in high school? Same GPA as a kid who gets 79.5 and 89.5 in their quarterly grades. I know colleges evaluate rigor, but if that 79.5/89.5 kid takes the same classes as my kid their rigor is identical.

So instead of maybe 20 or so kids who really stand out at each high school, you end up with 50+ kids applying to every top college.

I know small differences in academics can be outweighed during college admissions by ECs, jobs, volunteering, etc. But this grading system might as well be pass/fail.

Why did my kid put effort into her MCPS schooling? I guess the jokes on us. It would have been smarter just to coast through high school and still get As.

Would you be ok with this. My HS way back graded on 1-100. Zero extra credit weighting for Honors or merit. Everything graded, from tests, homework, quizzes, no accommodations, late paper is zero, and we graded all the classes. I took Chefs in the Kitchen, Health, Blueprint reading, Drivers Ed in school along with the academic classes and everything graded. So our valedictorian was truly well rounded. We had mandatory electives that were graded. I even got a grade once on my spot welding in shop class on same day I took a Chemistry exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take 14 AP classes? Same GPA/WPGA as a kid who takes 14 honors classes. Earn grades between 94 and 100 every single quarter in every single class in high school? Same GPA as a kid who gets 79.5 and 89.5 in their quarterly grades. I know colleges evaluate rigor, but if that 79.5/89.5 kid takes the same classes as my kid their rigor is identical.

I thought some colleges used their own formulas to do their own GPA calculations, instead of relying on schools' numbers. I don't know how many colleges do this.

The moderate to highly competitive schools know mcps and they have the individual school’s profile. They redo GPA themselves. OP is bitter about something but doesn’t understand the way it works. My senior seems to be having a relatively mild year in terms of workload (3APs and one IB) but the first three years were very rigorous and not every teacher inflates grades. He worked very hard and is going to a T20 SLAC.

I don’t think kids with 79.5 averages are getting the same grades as kids with 95 averages. That seems suspect.

Kids taking AP classes are getting more “credit” from admissions officers than those in honors or on level.

You think MIT can’t figure this out?