Expunging Grades from 8th Grade/Middle School

[Anonymous]

I've had two kids graduate from Fairfax County high schools and I've learned that no one cares about the "Advanced Diploma." Colleges care about the rigor of the courses kids actually take, but they do not care about the label on the diploma. If the kids take all the core courses all the way through senior year (which they should do anyway just to get a good education), they'll have all the requirements anyway.
If the B- was an anomaly and she's already doing better, let her drop it. If she got the B- because she had trouble understanding the material, it's a good idea to repeat the course and get a strong foundation in place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had two kids graduate from Fairfax County high schools and I've learned that no one cares about the "Advanced Diploma." Colleges care about the rigor of the courses kids actually take, but they do not care about the label on the diploma. If the kids take all the core courses all the way through senior year (which they should do anyway just to get a good education), they'll have all the requirements anyway.
If the B- was an anomaly and she's already doing better, let her drop it. If she got the B- because she had trouble understanding the material, it's a good idea to repeat the course and get a strong foundation in place.

Except that starting with the current 9th grade class, there are different classes required for the Standard Diploma. If a child is going to get the Standard Diploma they have also take series of three classes that end in a certification.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone expunged C+ or even B- or B high school course grades taken in middle school? I understand that it is FCPS policy that you can expunge high school courses taken in middle school -- you lose the high school credit but can continue on to the next level (to Spanish 2 from Spanish 1, for example) if you earned a C or better. This is driven by our DD who wants to expunge her middle school Algebra I and Spanish I grades from her high school transcript. Will it look strange to colleges not to have them on her transcript? Does it send the wrong message? She has continued on in 9th grade with Spanish 2 and Geometry and is getting straight As. Thanks

Yep. Same two classes - DC had Cs in Algebra and French from 8th grade. Retook the Algebra in summer school and got an A; dropped the French and started with Spanish 1 in 9th grade (got Bs from that point forward). Did well on SATs/ACTs and got into decent schools.

[Anonymous]

No college (in a normal 30 second review of the course transcript) is going to think your daughter's application looks weird because it does not include grades for classes taken in junior high. The colleges are going to look at her grades and the schedule associated with those grades. This is particularly true at the Virginia state colleges that use hard GPA/SAT cutoffs.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PPs for the helpful responses.

[Anonymous]

I have three in college. One in an Ivy.

Am I the only one that thinks this entire conversation is nuts? I can say this with 100% certainty - You people are seriously messing up your kids. There isn't enough therapy in the world to undo the damage you are causing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have three in college. One in an Ivy.

Am I the only one that thinks this entire conversation is nuts? I can say this with 100% certainty - You people are seriously messing up your kids. There isn't enough therapy in the world to undo the damage you are causing.

There are posters on both sides of the argument, which side are you saying is messing up their kids? Not clear from your post what you think is nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have three in college. One in an Ivy.

Am I the only one that thinks this entire conversation is nuts? I can say this with 100% certainty - You people are seriously messing up your kids. There isn't enough therapy in the world to undo the damage you are causing.

There are posters on both sides of the argument, which side are you saying is messing up their kids? Not clear from your post what you think is nuts.

That's what I was thinking.

And I might venture to say that your Ivy kid is currently getting messed up.

[Anonymous]

I didn't read through this entire thread, so please forgive me if it's redundant. IMO I would not allow poor grades from earlier years to smear my child's future gpa. If you as a parent want your child to advance in Spanish, get her a private tutor if you can afford it or send her to a conversation group or something. But, do not let a bad grade stand just so she won't have to repeat a prior level of Spanish. I'm not sure who on here is being honest, but I think that bad grade from middle school tarnishing your child's high school gpa may create hardships from which she can't recover later. You don't want a poor grade from middle school to be the reason your kid doesn't get into her first choice college. It's becoming more and more competitive at these top schools, so it would be awful to let that slip and low and behold, another applicant who doesn't have the smeared record is chosen. If it's about learning a lesson (i.e. owning the grade, etc...), let her learn the lesson a different way through volunteering for something. The punishment of not getting into a top school doesn't fit the crime of a poor grade from middle school. I don't care what others say. I for one would not let my child suffer from a poor grade to prove how much "integrity" I have. Neither would any sane parent.

[Anonymous]

I find it funny that everyone on this thread is so convinced that their child will make it through HS without getting anything less than an A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have three in college. One in an Ivy.

Am I the only one that thinks this entire conversation is nuts? I can say this with 100% certainty - You people are seriously messing up your kids. There isn't enough therapy in the world to undo the damage you are causing.

Yeah, you're pretty much the only one, and the fact that you have a kid at an Ivy doesn't make you an expert.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone expunged C+ or even B- or B high school course grades taken in middle school? I understand that it is FCPS policy that you can expunge high school courses taken in middle school -- you lose the high school credit but can continue on to the next level (to Spanish 2 from Spanish 1, for example) if you earned a C or better. This is driven by our DD who wants to expunge her middle school Algebra I and Spanish I grades from her high school transcript. Will it look strange to colleges not to have them on her transcript? Does it send the wrong message? She has continued on in 9th grade with Spanish 2 and Geometry and is getting straight As. Thanks

I think your daughter's idea sounds reasonable. In fact, she is learning to explore and possibly execute an option you say FCPS offers (but be sure to understand this option fully prior to execute paperwork).

It's reasonable because courses can be made up during the summer or new one's added to boost GPA. It's reasonable because some colleges and universities even discard 9th grade GPA, hence won't miss the expungement (or count it less). It's reasonable because class ranking is important for some colleges and universities and this will only assist hers (starting with 9th grade).

College acceptance is no game is what she is suggesting. Wisely, it seems to me, she is already taking advantage to know the policies in place by the school system, which will carry forth as closely examining policies and procedures of major jobs in her future.

College placement remains very competitive. Why not take advantage of this FCPS policy? Good luck to your daughter and your family. Carpe Diem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ok, I have posted before and I'm going to say as my final advise - If expunging Spanish 1 would eliminate the "Advanced Studies Diploma" designation after she completes Spanish 3, then I would not expunge. You do not want to set her up where she has to take Spanish 4 to get that diploma.

(She may wish to take level 4, of course. And more is better) If eliminating the 2.7 means 1 more year of Spanish - and there's ANY chance she wouldn't want to do Level 4, it's not worth it to expunge.

Math I'm not as concerned about - either way - there are more choices for senior year math.

Op here. These are very helpful points, thank you. There are choices short of Calculus for senior year math to earn a fourth math credit. But if DD foregoes the Spanish I credit, she will have to take Spanish 2, 3 and 4 to get three years of HS language, and take Spanish 5 to earn the four HS language credits that some selective colleges recommend. DD feels pretty strongly she will do at least Spanish 4 and maybe Spanish 5, but since Spanish does not come that easily to her, I'm not sure I'm prepared to say there is no chance she wouldn't want to do level 4. GPA-considerations are a little trickier. Since DD continued on to Spanish 2 and Geometry, and assuming she does take Spanish 4, the courses she will be taking freshman through junior year for the advanced diploma are the same whether or not she expunges. So assuming that she takes four years of Math and Spanish, it still isn't until her senior year when she will take the Math and Spanish courses that "replace" the expunged courses. At that point, if colleges are looking at GPAs through only the end of junior year, then even a B (non-honors) from middle school will pull down any end-of-junior-year GPA 3.1 or higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone expunged C+ or even B- or B high school course grades taken in middle school? I understand that it is FCPS policy that you can expunge high school courses taken in middle school -- you lose the high school credit but can continue on to the next level (to Spanish 2 from Spanish 1, for example) if you earned a C or better. This is driven by our DD who wants to expunge her middle school Algebra I and Spanish I grades from her high school transcript. Will it look strange to colleges not to have them on her transcript? Does it send the wrong message? She has continued on in 9th grade with Spanish 2 and Geometry and is getting straight As. Thanks

Yep. Same two classes - DC had Cs in Algebra and French from 8th grade. Retook the Algebra in summer school and got an A; dropped the French and started with Spanish 1 in 9th grade (got Bs from that point forward). Did well on SATs/ACTs and got into decent schools.

Can I ask about taking Alg I over the summer. My child is taking Alg I Hon in 7th. She can take it again this coming summer and continue taking Geometry in 8th? How intense is the summer course (length, number of hours...)?

[Anonymous]

Do HS level honors math classes in middle school get the .5 gpa bump that they do in high school?