How common are straight A’s in middle school in APS

[Anonymous]

^^ I'm looking at Parent Vue right now, and it says "Spanish 1 Intensified" I would screen shot it, but don't know how to do that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very true -- and until 6th grade, my DD was consistently straight As at a school that 93-100 was an A. Now, however, it's like teaching an old dog new tricks -- what got her through before doesn't always work (but sometimes still does!) and so it's challenging for her to manage. On the other hand, if a child is getting As on exams, should homework matter? I struggle with this, as a student who always turned my work in on time and still keeps multiple checklists going, and so I think it matters, but on the other hand, I don't think it should count for 30-40% of a semester grade. To be clear, I'm not fighting with any of her teachers about this, and I'm working with her on trying to stay organized, but it requires lots of extra bottles of liquor on tap for me. And also managing lots of tears (and anxiety and depression) when she's so frustrated that she can't seem to stay on top of it.

This drives me crazy. APS policy is for homework to count as no more than 10% of the grade for exactly this reason -- the grade should reflect what the child is learning. In most of my child's classes, classwork (which often means whether the child keeps her notebook organized) counts for approximately 30-50%. Inconsistent with the spirit if not the letter of the homework policy.

Exactly. Who the heck cares if her notebook is organized if she's learning the material? Same for the classwork piece, although in her case she does it, and then forgets to put it in the bin on her way out of class (for the paper work -- online work is generally all turned in on time because it automatically submits when she finishes - usually.)


On the flip side, I have a bright child who struggles with test taking. She has some anxiety issues, but she's learning to be good about keeping her notebook organized and participating in class and doing the homework. I like that this helps her to get Bs when she would otherwise be a C student based on tests alone. There is a reason grades are based on a mix of things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. She's taking Algebra Intensified and Spanish Intensified as a 7th grader (both HS credits) and still getting straight A's. She's been identified as gifted in Math, English and Art, but there aren't any advanced courses except for Math at her school. I've heard about grade inflation and lack of challenging curriculum, so that's why I thought I'd ask. Wondering if it will get harder next year and how APS middle school curriculum compares to other counties in the area (i.e. is it too easy and too much emphasis on HW, classwork, etc.. as prior posters have indicated).

No such thing as Spanish intensified. Spanish 1 is typical for a 7th grader.

Incorrect. 7th graders can take Spanish I Intensified at some APS middle schools. But it is not available at all of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very true -- and until 6th grade, my DD was consistently straight As at a school that 93-100 was an A. Now, however, it's like teaching an old dog new tricks -- what got her through before doesn't always work (but sometimes still does!) and so it's challenging for her to manage. On the other hand, if a child is getting As on exams, should homework matter? I struggle with this, as a student who always turned my work in on time and still keeps multiple checklists going, and so I think it matters, but on the other hand, I don't think it should count for 30-40% of a semester grade. To be clear, I'm not fighting with any of her teachers about this, and I'm working with her on trying to stay organized, but it requires lots of extra bottles of liquor on tap for me. And also managing lots of tears (and anxiety and depression) when she's so frustrated that she can't seem to stay on top of it.

This drives me crazy. APS policy is for homework to count as no more than 10% of the grade for exactly this reason -- the grade should reflect what the child is learning. In most of my child's classes, classwork (which often means whether the child keeps her notebook organized) counts for approximately 30-50%. Inconsistent with the spirit if not the letter of the homework policy.

Exactly. Who the heck cares if her notebook is organized if she's learning the material? Same for the classwork piece, although in her case she does it, and then forgets to put it in the bin on her way out of class (for the paper work -- online work is generally all turned in on time because it automatically submits when she finishes - usually.)

I have a child who struggles with this too. I actually WANT APS to teach these organizational skills, but not penalize the kids who are still working on them.


On the flip side, I have a bright child who struggles with test taking. She has some anxiety issues, but she's learning to be good about keeping her notebook organized and participating in class and doing the homework. I like that this helps her to get Bs when she would otherwise be a C student based on tests alone. There is a reason grades are based on a mix of things.

[Anonymous]

I don't see getting a B as a penalty.

[Anonymous]

I have all As and 2 C's but my parents are mad at me for a grade like that

[Anonymous]

😃

[Anonymous]

Middle school in most schools is not hard. It's watered down education with high grade inflation for the zoomer generation. If kids can't get all A's with those two factors, then it means that they're below even the race to the bottom, "every parent thinks their kid is above average," parent group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. She's taking Algebra Intensified and Spanish Intensified as a 7th grader (both HS credits) and still getting straight A's. She's been identified as gifted in Math, English and Art, but there aren't any advanced courses except for Math at her school. I've heard about grade inflation and lack of challenging curriculum, so that's why I thought I'd ask. Wondering if it will get harder next year and how APS middle school curriculum compares to other counties in the area (i.e. is it too easy and too much emphasis on HW, classwork, etc.. as prior posters have indicated).

No such thing as Spanish intensified. Spanish 1 is typical for a 7th grader.

Incorrect. 7th graders can take Spanish I Intensified at some APS middle schools. But it is not available at all of them.

Unfortunately, even the SFS classes are too easy even for non-native speakers.

[Anonymous]

Depend on Kid and teacher for us. Kiddo took Algebra Intensified in 7th and got awful math teacher so kinda had to self taught a lot of things and ended with B+ (89%) while took all other intensified classes. Got a B in Science Intensified as well but she didn't like the teacher and probably vice versa.

This year 8th taking Geometry, Spanish 2, World Geometry and all other intensified classes available and all As in the first quarter.

[Anonymous]

This thread is from 2018.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is from 2018.

Yes, and covid made getting A's in school so much easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd say you have a smart kid on your hands, but there are a lot of smart kids in APS. In my DC's graduating class last year close there were about 100 kids who had a 4.0 or better. That doesn't mean they got straight A's all the way through, but with weighted classes for AP their cumulative GPA was over a 4.0) Based on the kids on the list, most of them took fairly challenging classes.

Schools still do this? lol I have elementary school, thought schools focused more on learning now than 30 years ago when I was in school and grades/gpa were the focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. She's taking Algebra Intensified and Spanish Intensified as a 7th grader (both HS credits) and still getting straight A's. She's been identified as gifted in Math, English and Art, but there aren't any advanced courses except for Math at her school. I've heard about grade inflation and lack of challenging curriculum, so that's why I thought I'd ask. Wondering if it will get harder next year and how APS middle school curriculum compares to other counties in the area (i.e. is it too easy and too much emphasis on HW, classwork, etc.. as prior posters have indicated).

No such thing as Spanish intensified. Spanish 1 is typical for a 7th grader.

Not true, my kid took Spanish intensified in an APS middle school. It was a few years back.

[Anonymous]

I have straight a s u r not smart