Expunging Grades from 8th Grade/Middle School
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Anonymous
| 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 |
Anonymous
| She should own her grades. End of story. |
Anonymous
| god i hope not |
Anonymous
| It is my understanding that in order to get credit for it, they have to take the class again. Spanish II requires Spanish I as a prerequisite. If there is no Spanish I credit, then they cannot take Spanish II as they do not have the prerequisite. Same for math classes. I know a few students who had the grade expunged and then took the class again. I know of no one who moved on to the next year. |
Anonymous
| Ask your child's guidance counselor. |
Anonymous
| Keep in mind that if she struggled in Algebra I, Algebra II is harder. If she does not have a good foundation in Algebra I, Algebra II will be even harder. |
Anonymous
| yes you can expunge. I would assume you wouldn't be able to continue to the next level without retaking the course for a grade though. So I'm not sure about that part. There are plenty of people who do this, which I could understand if your kid gets a C, but I don't quite get expunging a B. I'm told that if they want to go to UVA or the like, they can't afford to get a B. I just think that is an immense pressure to put on a 7th or 8th grader taking HS credit courses. And to the person who says she should "own her grades" - again, these are MS kids taking HS courses. I think they deserve a second chance if they want it. Some kids won't even take on that kind of challenge - so I salute the kids who try- even if it doesn't end well. |
Anonymous
|
Truly a question for her high school counselor's office that handles these issues. Are you posting here out of concern that she'll get in trouble if she asks about it at school?
Details are available on the FCPS web site. Did you check it first? http://www.fcps.edu/is/schoolcounseling/documents/ExpungingGradesinMS.pdf Sorry, but I'm not sure why parents post asking questions before checking the resources and asking the experts. This one is easily answered with some research and others' anecdotal experiences really don't matter -- the rules do. I would have your daughter do this research for herself. I would also have her ask a counselor your question about whether and how colleges take note of this. |
Anonymous
| I would definitely advise DD to do it. No good comes from having those 8th grade grades on the HS transcript, which is why FCPS allows them to be expunged. Esp. true if she is now getting A's. |
Anonymous
No one here ever does the obvious. That one reason the rest of us get snarky. |
Anonymous
|
I would expunge a C, bu leave a B. On the transcript, it will show that the course was taken in middle school, and I'm sure that will be taken into account when it's time for college admissions. It will also stand to show that the most difficult course of study was taken.
Your dd hasn't even finished the first quarter of 9th grade yet. Talk to the counselor, and don't jump the gun just yet. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks to all the PPs. I read the on-line materials and have spoken to at least two different counselors. My DD spoke briefly to one counselor about it. One counselor told me that a student could not move on to Spanish 2 from Spanish 1 if you expunge the Spanish 1 grade. When I pointed out the written policy stating otherwise, she said while it is "technically" possible under the policy, that if you expunge the Spanish 1 grade, it is "wrong" to advance to Spanish 2. The second counselor could not think of a reason why you shouldn't expunge a C+ or even B- or B and still move on to the next level class if you thought you would get higher grades in high school, but he seemed very unfamiliar with the practice and did not seem to have any idea how it would be viewed in the college application process. My DH feels that expunging in DD's case is "unseemly" and thinks that my DD earned the high school credits so she should keep them and own the grades. My DD says the grades were aberrations based on a variety of things going on in middle school and she does not want to start high school with a 2.70 GPA when she feels she can do better. My sister in another state finds it odd that the grades are on the high school transcripts in the first place. Her DS took Spanish 1, Algebra 1 and Geometry in middle school - under the school policies in that state, none of these grades (As and Bs in his case) will be on his high school transcript. In her state, Algebra and Spanish in middle school are considered advanced, "college-bound" classes but not necessarily high school level classes. Having been through the college application process with an older child, she does not think colleges will see anything strange about the fact her son started Spanish 2 and Algebra 2 in 9th grade and does not have Spanish 1, etc on his record -- it will just indicate he started on an advanced track in middle school and colleges won't think "Where is his Spanish 1 grade? Did he expunge it?" But none of the counselors I have spoken to so far have been able to give me any insight on how colleges would view it in our case. Thus, it would be helpful to hear from others who have chosen to expunge passing /solid grades and especially how it played out down the road. The decision to expunge 8th grade high school grades must be made before the end of the first quarter of ninth grade. |
Anonymous
| Since it's not just the letter grade showing up but it also affects her GPA, I would expunge. If she continues to get As for the next 4 years, I doubt anyone will worry about whether she expunged middle school grades. If she doesn't expunge the grades, no matter how well she does, her GPA will always be lower than it would have been without them. I don't think grades before high school should adversely affect high school GPAs. She'll have plenty of time in high school and college to own her grades. |
Anonymous
Exactly. |
Anonymous
|
yes, I'd do it.
Counselor don't like to help you be the-least-bit tricky, but it's available to you, I'd do it. Protect the GPA. There will be families doing a lot worse. and this is sanctioned by the school system. But they probably want you to be a little quiet about it. Colleges may record her number of years of FL differently. She will need to take Spanish 3, so that worst case scenario she will have 2-3 FL credits. Most colleges will, instead look at the "level" she has obtained. Seems like HS counselors should know how their various instate colleges record this. Unfortunately, it doesn't surprise me that they don't. You could find a rare out-of-state college, probably a large public which might record it incorrectly, that's a possibility. I wouldn't sweat it. |