Grade inflation question

[Anonymous]

Recently it came to light that something like 80% of the grades given out at Harvard are As.

I hear lots about how much work many of the top high schools here in DC give out, and I don't doubt that. I wonder, though, if a student does all of the work how easy is it to get As? Does it compare to the ivy leagues in that if you make it in and then complete the work given, are you reasonably assured of getting an A or a B? Anyone have a student who diligently completes all the work on time but still gets below Bs?

[Anonymous]

Princeton has grade deflation and does not hand out As. So it is a myth that the Ivies as a whole have grade inflation.

And, the elite privates here do not just hand out As either. Where are you getting this stuff?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently it came to light that something like 80% of the grades given out at Harvard are As.

I hear lots about how much work many of the top high schools here in DC give out, and I don't doubt that. I wonder, though, if a student does all of the work how easy is it to get As? Does it compare to the ivy leagues in that if you make it in and then complete the work given, are you reasonably assured of getting an A or a B? Anyone have a student who diligently completes all the work on time but still gets below Bs?

As with colleges, it varies from school to school and subject by subject. Lower grades more likely in math and science (also like college), and some schools still hand out Cs regularly.

[Anonymous]

We were told when we were applying that GDS almost never gives out As so don't expect to get one....well it turns out they do! My DS and most of his friends got all As and Bs last semester.

[Anonymous]

I got the info here: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/12/3/grade-inflation-mode-a/

Sheesh, no need to be so defensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently it came to light that something like 80% of the grades given out at Harvard are As.

I hear lots about how much work many of the top high schools here in DC give out, and I don't doubt that. I wonder, though, if a student does all of the work how easy is it to get As? Does it compare to the ivy leagues in that if you make it in and then complete the work given, are you reasonably assured of getting an A or a B? Anyone have a student who diligently completes all the work on time but still gets below Bs?

It is very difficult to earn an A at our private school, and they are not given out easily. DC works until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. most nights to earn their As, and this year is working the hardest for simply a B+ in one particular accelerated/AP course. The school lectured one particular class last year about how the students were simply not working hard enough to earn high grades -- and the school therefore was not giving them out. I feel really stressed for these children myself.

[Anonymous]

And yes, DC has many classmates who work their hardest only to earn a B or C. And unlike at the ps in some jurisdictions, the parents cannot bully the teachers into a higher grade for their child. My sister, a ps hs teacher, tells me that many of her colleagues roll over or give into such cases to avoid administrative battles and headaches.

[Anonymous]

I would think private school would be more susceptible to parent bullying. They certainly have parents with the attitude "I am paying your salary so you'd better do as I ask"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would think private school would be more susceptible to parent bullying. They certainly have parents with the attitude "I am paying your salary so you'd better do as I ask"

Actually, the administrators generally back their teachers at the private schools. According to my sister, the headaches of bureaucracy and formal administrative mechanisms that you have to go through when a ps parent complains to the school system about your grading of their child, makes it not worth it in most cases for the teachers to stand firm. Private schools, on the other hand, seem to take the attitude that "if you do not like the way we do things [like grade your child] then you are welcome to leave because there are 20 people waiting to have your spot."

[Anonymous]

Our experience at local top privates (two in the recent past) is that very very few kids ended up with true "straight A's" and at Sidwell supposedly none or close to none did. But kids that got into the top colleges were very close to straight As, with one or two B+'s perhaps in 9th or 10th grade but otherwise As and a few A-'s. But the middle of the class were getting lots of Bs. For sure not many kids with Cs, but the median grade seemed to be B+ or so in most classes. It did mean that flat As were really earned which was instructive for the kids and good preparation for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our experience at local top privates (two in the recent past) is that very very few kids ended up with true "straight A's" and at Sidwell supposedly none or close to none did. But kids that got into the top colleges were very close to straight As, with one or two B+'s perhaps in 9th or 10th grade but otherwise As and a few A-'s. But the middle of the class were getting lots of Bs. For sure not many kids with Cs, but the median grade seemed to be B+ or so in most classes. It did mean that flat As were really earned which was instructive for the kids and good preparation for college.

We'll this is what they told us at GDS too but now my kid assumes he is some sort of super genius for getting As when I really don't think that is the case. I mean, he does all the work assigned but I definitely feel like there is grade inflation going on.

[Anonymous]

My experience is that at the schools seen as the most rigorous, you might have 3 - 5 % of the class with "straight As" defined as an "A" not an "A minus." A few more students will have As and A minuses, and then the rest of the top 10% is rounded out with kids who are very strong in one area (e.g. STEM) but not quite as strong, although still good (B+) in the other major area (e.g. the humanities).

The kids getting straight As across the board are very, very strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Princeton has grade deflation and does not hand out As. So it is a myth that the Ivies as a whole have grade inflation.

And, the elite privates here do not just hand out As either. Where are you getting this stuff?

Harvard and some other ivies are reportedly reexamining their grading policies. At the same time, however, Princeton's yield has declined since adopting the deflation policy, as some students opt for other schools believing the deflation policy fosters more of a competitive/less of a cooperative environment. It is complicated.

[Anonymous]

There are kids with plenty of C's on their transcripts at Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently it came to light that something like 80% of the grades given out at Harvard are As.

I hear lots about how much work many of the top high schools here in DC give out, and I don't doubt that. I wonder, though, if a student does all of the work how easy is it to get As? Does it compare to the ivy leagues in that if you make it in and then complete the work given, are you reasonably assured of getting an A or a B? Anyone have a student who diligently completes all the work on time but still gets below Bs?

Recently?! We were discussing this phenomenon while I was in graduate school in 1998.