Independent School GPAs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools are inflating grades too, despite what people like to say here. To fall in the bottom quartile at Holton you have like a 91 average. That’s crazy inflated.

Really? Wow. THAT's why their college placement is so much better than placement at NCS!

Are we looking that the same instagrams? Because that's just not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does giving extra assignments to get bonus points count as inflation too? I’m not familiar with schools here or in the US generally (my child is still in K), but I’ve heard of private schools outside of the DMV doing this.

My policy, and that of the other teachers at the independent where I teach, is no—extra credit does not exist. Whenever I am asked by a student or parent about extra credit to raise a grade, I reply (in kind and firm terms—less blunt than I will put here) that I have given many opportunities for credit throughout the semester/trimester, and those opportunities are what counts.

What are the extra-credit opportunities that you give. I am genuinely asking so that I can let my child be more aware.

Hi there! Sorry others were unkind about your question. I don’t offer any extra credit. I can speak for teachers at my school—we generally don’t. Instead we ask kids to focus on the work we assign. If kids have extra time beyond the regular schoolwork, which is already significant (and sufficient to provide the growth they need academically), they should put it into activities that bring them joy and grow them in other ways. That’s my philosophy, anyway.

I don’t allow kids to really drop in my class without significant intervention. A student getting a C- or below is already being offered support and individual attention. But a student earning a B asking for extra credit is just pursuing a grade—their time is better spent focusing on the work at hand and improving that way. If it’s the end of the trimester and they’re suddenly all about improving their grade…that’s a lesson learned in and of itself.

What school are you at? Our big 3 doesn’t even let the kid know if they are at a C- let alone provide support or intervention!

[Anonymous]

Our independent is clear -- no extra credit and they do not grade on a curve. That's why we like it.

[Anonymous]

Bullis inflates grades. The weakest students have 90-92s averages and lots of kids have average grades in the 100+ range.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bullis inflates grades. The weakest students have 90-92s averages and lots of kids have average grades in the 100+ range.

I am curious how parents know what students' averages are.

My daughter is at SR, and I wonder whether they inflate grades. She is doing really well with straight As but she also works very hard. She doesn't share with me what her classmates get on tests, etc., so I have no clue if her grades are just typical or she is just knocking it out of the park. It certainly does help with her self esteem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bullis inflates grades. The weakest students have 90-92s averages and lots of kids have average grades in the 100+ range.

How do you have a 100+ GPA? Never get anything wrong in a single class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools are inflating grades too, despite what people like to say here. To fall in the bottom quartile at Holton you have like a 91 average. That’s crazy inflated.

Really? Wow. THAT's why their college placement is so much better than placement at NCS!

NCS sent more than half of the class of 2024 to top 25 National Universities or top 25 liberal arts schools. Pretty good!

no, Holton is much better. NCS with no one to UVA, UNC, USC, NU, etc.
I know many girls who tried this year. Shut out from these schools.

What criteria are you using for "much better"?

This year, NCS has higher placement at Ivys. Also, 2 to West Point and 1 to MIT. Perhaps if those girls didn't choose those schools they'd be going to one of the schools you mention. If Holton is "much better" because they are sending girls to UVA, UNC, USC, NU and NCS is not, couldn't you also say that NCS is better because they are sending to Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, MIT and West Point and Holton isn't?

I think the college announcements at both schools look great, especially in a world where it is much more difficult for women in admissions. No need to knock the college selections of any of these girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bullis inflates grades. The weakest students have 90-92s averages and lots of kids have average grades in the 100+ range.

I am curious how parents know what students' averages are.

My daughter is at SR, and I wonder whether they inflate grades. She is doing really well with straight As but she also works very hard. She doesn't share with me what her classmates get on tests, etc., so I have no clue if her grades are just typical or she is just knocking it out of the park. It certainly does help with her self esteem.

The College Profile provides this for the senior class, and you can assume most classes are roughly similar. For 2019, for example, your school's mean GPA was 3.81, while the mean ACT was 28.6. https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1569938215/stoneridge/nakolmglixxxwvcybl8d/CollegeProfile_2019-2020.pdf

So a student at the mean would have an 88th percentile ACT and between an A and an A- average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bullis inflates grades. The weakest students have 90-92s averages and lots of kids have average grades in the 100+ range.

I am curious how parents know what students' averages are.

My daughter is at SR, and I wonder whether they inflate grades. She is doing really well with straight As but she also works very hard. She doesn't share with me what her classmates get on tests, etc., so I have no clue if her grades are just typical or she is just knocking it out of the park. It certainly does help with her self esteem.

The College Profile provides this for the senior class, and you can assume most classes are roughly similar. For 2019, for example, your school's mean GPA was 3.81, while the mean ACT was 28.6. https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1569938215/stoneridge/nakolmglixxxwvcybl8d/CollegeProfile_2019-2020.pdf

So a student at the mean would have an 88th percentile ACT and between an A and an A- average.

Actually SR gpa is on a 4.3 scale and a 3.8 is actually a solid A minus. You need a 93 for a 4.0 or grade of A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bullis inflates grades. The weakest students have 90-92s averages and lots of kids have average grades in the 100+ range.

Are we surprised though? But as two parents posted previously, their kids were not prepared for college. It does no one any good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools are inflating grades too, despite what people like to say here. To fall in the bottom quartile at Holton you have like a 91 average. That’s crazy inflated.

Really? Wow. THAT's why their college placement is so much better than placement at NCS!

Are we looking that the same instagrams? Because that's just not true.

Botton quartile at holton is below 3.25

Top quartile is 4.15 above

Average 3.65

[Anonymous]

My kid is not at the schools discussed here as we are outside of DC area, but also at a competitive private school known for tough grading. I just noticed in the last couple of years they have removed the average GPA and any info about top or bottom GPAs from the school profile. This annoys me because it would be useful for colleges to have this info to show that the school does not inflate grades. I can only guess that the parents of kids with the lowest GPAs complained and got the school to withhold this info, to the detriment of most of the class.

[Anonymous]

Most top schools do not have GPA because
of differences in classes. You could have a student with a 4.0 who didn’t taken math or a
language etc past the minimum and some kid taking all advanced science etc. Through senior year. Parents tend to forget this when they are figuring things out and the parents with older kids get this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private schools are inflating grades too, despite what people like to say here. To fall in the bottom quartile at Holton you have like a 91 average. That’s crazy inflated.

Really? Wow. THAT's why their college placement is so much better than placement at NCS!

NCS sent more than half of the class of 2024 to top 25 National Universities or top 25 liberal arts schools. Pretty good!

no, Holton is much better. NCS with no one to UVA, UNC, USC, NU, etc.
I know many girls who tried this year. Shut out from these schools.

What criteria are you using for "much better"?

This year, NCS has higher placement at Ivys. Also, 2 to West Point and 1 to MIT. Perhaps if those girls didn't choose those schools they'd be going to one of the schools you mention. If Holton is "much better" because they are sending girls to UVA, UNC, USC, NU and NCS is not, couldn't you also say that NCS is better because they are sending to Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, MIT and West Point and Holton isn't?

I think the college announcements at both schools look great, especially in a world where it is much more difficult for women in admissions. No need to knock the college selections of any of these girls.

You just knocked down Holton but nice try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is not at the schools discussed here as we are outside of DC area, but also at a competitive private school known for tough grading. I just noticed in the last couple of years they have removed the average GPA and any info about top or bottom GPAs from the school profile. This annoys me because it would be useful for colleges to have this info to show that the school does not inflate grades. I can only guess that the parents of kids with the lowest GPAs complained and got the school to withhold this info, to the detriment of most of the class.

So band together and get them to change it back.