GDS Grades

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dusting this off, mid-term grades came this week and for many 9th graders it was the first time receiving letter grades. Am hearing lots of stories of Bs and Cs popping up in at least a class or two. This seems a stark contrast to the bevy of As that people report receiving in public school.

I know GDS doesn't track GPAs, but does anyone have a sense of what the median is? Also, is it sort of standard that the first mid-term grades are typically on the low side and that kids rebound?

“Rebounding” from a B? OP, you are the one who needs to reset your expectations. GDS is not a public school. You’re paying for more rigor, remember?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dusting this off, mid-term grades came this week and for many 9th graders it was the first time receiving letter grades. Am hearing lots of stories of Bs and Cs popping up in at least a class or two. This seems a stark contrast to the bevy of As that people report receiving in public school.

I know GDS doesn't track GPAs, but does anyone have a sense of what the median is? Also, is it sort of standard that the first mid-term grades are typically on the low side and that kids rebound?

“Rebounding” from a B? OP, you are the one who needs to reset your expectations. GDS is not a public school. You’re paying for more rigor, remember?

The OP is asking for data so she can understand the distribution of grades in her private school, which would presumably help her set her expectations. Many public high schools (like McpS) do publish information on the distribution of grades.

Actual data would presumably would help justify the alleged “rigor” of GDS, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD attended a Big-3 and is now in college. It's very hard to generalize because teachers grade very differently. Also, parents and students lie about grades. Some inflate their grades, while others have kids whose lowest grade is an A- and complain about how "hard" a class is for their kid. My advice, make sure your kid does all the work on time, participates, and communicates with the teachers (on their own, no parent meddling).

I know Sidwell, the Cathedral Schools and perhaps now GDS are more parsimonious with As. It seems that colleges are aware of this. Is it possible to be unhooked and get into a T20 school with a 3.5 gpa and strong test scores from one of these schools?

How are colleges aware of this alleged “parsimony” in high grades awarded if the Op who has a kid enrolled at GDS can’t even get these data? Do the GDS college counselors whisper the share of kids with a 3.8+ in the ear of each elite university admissions officer?

Good question.

Crickets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

OP-if you are truly a GDS parent, how hard would it be to email your guidance counselor and ask these questions? It seems more like this thread is being created to embarrass GDS about their lack of transparency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

If you have a kid there, just have them ask their friends. Or ask their advisor directly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

They will tell you that -- individually and not until junior year. Until then, just encourage your kid to try their best. How would getting this information when your kid is in 9th grade help you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

They will tell you that -- individually and not until junior year. Until then, just encourage your kid to try their best. How would getting this information when your kid is in 9th grade help you?

Fortunately, parent-teacher conferences are today through Tuesday, so if PP signed up [they did sign up, right?] they have a great opportunity to talk with all their kid's teacher and their advisor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

They will tell you that -- individually and not until junior year. Until then, just encourage your kid to try their best. How would getting this information when your kid is in 9th grade help you?

Why should it be secret until 11th grade? People want to benchmark their kids against other kids engaging in similar work programs. GDS must have some sort of written school profile document for colleges that includes information about the range of classes and how their grading works--it can not be that they're not providing any information to admissions offices. I can get why GDS wouldn't want to publish this information, but it should be available to parents who want to set expectations for their kids at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

They will tell you that -- individually and not until junior year. Until then, just encourage your kid to try their best. How would getting this information when your kid is in 9th grade help you?

Why should it be secret until 11th grade? People want to benchmark their kids against other kids engaging in similar work programs. GDS must have some sort of written school profile document for colleges that includes information about the range of classes and how their grading works--it can not be that they're not providing any information to admissions offices. I can get why GDS wouldn't want to publish this information, but it should be available to parents who want to set expectations for their kids at school.

Have you asked for it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

They will tell you that -- individually and not until junior year. Until then, just encourage your kid to try their best. How would getting this information when your kid is in 9th grade help you?

Why should it be secret until 11th grade? People want to benchmark their kids against other kids engaging in similar work programs. GDS must have some sort of written school profile document for colleges that includes information about the range of classes and how their grading works--it can not be that they're not providing any information to admissions offices. I can get why GDS wouldn't want to publish this information, but it should be available to parents who want to set expectations for their kids at school.

Here is their school profile that they send to colleges: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1736441196/gdsorg/ol1pgpwcmjbozb45fxgy/2024-25_HS_Profile.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gds does not compute GPA.

False - they compute it and CC office has it in SCOIR. They just dont report it - including to students outside the college counselor meeting

[Anonymous]

I think the real question here is what is GDS GPA for some top GDS college destinations

here is what office told us - data last 4 admission years

Median admitted GDS GPA/SAT
U-M: GPA: 3.88, SAT: 1462
UNC: GPA: 4.00 SAT: 1508
UW Madison GPA: 3.79 SAT: 1414
Princeton: GPA: 4.07 SAT: 1541

office keeps this info tight until senior fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going back to grades, can current or past families advise on what the median range might be?

GDS doesn't officially give or calculate GPAs, so they aren't going to share a median gpa. As part of the college counseling process, they give suggestions of what level of selectively a student is competitive for.

Even that would be helpful. Like how selective is a 3.5, 3.8, 3.3, etc. Just need some kind of deciphering.

They will tell you that -- individually and not until junior year. Until then, just encourage your kid to try their best. How would getting this information when your kid is in 9th grade help you?

Some reports in the college forum that a 3.5 kid has no chance at T20 or maybe even T50. So I wondered whether a GDS 3.5 is viewed differently. Just don’t want to be surprised down the line.