The deflated grading is just exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The point of going to a top 3 school is to get a demanding, rigorous education.

If you’re not happy with it, switch to public or Maret or field or someplace like that.

Was your child admitted early, like in kindergarten or elementary? Maybe it’s not the right fit.

Bs are one thing by getting multiple scores like 75 or 65 could be a sign your kid shouldn’t be of the school.

I tire The people who get their kids into super progress schools and then complain that they are too rigorous.

Oh please, not the OP but you are full of it. And, your reading comprehension is lacking. OP said what class averages were really low. Her child is doing much better than the lower average. The OP takes issue with the excessively unnecessary grind combined with the harsh and demoralizing grading. I agree with OP, as someone who has three kids at a big three, that the grade deflation is ridiculous and unnecessary. The kids should be graded fairly. A work deserves an A. Stupid to force a curve or grade distribution, doesn't add anything to the rigor or what the kids are learning. Before you say well go to another school, options are bleak. It shouldn't be all or nothing but it is. If you want your child to get a certain kind of education that there are tradeoffs. Doesn't mean we as parents have to be happy with the bad.

Options are bleak? All or nothing?

Big X or jail?

It’s this attitude that has you where you are. You think you must have this school. Why? There are plenty of schools with challenging academics that don’t take this approach to grading. Yet you choose to send your kids (multiple kids so it’s no secret).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

There is another thread posting grade distributions of the top LA and NYC private schools showing that 70% of those classes are scoring A- or higher.

Nearly all the top 10 colleges award As to ~50% of the class.

At some point clinging to some rigid grading system appears a bit pointless.

Yes, the schools that follow strict grading (or deflated grading or whatever you want to call it) are getter fewer and fewer.

And as college application numbers continue to rise, it seems like they have less interest (and time) to understand that B's at NCS are the norm for excellent students, that a 3.5 GPA is quite strong, etc.

For larger schools, I'm not sure they care to understand. They have to report accepted student GPA. A 3.0 from NCS still gets reported as a 3.0.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

There is another thread posting grade distributions of the top LA and NYC private schools showing that 70% of those classes are scoring A- or higher.

Nearly all the top 10 colleges award As to ~50% of the class.

At some point clinging to some rigid grading system appears a bit pointless.

Yes, the schools that follow strict grading (or deflated grading or whatever you want to call it) are getter fewer and fewer.

And as college application numbers continue to rise, it seems like they have less interest (and time) to understand that B's at NCS are the norm for excellent students, that a 3.5 GPA is quite strong, etc.

I would imagine it is probably the leading cause of student/family stress at these schools and can be fixed in 2 minutes. I honestly doubt any teachers would really care that much if told that you will curve every class and X% get an A, X% A-, X% B+, etc. Teacher does not have to change how they teach or how they score...just implement the curve and done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

There is another thread posting grade distributions of the top LA and NYC private schools showing that 70% of those classes are scoring A- or higher.

Nearly all the top 10 colleges award As to ~50% of the class.

At some point clinging to some rigid grading system appears a bit pointless.

Yes, the schools that follow strict grading (or deflated grading or whatever you want to call it) are getter fewer and fewer.

And as college application numbers continue to rise, it seems like they have less interest (and time) to understand that B's at NCS are the norm for excellent students, that a 3.5 GPA is quite strong, etc.

I would imagine it is probably the leading cause of student/family stress at these schools and can be fixed in 2 minutes. I honestly doubt any teachers would really care that much if told that you will curve every class and X% get an A, X% A-, X% B+, etc. Teacher does not have to change how they teach or how they score...just implement the curve and done.

And college admissions would sky rocket. At this point in time admissions are dipping further each year. NCS (for example) has rested on the laurels of it's crew team for way too long to garner Ivy admits. Well this year there aren't any (or maybe 1?) kids that will row in college at all. So expect a significant overall Ivy drop..probably to a tiny handful. Meanwhile Holton (which is just as rigorous but with far more reasonable grading) had arguably the best college results in the DMV last year. They basically got the entire grade into top 50 schools. NCS had far more mixed results and almost no one to top schools outside of the crew kids and those in the top 10% of the class (i.e. those with GPAs above 3.8ish). Lots of girls were shut out from second tier public universities (let alone the top tier). No-one at these large universities has the time to deliberate how much really goes into an NCS 3.3. They just click "no pile" and move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

There is another thread posting grade distributions of the top LA and NYC private schools showing that 70% of those classes are scoring A- or higher.

Nearly all the top 10 colleges award As to ~50% of the class.

At some point clinging to some rigid grading system appears a bit pointless.

Yes, the schools that follow strict grading (or deflated grading or whatever you want to call it) are getter fewer and fewer.

And as college application numbers continue to rise, it seems like they have less interest (and time) to understand that B's at NCS are the norm for excellent students, that a 3.5 GPA is quite strong, etc.

I would imagine it is probably the leading cause of student/family stress at these schools and can be fixed in 2 minutes. I honestly doubt any teachers would really care that much if told that you will curve every class and X% get an A, X% A-, X% B+, etc. Teacher does not have to change how they teach or how they score...just implement the curve and done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

There is another thread posting grade distributions of the top LA and NYC private schools showing that 70% of those classes are scoring A- or higher.

Nearly all the top 10 colleges award As to ~50% of the class.

At some point clinging to some rigid grading system appears a bit pointless.

Yes, the schools that follow strict grading (or deflated grading or whatever you want to call it) are getter fewer and fewer.

And as college application numbers continue to rise, it seems like they have less interest (and time) to understand that B's at NCS are the norm for excellent students, that a 3.5 GPA is quite strong, etc.

I would imagine it is probably the leading cause of student/family stress at these schools and can be fixed in 2 minutes. I honestly doubt any teachers would really care that much if told that you will curve every class and X% get an A, X% A-, X% B+, etc. Teacher does not have to change how they teach or how they score...just implement the curve and done.

And college admissions would sky rocket. At this point in time admissions are dipping further each year. NCS (for example) has rested on the laurels of it's crew team for way too long to garner Ivy admits. Well this year there aren't any (or maybe 1?) kids that will row in college at all. So expect a significant overall Ivy drop..probably to a tiny handful. Meanwhile Holton (which is just as rigorous but with far more reasonable grading) had arguably the best college results in the DMV last year. They basically got the entire grade into top 50 schools. NCS had far more mixed results and almost no one to top schools outside of the crew kids and those in the top 10% of the class (i.e. those with GPAs above 3.8ish). Lots of girls were shut out from second tier public universities (let alone the top tier). No-one at these large universities has the time to deliberate how much really goes into an NCS 3.3. They just click "no pile" and move on.

I’ve read many times on this forum that families do not choose private schools for college outcomes. Am I right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The point of going to a top 3 school is to get a demanding, rigorous education.

If you’re not happy with it, switch to public or Maret or field or someplace like that.

Was your child admitted early, like in kindergarten or elementary? Maybe it’s not the right fit.

Bs are one thing by getting multiple scores like 75 or 65 could be a sign your kid shouldn’t be of the school.

I tire The people who get their kids into super progress schools and then complain that they are too rigorous.

It is harder to get in to Maret vs Sidwell or one of the Cathedral Schools but magically the kid is going to get in to Maret? Why because the kid is going to Sidwell or a Cathedral schools? That is laughable. The Big 3 schools do not take cast off from other Big 3 schools.

Maret is not a big three school and yes historically Maret has often taken kids from NCS or sta who want an easier school

[Anonymous]

This is what you sign up for when going to one of these schools. It is nothing new that these are highly competitive, rigorous, schools. I was speaking with a friend who has children at a “Big 3” and she said the anxiety amongst the kids is very high.

If you find it to be too much, look for a school where there can be a better balance of school/personal life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is he there OP? If you live near decent public schools, send him there.

OP here. We had some long and complex conversations about this. Kid ultimately decided to stay as she (student is a girl) has been there for 5 years and all friends are there. It's not socially ideal to transfer for the last 2 years of high school plus the curriculums don't align all that well. Plus the private transcript is all wonky with limited APs and honors, imperfect grades, etc. it seemed better to keep going (again, mainly because that is what the kid wants for friendship reasons). If kid was younger and I knew what I know now I would transfer her. I actually regret sending her there and consider it a pretty big parenting misstep--it was her idea but I agreed to it, helped her apply, etc. Our younger kid has stuck with public.

Op don't be so hard on yourself. My parents made the same "mistake." I should have switched high schools, had an awful highschool experience but, you know what, I took away some valuable lessons from both the good and bad and am just fine. Your daughter will be too. And you did what you thought was right. I will say, even having her go abroad for a year may be helpful. Know that this has become vert popular at NCS.

Yes, we have friends whose DD is bailing on NCS US for a year abroad. Better for her mental health and of course, they can afford the extra $$ on top of the tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

There is another thread posting grade distributions of the top LA and NYC private schools showing that 70% of those classes are scoring A- or higher.

Nearly all the top 10 colleges award As to ~50% of the class.

At some point clinging to some rigid grading system appears a bit pointless.

Yes, the schools that follow strict grading (or deflated grading or whatever you want to call it) are getter fewer and fewer.

And as college application numbers continue to rise, it seems like they have less interest (and time) to understand that B's at NCS are the norm for excellent students, that a 3.5 GPA is quite strong, etc.

If this is really the case, why were matriculations last year overall very strong? A few to big state schools and less remarkable privates, but overall, seems like the overwhelming majority (which probably included girls at the 3.3-3.5 level) went to strong, private colleges. Many to U Chicago.

I would imagine it is probably the leading cause of student/family stress at these schools and can be fixed in 2 minutes. I honestly doubt any teachers would really care that much if told that you will curve every class and X% get an A, X% A-, X% B+, etc. Teacher does not have to change how they teach or how they score...just implement the curve and done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The real question is "why is grade inflation so rampant at most schools?"

My kid goes to a similar (boarding) school with no inflation and "real" grades. The grading here in the schools is a joke--just read all the parents posting about 10 APs and GPAs of 4.5 or whatever. Some schools have more than 50% of their kids with As. The bell curve is dead.

There is another thread posting grade distributions of the top LA and NYC private schools showing that 70% of those classes are scoring A- or higher.

Nearly all the top 10 colleges award As to ~50% of the class.

At some point clinging to some rigid grading system appears a bit pointless.

Yes, the schools that follow strict grading (or deflated grading or whatever you want to call it) are getter fewer and fewer.

And as college application numbers continue to rise, it seems like they have less interest (and time) to understand that B's at NCS are the norm for excellent students, that a 3.5 GPA is quite strong, etc.

I would imagine it is probably the leading cause of student/family stress at these schools and can be fixed in 2 minutes. I honestly doubt any teachers would really care that much if told that you will curve every class and X% get an A, X% A-, X% B+, etc. Teacher does not have to change how they teach or how they score...just implement the curve and done.

And college admissions would sky rocket. At this point in time admissions are dipping further each year. NCS (for example) has rested on the laurels of it's crew team for way too long to garner Ivy admits. Well this year there aren't any (or maybe 1?) kids that will row in college at all. So expect a significant overall Ivy drop..probably to a tiny handful. Meanwhile Holton (which is just as rigorous but with far more reasonable grading) had arguably the best college results in the DMV last year. They basically got the entire grade into top 50 schools. NCS had far more mixed results and almost no one to top schools outside of the crew kids and those in the top 10% of the class (i.e. those with GPAs above 3.8ish). Lots of girls were shut out from second tier public universities (let alone the top tier). No-one at these large universities has the time to deliberate how much really goes into an NCS 3.3. They just click "no pile" and move on.

[Anonymous]

If this is really the case, why were matriculations last year overall very strong? A few to big state schools and less remarkable privates, but overall, seems like the overwhelming majority (which probably included girls at the 3.3-3.5 level) went to strong, private colleges. Many to U Chicago.

[Anonymous]

You all signed up for this. And you're doing a great disservice to your kids unless your goal is to turn them into stressed out anxious and depressed adults vs. balanced ones. The worst is when you say it will prepare them for university. Prepare them for what? To continue the unhealthy cycle of being in work and learning mode 16 hours a day. And then you come here to complain. There are very few kids who can go through this without messing them up. I made this mistake with my firsts kid and my second is now in public and actually retakes a few tests here and there to make sure they understand the information. Big deal!

[Anonymous]

Given the debate between grade inflation/deflation in public and private schools, I wouldn't be surprised if these schools abandoned grades and moved to narrative comments so people stop fixating on the grades and focus more on the different degrees of familiarity with and mastery of abilities and skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a good thing, OP, and more schools should be doing this. Believe it or not, a “C” used to be average and actually meant average. It’s good that your child is getting an education where they are actually expected to learn the material, rather than just get inflated grades for showing up and doing the bare minimum.

^^^^^THIS!!!!!

[Anonymous]

OP, the good news, after 4 years, your kid will be incredibly well prepared for college and likely find college to be easy.

-parent of big3 kids who are in college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the good news, after 4 years, your kid will be incredibly well prepared for college and likely find college to be easy.

-parent of big3 kids who are in college

I am not sure how that is "good" news. Also, are you claiming Big3 kids are somehow able to just waltz through college senior-level STEM classes because of their Big3 training?

[Anonymous]

Big-3 seniors still benefit from the reputation of their schools at private universities and SLACs. These colleges and universities admissions officers work closely with the college counseling offices of the Big-3 and adjust for the grade deflation. They also keep track of students from these high schools and know that they are capable of performing well at their respective colleges. Where Big-3 seniors lose out would be applications to large state systems, especially the UCs. Not having designated APs and lower GPAs will result in first round cuts of a lot of Big-3 seniors who would otherwise be will in the running for those admissions slots.