Everyone doesn’t get straight A’s in mcps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a W and has an IQ on the gifted range and is not getting all As. A lot of it depends on teachers and also how much the kid is willing to work the system. My other kid runs all the numbers and knows which assignments they can skate by on and skill keep the semester A. My lower GPA kid does not play any games, and if a teacher doesn’t give extra time when he’s been out with the flu, he won’t make a fuss and ask for the extra time.
I also find it depends a lot on the classes in middle school especially. The language classes and advanced math are much harder—many of the kids getting straight As are in the basic classes. When the list comes out every year, at least half of the straight A kids are not in any of the advanced classes.

My TPMS magnet kid in honors level 3 FL is getting straight A's. Turns out the language class generates more homework than all the magnet classes combined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my daughter was in 6th grade at Pyle she realized ALL her friends were getting straight A grades. She'd had a B here and there, in Math, etc. So she just turned it around and from the middle of 6th through to the end of 10th was just getting straight A grades. She's in 11th now and still gets them. She also calls herself "just the average student" because her perception is that everyone, except from one or two outliers, are getting the same.

This doesn’t not sound healthy.

That she gets straight A grades?

No, what sounds like the constant comparison to others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my daughter was in 6th grade at Pyle she realized ALL her friends were getting straight A grades. She'd had a B here and there, in Math, etc. So she just turned it around and from the middle of 6th through to the end of 10th was just getting straight A grades. She's in 11th now and still gets them. She also calls herself "just the average student" because her perception is that everyone, except from one or two outliers, are getting the same.

This doesn’t not sound healthy.

That she gets straight A grades?

No, what sounds like the constant comparison to others

For about a minute in 6th grade? I think you're reading waay more into the situation than it warrants.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP who said it depends on the classes and also the teachers. In middle school, advanced math and languages are definitely taught at a challenging pace. But some of the classes are super easy and require zero outside work, particularly science.

[Anonymous]

If you have a Karen parent who doesn't mind causing trouble, blaming teachers, and manipulating the system anything is possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I would respectful remind you that there are financial consequences to that.

When my SN kid with an IEP and a specific learning disability in math claws his way to AP Calc BC, it makes me think that some bright neurotypical kids with Bs and Cs in standard courses CHOOSE not to focus on academics - a choice that is perhaps a function of the environment at home. You and your child are free to make that choice.

Having gone through the college application process for this kid last year, I know that UMD and UVA GPA cutoffs are high these days. I know kids with weighted GPAs of 4.4, who had done several AP courses, who were rejected from UMD. UVA is more selective.

When you consider that in 2023, state flagships are 30-40K a year, total cost of attendance, and private universities and liberal arts colleges are in the 70-100K range;
And when you consider that college tuition has risen faster than inflation, when observed over several decades;

You start to realize that this approach limits your child's options. Of course, they can always attend a less-selective state option, where acceptance rates are in the 80%. That is always a fine choice.

There is an amusing notion that the C student becomes President, the B student the CEO, and the A student the busy worker bee.
That's only if your kid starts off with wealth and connections, or if they have an amazing knack for networking.

So make of that what you will.

Quite dramatic. There are so so so so so so many options out there to pursue higher education or a career outside of high school. I was an internship coordinator for a very highly selective internship program in biotech for years. We absolutely did not look at gpa. That just tells me your kid can test well it doesn’t tell me that your kid has their own initiative and can be successful outside of your home. Get a grip. Your poor kid.

Questioning the facts here: there is no real remediation for dyscalculia/unlike OG for dyslexia. So 1) either your child has a good working memory and had a knack for deciphering various ‘types’ of math problems 2) this post is fictitious in order to make a point about MCPS gifted kids.

As a father of a dyscalculic child I suspect it’s the latter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As my Tiger mom said we are Asians not Bsians

Haha. Your mom is funny. I had never heard that one before.

[Anonymous]

My 8th grader at Pyle gets all As but is an exceptional student. Her friends get mostly As and Bs but definitely not everyone is getting all As. Agree that advanced math and language you need to work hard for an A. Science not so much. Social studies and English a mixed bag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would also add that in High School there are some really hard classes and teachers who enforce a high level of rigor. Smart kids can work really hard and still end up with 89.3

Did I write this? This is exactly where my precalc kid ended up first qtr. 89.3!!! So frustrating

[Anonymous]

I am so sick of the DCUM narrative that straight As are the norm, nobody gets a bad grade even if they don’t show up or turn in work, and students who don’t get As are lazy.

I have had 3 kids in MCPS. They have definitely gotten Bs when they have worked hard. And one of them even got a D in a math class despite good attendance, turning in all assignments, getting help from the teacher and having a tutor because they have a disability. This same child got a C in honors bio because the class moved quickly and the teacher taught deeply. It turned out they had peers who also got their first C in that class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would also add that in High School there are some really hard classes and teachers who enforce a high level of rigor. Smart kids can work really hard and still end up with 89.3

Did I write this? This is exactly where my precalc kid ended up first qtr. 89.3!!! So frustrating

Oh man, in high school I had a 92.3 in English (we had an eight point grading scale) one year. The teacher called us one at a time and calculated our grades for us and I'm sure she could tell how mad I was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't know. My kids get straight As.

My one DC in a magnet got straight As. Academic superstar.

My other DC, not in a magnet but taking a few AP classes, definitely does not get straight As even though they turn in their assignments and seems to try (though I question sometimes just how hard they are trying). But, they have a 3.91 GPA. Above average academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As my Tiger mom said we are Asians not Bsians

Haha. Your mom is funny. I had never heard that one before.

dp.. my kid told me this. I had never heard that before, either.

My kid puts more pressure on himself than I do.

-Asian non tiger mom parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of the DCUM narrative that straight As are the norm, nobody gets a bad grade even if they don’t show up or turn in work, and students who don’t get As are lazy.

I have had 3 kids in MCPS. They have definitely gotten Bs when they have worked hard. And one of them even got a D in a math class despite good attendance, turning in all assignments, getting help from the teacher and having a tutor because they have a disability. This same child got a C in honors bio because the class moved quickly and the teacher taught deeply. It turned out they had peers who also got their first C in that class.

OP here.

+1. And I wasn’t even saying this about MS and HS, I was saying this about ES. The narrative is wrong and it promotes anxiety when we see our kids getting less than an A because everyone else gets an A and there must be something wrong with our child.
It’s despicable that kids are expected to be just perfect starting in ES in every way possible and if they are not there is something wrong with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of the DCUM narrative that straight As are the norm, nobody gets a bad grade even if they don’t show up or turn in work, and students who don’t get As are lazy.

I have had 3 kids in MCPS. They have definitely gotten Bs when they have worked hard. And one of them even got a D in a math class despite good attendance, turning in all assignments, getting help from the teacher and having a tutor because they have a disability. This same child got a C in honors bio because the class moved quickly and the teacher taught deeply. It turned out they had peers who also got their first C in that class.

OP here.

+1. And I wasn’t even saying this about MS and HS, I was saying this about ES. The narrative is wrong and it promotes anxiety when we see our kids getting less than an A because everyone else gets an A and there must be something wrong with our child.
It’s despicable that kids are expected to be just perfect starting in ES in every way possible and if they are not there is something wrong with them.

PP back. I couldn’t agree more! There is no place for this pressure in ES.