APS MS Straight As

[Anonymous]

Don't forget that all As includes subjects like band and PE. These can be a struggle for kids who do well academically. My kid tends to get Bs in PE because they feel rules strongly and make a big stink when they suspect someone is cheating. Anoher very smart kid I know struggles in band because it moves slowly so they get in lots of trouble for being disruptive and behavior is a key part of theor grade. It's not just academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Extremely common. Just read up on the HS threads on valedictorians where everyone with above a 4.0 gets to be #1 in the class, meaning like 200 kids.

This does not mean they are all getting straight As. It means they take a lot of AP/IB/DE classes and likely get a mix of As and Bs. My DD was a W-L "valedictorian". She got a lot of Bs and occasionally had a C and once a D on a quarter report card. Fortunately for her GPA, that's based only on the final grade for the year.

In APS "valedictorian" means something more like "magna cum laude", aka the top tier of students in GPA but it's a pretty big tier.

Wow. Ridiculous that kids with Bs would be valedictorian. Not to say they aren’t good students but it makes the distinction meaningless.

Valedictorian has never meant “straight As.” It means “highest GPA.” The silly part is giving it to many kids at once, not that they might have gotten a B in an AP class.

They really just should not use the word "valedictorian", that's what people get so touchy about. As a PP said it's more like "cum laude." I get trying to reduce the pressure and competition for hundredths of GPA points at the top, which is why lots of HS's don't rank at all. APS is trying to have it both ways by essentially not ranking students with a 4.0+ but ranking the rest of the class.

How old are your kids? It’s really not a big deal. No one cares about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actual APS teachers post on AEM that they don’t have time to *really* grade their students’ writing assignments. But go on telling us how rigorous your school is.

Hahhhaha. What writing assignments? My kids have never written more than about a paragraph.

Maybe some of you have kids in some kind of remedial English? Being serious. Not our kid’s experience at all.

My kid is at DHMS, never gotten less than an A in anything, never does homework, doesn’t write more than a paragraph, is in intensified everything and accelerated math. I understand that our experience isn’t universal. But it is true for us, and it is a frustrating situation.

Don't they not have homework because they have 90 minute class periods that are designed for them to get work done in school. If they don't do the work in school then it comes home as HW.

That means the kids are learning less. The expectation should be that there is HW!!

I feel like some folks on here have insane expectations for their kids. Kids don't have to learn 24/7. They work hard in school all day. Let them come home and have a break. Guess what? I barely had any HW all the way through HS. Somehow, I still became a lawyer.

It is hard on adults when we go to work all day and do our job for 8 hours and then come home and do more work. Why would we want to put our kids through that too? Our kids will be okay if they don't constantly work. It is okay for them to rest and take a break and enjoy the fun of being a kid. It won't ruin them for life.

I don’t think they care that much about homework. Some people just like to complain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my kids graduated from an APS MS several years ago they recognized the kids who got All As in all quarters for all three years. I think it was maybe 10% of the class. I'm sure a ton more had a "straight As" based on As at the end of the year but those could have had the occasional B/C in a bad quarter.

I was going to say something similar. My kid is in 9th, and when they recognized all As at the end of 8th last year, I recall it being around 10% of the class.

Which MS recognized kids in this way? WMS seems to go out of its way to not recognize kids.

Gunston.

Unfortunately, that means the % are way higher when you further north; it’s the reality of the situation. Again supporting my posts that all As in middle school isn’t a feat indicating your child is special. At least in N Arlington.

Some of you are just so awful. Is this thread about anyone claiming their child is "special"? It's not. People are saying they all get As and no one puts in any effort. Others are saying, that's not true. That's all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actual APS teachers post on AEM that they don’t have time to *really* grade their students’ writing assignments. But go on telling us how rigorous your school is.

Hahhhaha. What writing assignments? My kids have never written more than about a paragraph.

Maybe some of you have kids in some kind of remedial English? Being serious. Not our kid’s experience at all.

My kid is at DHMS, never gotten less than an A in anything, never does homework, doesn’t write more than a paragraph, is in intensified everything and accelerated math. I understand that our experience isn’t universal. But it is true for us, and it is a frustrating situation.

Don't they not have homework because they have 90 minute class periods that are designed for them to get work done in school. If they don't do the work in school then it comes home as HW.

That means the kids are learning less. The expectation should be that there is HW!!

I feel like some folks on here have insane expectations for their kids. Kids don't have to learn 24/7. They work hard in school all day. Let them come home and have a break. Guess what? I barely had any HW all the way through HS. Somehow, I still became a lawyer.

It is hard on adults when we go to work all day and do our job for 8 hours and then come home and do more work. Why would we want to put our kids through that too? Our kids will be okay if they don't constantly work. It is okay for them to rest and take a break and enjoy the fun of being a kid. It won't ruin them for life.

I don’t think they care that much about homework. Some people just like to complain.

It's just constant APS bashing and often purposeful misrepresentation of their policies. I'm guessing there is just an echo chamber of parents who complain to each other and facts are irrelevant. The amount of utter crap I've seen on here about the test retake policy and practice is insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Extremely common. Just read up on the HS threads on valedictorians where everyone with above a 4.0 gets to be #1 in the class, meaning like 200 kids.

This does not mean they are all getting straight As. It means they take a lot of AP/IB/DE classes and likely get a mix of As and Bs. My DD was a W-L "valedictorian". She got a lot of Bs and occasionally had a C and once a D on a quarter report card. Fortunately for her GPA, that's based only on the final grade for the year.

In APS "valedictorian" means something more like "magna cum laude", aka the top tier of students in GPA but it's a pretty big tier.

Wow. Ridiculous that kids with Bs would be valedictorian. Not to say they aren’t good students but it makes the distinction meaningless.

Valedictorian has never meant “straight As.” It means “highest GPA.” The silly part is giving it to many kids at once, not that they might have gotten a B in an AP class.

They really just should not use the word "valedictorian", that's what people get so touchy about. As a PP said it's more like "cum laude." I get trying to reduce the pressure and competition for hundredths of GPA points at the top, which is why lots of HS's don't rank at all. APS is trying to have it both ways by essentially not ranking students with a 4.0+ but ranking the rest of the class.

How old are your kids? It’s really not a big deal. No one cares about it.

My kids have graduated from W-L. Both as "valedictorians", one of them by the skin-of-her teeth. Reducing pressure at the top just adds some pressure when you are on the border of hitting 4.0 or not at the end of junior year. It means reporting a class rank of "1" vs. 200-something. IMO if they want to do this not-ranking-4.0+ they should just not rank, plenty of HSs don't rank at all. Both my kids felt really weird about reporting a rank of 1 on applications when they know they are not #1 in the class. It feels disingenuous even though that is what is reported on the transcript. Who gets recognized at graduation really is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget that all As includes subjects like band and PE. These can be a struggle for kids who do well academically. My kid tends to get Bs in PE because they feel rules strongly and make a big stink when they suspect someone is cheating. Anoher very smart kid I know struggles in band because it moves slowly so they get in lots of trouble for being disruptive and behavior is a key part of theor grade. It's not just academics.

APS grading policies clearly state that grades reflect student achievement and not student behavior. The students' grades may reflect behavior when that behavior means they do not achieve or keeps them from demonstrating their academic mastery. Band is not graded on classroom behavior and it not an automatic "A." It does require the student to complete assignments and demonstrate skills such as scales. As for PE, that also includes health class; so again there are assignments to be completed and graded. Do you really believe your child gets a B in PE because they complain about others cheating?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Extremely common. Just read up on the HS threads on valedictorians where everyone with above a 4.0 gets to be #1 in the class, meaning like 200 kids.

This does not mean they are all getting straight As. It means they take a lot of AP/IB/DE classes and likely get a mix of As and Bs. My DD was a W-L "valedictorian". She got a lot of Bs and occasionally had a C and once a D on a quarter report card. Fortunately for her GPA, that's based only on the final grade for the year.

In APS "valedictorian" means something more like "magna cum laude", aka the top tier of students in GPA but it's a pretty big tier.

Wow. Ridiculous that kids with Bs would be valedictorian. Not to say they aren’t good students but it makes the distinction meaningless.

Valedictorian has never meant “straight As.” It means “highest GPA.” The silly part is giving it to many kids at once, not that they might have gotten a B in an AP class.

They really just should not use the word "valedictorian", that's what people get so touchy about. As a PP said it's more like "cum laude." I get trying to reduce the pressure and competition for hundredths of GPA points at the top, which is why lots of HS's don't rank at all. APS is trying to have it both ways by essentially not ranking students with a 4.0+ but ranking the rest of the class.

How old are your kids? It’s really not a big deal. No one cares about it.

My kids have graduated from W-L. Both as "valedictorians", one of them by the skin-of-her teeth. Reducing pressure at the top just adds some pressure when you are on the border of hitting 4.0 or not at the end of junior year. It means reporting a class rank of "1" vs. 200-something. IMO if they want to do this not-ranking-4.0+ they should just not rank, plenty of HSs don't rank at all. Both my kids felt really weird about reporting a rank of 1 on applications when they know they are not #1 in the class. It feels disingenuous even though that is what is reported on the transcript. Who gets recognized at graduation really is irrelevant.

Ranking is inherently problematic because a kid who takes a study hall instead of orchestra or art will have a higher GPA because most electives aren't weighted. But if you rank based on unweighted GPAs, kids who get all As with no AP classes will have the top GPA.

Unfortunately, even if a high school doesn't rank some schools (mostly service academies) do require rank to be reported.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my kids graduated from an APS MS several years ago they recognized the kids who got All As in all quarters for all three years. I think it was maybe 10% of the class. I'm sure a ton more had a "straight As" based on As at the end of the year but those could have had the occasional B/C in a bad quarter.

I was going to say something similar. My kid is in 9th, and when they recognized all As at the end of 8th last year, I recall it being around 10% of the class.

Which MS recognized kids in this way? WMS seems to go out of its way to not recognize kids.

Gunston.

Unfortunately, that means the % are way higher when you further north; it’s the reality of the situation. Again supporting my posts that all As in middle school isn’t a feat indicating your child is special. At least in N Arlington.

Some of you are just so awful. Is this thread about anyone claiming their child is "special"? It's not. People are saying they all get As and no one puts in any effort. Others are saying, that's not true. That's all.

+1
A's come easy for some and others have to work harder to get them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget that all As includes subjects like band and PE. These can be a struggle for kids who do well academically. My kid tends to get Bs in PE because they feel rules strongly and make a big stink when they suspect someone is cheating. Anoher very smart kid I know struggles in band because it moves slowly so they get in lots of trouble for being disruptive and behavior is a key part of theor grade. It's not just academics.

APS grading policies clearly state that grades reflect student achievement and not student behavior. The students' grades may reflect behavior when that behavior means they do not achieve or keeps them from demonstrating their academic mastery. Band is not graded on classroom behavior and it not an automatic "A." It does require the student to complete assignments and demonstrate skills such as scales. As for PE, that also includes health class; so again there are assignments to be completed and graded. Do you really believe your child gets a B in PE because they complain about others cheating?

Yes, I know this is the case based on emails from the PE teacher. Good sportsmanship is part of the grade and arguing with other kids about what the rules are isn't considered good sportsmanship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget that all As includes subjects like band and PE. These can be a struggle for kids who do well academically. My kid tends to get Bs in PE because they feel rules strongly and make a big stink when they suspect someone is cheating. Anoher very smart kid I know struggles in band because it moves slowly so they get in lots of trouble for being disruptive and behavior is a key part of theor grade. It's not just academics.

APS grading policies clearly state that grades reflect student achievement and not student behavior. The students' grades may reflect behavior when that behavior means they do not achieve or keeps them from demonstrating their academic mastery. Band is not graded on classroom behavior and it not an automatic "A." It does require the student to complete assignments and demonstrate skills such as scales. As for PE, that also includes health class; so again there are assignments to be completed and graded. Do you really believe your child gets a B in PE because they complain about others cheating?

Editing to clarify: you think your child gets B's in PE because they follow the rules and/or complains about others cheating? Or that you have to cheat/not follow rules in order to get an A? That the rules preclude your child's ability to get an "A"? What are the rules that are such an issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget that all As includes subjects like band and PE. These can be a struggle for kids who do well academically. My kid tends to get Bs in PE because they feel rules strongly and make a big stink when they suspect someone is cheating. Anoher very smart kid I know struggles in band because it moves slowly so they get in lots of trouble for being disruptive and behavior is a key part of theor grade. It's not just academics.

APS grading policies clearly state that grades reflect student achievement and not student behavior. The students' grades may reflect behavior when that behavior means they do not achieve or keeps them from demonstrating their academic mastery. Band is not graded on classroom behavior and it not an automatic "A." It does require the student to complete assignments and demonstrate skills such as scales. As for PE, that also includes health class; so again there are assignments to be completed and graded. Do you really believe your child gets a B in PE because they complain about others cheating?

Yes, I know this is the case based on emails from the PE teacher. Good sportsmanship is part of the grade and arguing with other kids about what the rules are isn't considered good sportsmanship.

Then perhaps your rule-following child should follow the good sportsmanship rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget that all As includes subjects like band and PE. These can be a struggle for kids who do well academically. My kid tends to get Bs in PE because they feel rules strongly and make a big stink when they suspect someone is cheating. Anoher very smart kid I know struggles in band because it moves slowly so they get in lots of trouble for being disruptive and behavior is a key part of theor grade. It's not just academics.

APS grading policies clearly state that grades reflect student achievement and not student behavior. The students' grades may reflect behavior when that behavior means they do not achieve or keeps them from demonstrating their academic mastery. Band is not graded on classroom behavior and it not an automatic "A." It does require the student to complete assignments and demonstrate skills such as scales. As for PE, that also includes health class; so again there are assignments to be completed and graded. Do you really believe your child gets a B in PE because they complain about others cheating?

Yes, I know this is the case based on emails from the PE teacher. Good sportsmanship is part of the grade and arguing with other kids about what the rules are isn't considered good sportsmanship.

Then perhaps your rule-following child should follow the good sportsmanship rule.

Trust me, we've had that conversation. It's getting better with maturity, but all kids have things to work on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget that all As includes subjects like band and PE. These can be a struggle for kids who do well academically. My kid tends to get Bs in PE because they feel rules strongly and make a big stink when they suspect someone is cheating. Anoher very smart kid I know struggles in band because it moves slowly so they get in lots of trouble for being disruptive and behavior is a key part of theor grade. It's not just academics.

They are listed as “p” for us

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget that all As includes subjects like band and PE. These can be a struggle for kids who do well academically. My kid tends to get Bs in PE because they feel rules strongly and make a big stink when they suspect someone is cheating. Anoher very smart kid I know struggles in band because it moves slowly so they get in lots of trouble for being disruptive and behavior is a key part of theor grade. It's not just academics.

They are listed as “p” for us

Which grade?