So many unweighted 4.0s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is in a private school and currently has a 4.0. This is the following grading scale:

Same for our private. Plus no retakes on anything, if they miss a deadline for an assignment they have until the next time the class meets to turn it in with a 30% reduction. After that it's a 0 (actually a zero not 50 that some schools give for missing assignments). They also have mid terms and final exams. What is interesting is that most who post here would judge our school as subpar the MCPS. I don't see how anyone could be satisfied that their children where truly learning with the way grades are calculated in MCPS.

My DC works hard and has an unweighted 4.0. I know it's better for them to earn their high grades and As rather than have a high C rounded to an A and I hope AOs see the truth and admit accordingly.

Why did you choose private if you think it’s grading scale is so unjust?

LOL, I don't consider it unjust...it seems very fair and holds students accountable. MCPS, on the other hand, is cheating kids out of a proper education and handing out As like candy. I know the college admissions person is weighing both schools appropriately and realizes even if my kid might have a lower grade than the MCPS student, she is a stronger student.

Arrogance is unbecoming.

The truth hurts doesn't it? Just realize that if your kid is at MCPS, they will be evaluated with a different lens than the harder working student in a private school.

Your kid almost certainly couldn’t keep up with the kids in the Blair magnet. In 25 years of interviewing kids for an Ivy, I never saw a private school kid rival the Blair kids in STEM. The private school kids largely had much better writing instruction. But many also thought lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons were super impressive. I’m going to assume you’re a troll because your blanket statements are ridiculous. There are wonderful and imperfect kids in both types of schools. It’s only the parents I have a preference on.

[Anonymous]

When my kid graduated from RM there were 17 unweighted 4.0s. Probably too high but this thread makes it seem like half the class has straight As.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all the private school parents on this thread: you don’t seem to understand that the reason why public’s so weighted GPAs is because they offer a huge variety of levels for each class, at least large public’s do. I don’t live in the DMV anymore, but for example, my child’s high school offers everything pre-algebra to pre-calculus to 9th graders. For English, there are three levels offered in every grade.

My kid's private school offers 4 choices and different level for freshman math, for example. Algebra 1, geometry, Algebra 2, pre-calculus. Each of those courses offers three levels from on-grade level (flex), on-grade level, honors. So my kid was in honors Algebra 1 in 9th grade but ended up his senior year in on-grade level (flex) for pre-calc. Math was always his weakness except for standardized testing. You can't move in or out of a class or level during the school year though. Once you're in, you're in.

[Anonymous]

Grades mean nothing now. Self-esteem culture has removed any meaning behind getting good grades, as every student is special now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has a 4.0 ceased (even unweighted) ceased to mean ANYTHING? It seems like this is really hurting the kids who are actually super smart.

Like your kid, right? One of the ones truly deserving of that 4.0 while the other coast into it doing no work.

And the college adcoms are total idiots who can't tell the difference! Good thing you are here to tell them, and that you have all the information on all those kids, including their grades. Don't know how you got all that info, but I thank the lord that you did, and that you are here to set right this great injustice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is in a private school and currently has a 4.0. This is the following grading scale:

Same for our private. Plus no retakes on anything, if they miss a deadline for an assignment they have until the next time the class meets to turn it in with a 30% reduction. After that it's a 0 (actually a zero not 50 that some schools give for missing assignments). They also have mid terms and final exams. What is interesting is that most who post here would judge our school as subpar the MCPS. I don't see how anyone could be satisfied that their children where truly learning with the way grades are calculated in MCPS.

My DC works hard and has an unweighted 4.0. I know it's better for them to earn their high grades and As rather than have a high C rounded to an A and I hope AOs see the truth and admit accordingly.

Why did you choose private if you think it’s grading scale is so unjust?

LOL, I don't consider it unjust...it seems very fair and holds students accountable. MCPS, on the other hand, is cheating kids out of a proper education and handing out As like candy. I know the college admissions person is weighing both schools appropriately and realizes even if my kid might have a lower grade than the MCPS student, she is a stronger student.

Arrogance is unbecoming.

The truth hurts doesn't it? Just realize that if your kid is at MCPS, they will be evaluated with a different lens than the harder working student in a private school.

Your kid almost certainly couldn’t keep up with the kids in the Blair magnet. In 25 years of interviewing kids for an Ivy, I never saw a private school kid rival the Blair kids in STEM. The private school kids largely had much better writing instruction. But many also thought lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons were super impressive. I’m going to assume you’re a troll because your blanket statements are ridiculous. There are wonderful and imperfect kids in both types of schools. It’s only the parents I have a preference on.

Magnet schools are very different, but those days are numbered as well with them becoming lottery based. I am speaking about MCPS as a whole. Yes, there are also imperfect kids in private schools. Never said there weren't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grades mean nothing now. Self-esteem culture has removed any meaning behind getting good grades, as every student is special now.

This...it's all about equity too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is in a private school and currently has a 4.0. This is the following grading scale:

Same for our private. Plus no retakes on anything, if they miss a deadline for an assignment they have until the next time the class meets to turn it in with a 30% reduction. After that it's a 0 (actually a zero not 50 that some schools give for missing assignments). They also have mid terms and final exams. What is interesting is that most who post here would judge our school as subpar the MCPS. I don't see how anyone could be satisfied that their children where truly learning with the way grades are calculated in MCPS.

My DC works hard and has an unweighted 4.0. I know it's better for them to earn their high grades and As rather than have a high C rounded to an A and I hope AOs see the truth and admit accordingly.

Why did you choose private if you think it’s grading scale is so unjust?

We chose private for many different reasons. Love the smaller classes, love that teachers and administration take a personal interest in DC, it has specialty programs not offered at our zoned public, the students are a community, there is zero tolerance for being disruptive in class, honor roll is no grade lower than a B (not some As and a couple Cs average a B). I could go on.

I have absolutely no problem with the grading scale or the zeros for missed assignments. What I think is unjust is that an unweighted 4.0 should mean that someone has earned all As and rounding up 70s should never equal an A no matter how you spin the curriculum or how bright and hard working the students are 70s are average and GPAs should reflect that.

DP: You don’t care about whether kids at MCPS are learning or if it is unfair for the kids truly earning A’s. You are worried that MCPS’s grading policy will affect your child’s admissions at competitive universities. If your child attends a private school in the DMV area or any major metro area— the AOs at state flagships and competitive private colleges and universities are aware of the grading scale at your child’s school and they are certainly aware of MCPS’s grading policy AND how many kids are earning A’s. There is literally a link to the grading policy on the doc sent to schools by MCPS HS counselors.

Mind your business / stay in your lane. Complaining on DCUM will not change the MCPS grading policies. This thread is pointless.

Not the PP, but another private school parent. I sincerely doubt she feels her kids are threatened in any way. From my standpoint, I think parents and students of MCPS should be warned and have their expectations managed with regard to college admissions. It is only going to get worse with all the learning loss from the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grades mean nothing now. Self-esteem culture has removed any meaning behind getting good grades, as every student is special now.

This...it's all about equity too.

+1 it's one of the reasons why they got rid of a lot of "on level" classes in MCPS and pushed all the kids to honors. They saw how most of the on level classes were URM kids, and advanced classes were white, so they got rid of the on level, pushed everyone up to honors then dumbed down honors so certain kids wouldn't feel badly.

The kids who want more challenging instruction then have to go up to AP. Basically, they dumbed everything down because #equity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is in a private school and currently has a 4.0. This is the following grading scale:

Same for our private. Plus no retakes on anything, if they miss a deadline for an assignment they have until the next time the class meets to turn it in with a 30% reduction. After that it's a 0 (actually a zero not 50 that some schools give for missing assignments). They also have mid terms and final exams. What is interesting is that most who post here would judge our school as subpar the MCPS. I don't see how anyone could be satisfied that their children where truly learning with the way grades are calculated in MCPS.

My DC works hard and has an unweighted 4.0. I know it's better for them to earn their high grades and As rather than have a high C rounded to an A and I hope AOs see the truth and admit accordingly.

Why did you choose private if you think it’s grading scale is so unjust?

LOL, I don't consider it unjust...it seems very fair and holds students accountable. MCPS, on the other hand, is cheating kids out of a proper education and handing out As like candy. I know the college admissions person is weighing both schools appropriately and realizes even if my kid might have a lower grade than the MCPS student, she is a stronger student.

Arrogance is unbecoming.

The truth hurts doesn't it? Just realize that if your kid is at MCPS, they will be evaluated with a different lens than the harder working student in a private school.

Public school kids work way harder. At the end of the day, private school families are customers to be placated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is in a private school and currently has a 4.0. This is the following grading scale:

Same for our private. Plus no retakes on anything, if they miss a deadline for an assignment they have until the next time the class meets to turn it in with a 30% reduction. After that it's a 0 (actually a zero not 50 that some schools give for missing assignments). They also have mid terms and final exams. What is interesting is that most who post here would judge our school as subpar the MCPS. I don't see how anyone could be satisfied that their children where truly learning with the way grades are calculated in MCPS.

My DC works hard and has an unweighted 4.0. I know it's better for them to earn their high grades and As rather than have a high C rounded to an A and I hope AOs see the truth and admit accordingly.

Why did you choose private if you think it’s grading scale is so unjust?

We chose private for many different reasons. Love the smaller classes, love that teachers and administration take a personal interest in DC, it has specialty programs not offered at our zoned public, the students are a community, there is zero tolerance for being disruptive in class, honor roll is no grade lower than a B (not some As and a couple Cs average a B). I could go on.

I have absolutely no problem with the grading scale or the zeros for missed assignments. What I think is unjust is that an unweighted 4.0 should mean that someone has earned all As and rounding up 70s should never equal an A no matter how you spin the curriculum or how bright and hard working the students are 70s are average and GPAs should reflect that.

DP: You don’t care about whether kids at MCPS are learning or if it is unfair for the kids truly earning A’s. You are worried that MCPS’s grading policy will affect your child’s admissions at competitive universities. If your child attends a private school in the DMV area or any major metro area— the AOs at state flagships and competitive private colleges and universities are aware of the grading scale at your child’s school and they are certainly aware of MCPS’s grading policy AND how many kids are earning A’s. There is literally a link to the grading policy on the doc sent to schools by MCPS HS counselors.

Mind your business / stay in your lane. Complaining on DCUM will not change the MCPS grading policies. This thread is pointless.

Not the PP, but another private school parent. I sincerely doubt she feels her kids are threatened in any way. From my standpoint, I think parents and students of MCPS should be warned and have their expectations managed with regard to college admissions. It is only going to get worse with all the learning loss from the pandemic.

Okay, thanks for the public service announcement. 😒

Do you really think that MCPS parents like myself are not aware of learning loss or that college admissions are competitive for any high stats kids. Look at the UVA/ UMD acceptance threads. And the private school kids are doing so great compared to pre-pandemic /TO in college admissions? Based on the Sidwell threads I would question your assumptions. I have friends in NYC that have kids at elite privates and admissions is tough for them too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is in a private school and currently has a 4.0. This is the following grading scale:

Same for our private. Plus no retakes on anything, if they miss a deadline for an assignment they have until the next time the class meets to turn it in with a 30% reduction. After that it's a 0 (actually a zero not 50 that some schools give for missing assignments). They also have mid terms and final exams. What is interesting is that most who post here would judge our school as subpar the MCPS. I don't see how anyone could be satisfied that their children where truly learning with the way grades are calculated in MCPS.

My DC works hard and has an unweighted 4.0. I know it's better for them to earn their high grades and As rather than have a high C rounded to an A and I hope AOs see the truth and admit accordingly.

Why did you choose private if you think it’s grading scale is so unjust?

We chose private for many different reasons. Love the smaller classes, love that teachers and administration take a personal interest in DC, it has specialty programs not offered at our zoned public, the students are a community, there is zero tolerance for being disruptive in class, honor roll is no grade lower than a B (not some As and a couple Cs average a B). I could go on.

I have absolutely no problem with the grading scale or the zeros for missed assignments. What I think is unjust is that an unweighted 4.0 should mean that someone has earned all As and rounding up 70s should never equal an A no matter how you spin the curriculum or how bright and hard working the students are 70s are average and GPAs should reflect that.

DP: You don’t care about whether kids at MCPS are learning or if it is unfair for the kids truly earning A’s. You are worried that MCPS’s grading policy will affect your child’s admissions at competitive universities. If your child attends a private school in the DMV area or any major metro area— the AOs at state flagships and competitive private colleges and universities are aware of the grading scale at your child’s school and they are certainly aware of MCPS’s grading policy AND how many kids are earning A’s. There is literally a link to the grading policy on the doc sent to schools by MCPS HS counselors.

Mind your business / stay in your lane. Complaining on DCUM will not change the MCPS grading policies. This thread is pointless.

Not the PP, but another private school parent. I sincerely doubt she feels her kids are threatened in any way. From my standpoint, I think parents and students of MCPS should be warned and have their expectations managed with regard to college admissions. It is only going to get worse with all the learning loss from the pandemic.

Okay, thanks for the public service announcement. 😒

Do you really think that MCPS parents like myself are not aware of learning loss or that college admissions are competitive for any high stats kids. Look at the UVA/ UMD acceptance threads. And the private school kids are doing so great compared to pre-pandemic /TO in college admissions? Based on the Sidwell threads I would question your assumptions. I have friends in NYC that have kids at elite privates and admissions is tough for them too.

Forgot to add that the thread OP definitely feels threatened. Re-read the last lines of OP's post.

[Anonymous]

St Albans grades on 100 scale, which is used to calculate GPA (out of 100). No extra weighting for honors or AP classes.

These GPAs are all so different, which is why kids are measured against kids from their school and not the wider pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all the private school parents on this thread: you don’t seem to understand that the reason why public’s so weighted GPAs is because they offer a huge variety of levels for each class, at least large public’s do. I don’t live in the DMV anymore, but for example, my child’s high school offers everything pre-algebra to pre-calculus to 9th graders. For English, there are three levels offered in every grade.

My kid's private school offers 4 choices and different level for freshman math, for example. Algebra 1, geometry, Algebra 2, pre-calculus. Each of those courses offers three levels from on-grade level (flex), on-grade level, honors. So my kid was in honors Algebra 1 in 9th grade but ended up his senior year in on-grade level (flex) for pre-calc. Math was always his weakness except for standardized testing. You can't move in or out of a class or level during the school year though. Once you're in, you're in.

Catholic Diocesan schools are no better than publics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my kid graduated from RM there were 17 unweighted 4.0s. Probably too high but this thread makes it seem like half the class has straight As.

At Blair SMAC a few years ago there were only around 15 students with a 4.0 and a SAT above 1550 (average SAT for 100 magnet students was 1530). Not that easy to get straight As every single semester.