The deflated grading is just exhausting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have zero sympathy for rich people who spend tens of thousands a year to send their kids to private schools because they think they’re either too good for public schools or are afraid of brown, black or poor people and because they’re obsessed with getting their kids into colleges that impress their friends and then complain about how hard their kid has it.

They don’t. You don’t. Cry me a friggin River.

This is the definition of a straw man argument. You made up a bunch of nonsense, assigned it as the reason that *everyone as a collective* sends their kids there, and then judged them for it. Your envy is letting your nonsense ideas live rent free in your head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have zero sympathy for rich people who spend tens of thousands a year to send their kids to private schools because they think they’re either too good for public schools or are afraid of brown, black or poor people and because they’re obsessed with getting their kids into colleges that impress their friends and then complain about how hard their kid has it.

They don’t. You don’t. Cry me a friggin River.

This is the definition of a straw man argument. You made up a bunch of nonsense, assigned it as the reason that *everyone as a collective* sends their kids there, and then judged them for it. Your envy is letting your nonsense ideas live rent free in your head.

+1. Weird fanfic.

tHe onLY reASoNs aNYoNe SEndS Their Kids tO PRIVatE SCHOoL aRe BecausE THEY’rE SnObS oR racIsT or ObsESSEd wItH coLLege aDMiSsIONs!

There are no other possible reasons under the sun. Case closed.

People, man.

[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.

Unfortunately I think this is happening because of egotistical teachers who think they are the cat’s meow.

[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

Who cares if they find college easy?
The high school years are key developmental years and should not be shrugged off so lightly. I think you have it backwards. My niece and nephew went to DCPS and are both at middle ivys. They are doing well. They are not flunking out. Yes, they work very hard in college but clearly they learned plenty in DCPS. NCS, Sidwell, etc., are overkill and it is high time that they got rid of grade deflation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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, Field and Burke are the go to schools for kids who can't get into the Big 3 but have parents afraid of a public school.

[Anonymous]

OP,

I went to a French high school. In France, hardly anyone gets a perfect grade. Marks are given so that there's always room to improve. This concept that a hard working intelligent child should always get an A is one I was introduced to when I sent my kids to MCPS! It seems weird to me, because it doesn't give them any incentive to do better. They think they've arrived already. Ridiculous.

So I think your Big 3 uses the traditional educational method, which is better in my opinion. And since they're a well-known school, surely colleges and universities will be aware of exactly how much a B is worth!

[Anonymous]

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

I guess I am one of the parents your are describing. I'm not sure what you mean by "college outcomes" but I am assuming you are referring to college admissions. My kid had very good grades and an incredible ACT score. After attending one of the Big 3 (small graduating class} my kid wanted to go to a big state school with big time sports and school spirit. My kid was accepted to several schools in the top 25 but decided to go another way.

My kid is thriving at his big state school. He has stated many times that his Upper School classes were much more difficult than his freshman college classes. His grades, so far, seem to prove this.

We never pushed our kid to make grades at his school. He did what he could. We are thrilled that his private school education is serving him well.

To each their own.

[Anonymous]

To the poster above that said Maret, Field and Burke are for kids who can't get into Big 3 but parents are afraid of private school......I have 2 in DCPS, and 1 who chose one of these schools as they would benefit from a smaller environment. They are thriving and is one who is highly hardworking and will put 2x the pressure on themselves to work hard wherever they go so we saw the Big3 pressure as detrimental to their mental health....Really glad we made the decision we did based on this thread.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I went to a French high school. In France, hardly anyone gets a perfect grade. Marks are given so that there's always room to improve. This concept that a hard working intelligent child should always get an A is one I was introduced to when I sent my kids to MCPS! It seems weird to me, because it doesn't give them any incentive to do better. They think they've arrived already. Ridiculous.

So I think your Big 3 uses the traditional educational method, which is better in my opinion. And since they're a well-known school, surely colleges and universities will be aware of exactly how much a B is worth!

+1. When I found out that Jackson Reed, our neighborhood public HS, had an "honors for all" curriculum, my opinion of JR dropped. What a joke. I'm glad that my HS student at a Big 3 is struggling at times. That is how he learns how to build resilience. Sometimes there is very little struggle, sometimes there's a lot. I love that he's actually not always a big fish in a small pond. This is how, especially during one's formative years, one learns about one's strengths, one's weaknesses, and the benefit of surrounding oneself with peers who can push one to be a stronger student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I went to a French high school. In France, hardly anyone gets a perfect grade. Marks are given so that there's always room to improve. This concept that a hard working intelligent child should always get an A is one I was introduced to when I sent my kids to MCPS! It seems weird to me, because it doesn't give them any incentive to do better. They think they've arrived already. Ridiculous.

So I think your Big 3 uses the traditional educational method, which is better in my opinion. And since they're a well-known school, surely colleges and universities will be aware of exactly how much a B is worth!

+1. When I found out that Jackson Reed, our neighborhood public HS, had an "honors for all" curriculum, my opinion of JR dropped. What a joke. I'm glad that my HS student at a Big 3 is struggling at times. That is how he learns how to build resilience. Sometimes there is very little struggle, sometimes there's a lot. I love that he's actually not always a big fish in a small pond. This is how, especially during one's formative years, one learns about one's strengths, one's weaknesses, and the benefit of surrounding oneself with peers who can push one to be a stronger student.

Way to pat yourself on the back I guess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I went to a French high school. In France, hardly anyone gets a perfect grade. Marks are given so that there's always room to improve. This concept that a hard working intelligent child should always get an A is one I was introduced to when I sent my kids to MCPS! It seems weird to me, because it doesn't give them any incentive to do better. They think they've arrived already. Ridiculous.

So I think your Big 3 uses the traditional educational method, which is better in my opinion. And since they're a well-known school, surely colleges and universities will be aware of exactly how much a B is worth!

+1. When I found out that Jackson Reed, our neighborhood public HS, had an "honors for all" curriculum, my opinion of JR dropped. What a joke. I'm glad that my HS student at a Big 3 is struggling at times. That is how he learns how to build resilience. Sometimes there is very little struggle, sometimes there's a lot. I love that he's actually not always a big fish in a small pond. This is how, especially during one's formative years, one learns about one's strengths, one's weaknesses, and the benefit of surrounding oneself with peers who can push one to be a stronger student.

So you would disagree with OP and the other posters who complain about grade deflation at their schools? You would agree that private school is about the journey and not the destination?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Sidwell really like this? We are exploring it for middle school, and it's really one of our favorite schools based on the offerings, campus, and feel of the place. Now I'm wondering if we should look elsewhere...

It is a great schools and most of the kids have a great experience there.

[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 a fraction of the size of the other schools and are notorious for taking only hooked kids in the early grades. That is why it is so hard to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Here's a crazy question- why did you choose to send your kid to a school notorious for the grind and grade deflation? There are dozens of privates in the area that offer comparable educations minus the misery, but big 3 families somehow see it as a badge of pride. None of these schools make any secret of their culture, but somehow it shifts from a great thing when families apply to a terrible thing when they realize they have a 3 GPA

The bolded just isn't true. You cannot name 4 schools -- let alone "dozens" -- that provide a high school school education on par with Sidwell. Hint: it's not St. Andrews. Or Bullis or Field or Madeira or Potomac or St. Anselms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm convinced the point is: to learn to handle pressure. Intense pressure because this is how, this echelon of students, will advance in the adult world of work. Making hard choices, working at maximum efficiency, managing stress at the highest professional levels. I don't believe it's generally about the mastery of subject matter.

This. It's training for Wall Street, Medical Residency, the big Law firm, etc where the they basically work the crap out of you 24/7 when you are just out of school. Those that were trained to handle the crushing load and high stress in high school will have an advantage. Is it worth it in the end? That's a personal/family decision.