My average/somewhat slacker 6th grader got straight As...WTH???

[Anonymous]

My son is a 6th grader at Tilden Middle. I have to say he really had to work for his straight As this quarter. He studied every day, stayed on top of his tests, of which there were several each week, and I helped quiz him on his Chinese (which I don't know at all, but that's a different story) before every test. He is a fairly bright kid and is a pretty good writer, yet one week, when he got too into his computer games and neglected his homework, his grades dipped almost immediately. Of course, math curriculum is not nearly as challenging as I would like, but I think overall it is unfair to say that As are awarded for no reason at all. I see a direct correlation between the level of effort and the results. It would take a very very talented kid to pull straight As without doing anything.

[Anonymous]

Not OP but here's a data point, of about 300 sixth graders at DCs MS, 46 received straight As, over 200 honor roll. With 15% receiving straight As I'm thinking a few somewhat slackers could be included.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not OP but here's a data point, of about 300 sixth graders at DCs MS, 46 received straight As, over 200 honor roll. With 15% receiving straight As I'm thinking a few somewhat slackers could be included.

2/3 get honor roll? Wow, that is way too easy

[Anonymous]

Honor roll means all As and Bs for our MCPS middle school.

[Anonymous]

You can get a C and still be on the honor roll at ours as long as you have an A too. 75% on the honor roll. 25% straight A's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can get a C and still be on the honor roll at ours as long as you have an A too. 75% on the honor roll. 25% straight A's

Yes, same at our school, basically a 3.0 or higher as long as no more than one C. Which even though lower than the traditional 3.5 cut, is evidence of grade inflation as anything bellow a B is treated as hairsbreadth from failure. When the cut is 3.5, but calculated, a C or even D is possible, just has to balanced by enough A's. Which implies a C is average and a D is squeaking by. (God forbid anyone have to calculate or something to justify honor roll. :roll

Regardless if 25% of the class is indistinguishable because they all have A's there's a problem with the system. Which leads to things like this thread where some parents say my child worked very hard for their straight A's and another says mine received straight A's while barely working. Both could happen at the same school, the grades don't properly reflect either student's effort which is unfair to both. Not saying anything can or should be done about it, but parents who only have their own child's report card as data may as well realize this is the situation and take grades which seem to good to be true with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can get a C and still be on the honor roll at ours as long as you have an A too. 75% on the honor roll. 25% straight A's

I am this poster. I had an amusing conversation with another parent who didn't realize how prevalent A's were. She apologized for bragging and then told me that her child only had two B's in all of MS. I did not have the heart to tell her that she had lots of company in that category. Of course they give an award for kids that have straight A's all through MS, that there are only about 10-15 of those (out of 400 ish)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honor roll means all As and Bs for our MCPS middle school.

I don't think so. All MCPS schools use the same formula, one in which a C can still get you on the honor roll.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools/westlandms/about/Honor%20Roll%20and%20GPA%20Calculation.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can get a C and still be on the honor roll at ours as long as you have an A too. 75% on the honor roll. 25% straight A's

I am this poster. I had an amusing conversation with another parent who didn't realize how prevalent A's were. She apologized for bragging and then told me that her child only had two B's in all of MS. I did not have the heart to tell her that she had lots of company in that category. Of course they give an award for kids that have straight A's all through MS, that there are only about 10-15 of those (out of 400 ish)

"Amusing"?? Regardless of the stats, you are a total jerk. So what if she is proud of her kid for only getting 2 B's in Middle School? "You did not have the heart to tell her", you are a condescending piece of work. I am not saying that kids are on an Ivy League track if they get straight As in middle school but still okay to be proud of your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Regardless if 25% of the class is indistinguishable because they all have A's there's a problem with the system. Which leads to things like this thread where some parents say my child worked very hard for their straight A's and another says mine received straight A's while barely working. Both could happen at the same school, the grades don't properly reflect either student's effort which is unfair to both. Not saying anything can or should be done about it, but parents who only have their own child's report card as data may as well realize this is the situation and take grades which seem to good to be true with a grain of salt.

If 25% of the students mastered the material, why is there a problem with all of them receiving an A? Do you advocate bringing back the bell curve?

Students are NOT graded on effort. They are graded on how well they have mastered the material taught. So yes, it is perfectly reasonable for student number 1 to earn an A with little effort and student number 2 to earn a C despite expending much effort.

Source - I'm a high school teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless if 25% of the class is indistinguishable because they all have A's there's a problem with the system. Which leads to things like this thread where some parents say my child worked very hard for their straight A's and another says mine received straight A's while barely working. Both could happen at the same school, the grades don't properly reflect either student's effort which is unfair to both. Not saying anything can or should be done about it, but parents who only have their own child's report card as data may as well realize this is the situation and take grades which seem to good to be true with a grain of salt.

If 25% of the students mastered the material, why is there a problem with all of them receiving an A? Do you advocate bringing back the bell curve?

Students are NOT graded on effort. They are graded on how well they have mastered the material taught. So yes, it is perfectly reasonable for student number 1 to earn an A with little effort and student number 2 to earn a C despite expending much effort.

Source - I'm a high school teacher

If they've truly mastered the material and been challenged I have no problem with everyone getting an A. But in my experience that is not what these MS grades mean. The work load is very light, the graded work is 100%'s all over the place. My daughter is in HS this year and all of a sudden she's got work to do and she's not quite up to snuff in several subjects she aced in MS. So, yeah, I think there's a problem with how MS works and parents may as well realize what is going on and plan accordingly. E.g. my son is starting sixth this year, he's never been a strong writer, he needs to grow over the next three years. I can say, hey, he's getting A's in history/English/science, the problem must have resolved itself or I can realize that everyone in those classes who didn't deliberately sabotage themselves got the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can get a C and still be on the honor roll at ours as long as you have an A too. 75% on the honor roll. 25% straight A's

I am this poster. I had an amusing conversation with another parent who didn't realize how prevalent A's were. She apologized for bragging and then told me that her child only had two B's in all of MS. I did not have the heart to tell her that she had lots of company in that category. Of course they give an award for kids that have straight A's all through MS, that there are only about 10-15 of those (out of 400 ish)

"Amusing"?? Regardless of the stats, you are a total jerk. So what if she is proud of her kid for only getting 2 B's in Middle School? "You did not have the heart to tell her", you are a condescending piece of work. I am not saying that kids are on an Ivy League track if they get straight As in middle school but still okay to be proud of your kid.

Umm..I think she was polite and let the mom express her pride!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can get a C and still be on the honor roll at ours as long as you have an A too. 75% on the honor roll. 25% straight A's

I am this poster. I had an amusing conversation with another parent who didn't realize how prevalent A's were. She apologized for bragging and then told me that her child only had two B's in all of MS. I did not have the heart to tell her that she had lots of company in that category. Of course they give an award for kids that have straight A's all through MS, that there are only about 10-15 of those (out of 400 ish)

"Amusing"?? Regardless of the stats, you are a total jerk. So what if she is proud of her kid for only getting 2 B's in Middle School? "You did not have the heart to tell her", you are a condescending piece of work. I am not saying that kids are on an Ivy League track if they get straight As in middle school but still okay to be proud of your kid.

Umm..I think she was polite and let the mom express her pride!

Right, then made fun of her on DCUM, very polite.

[Anonymous]

Not actually poking fun..just noting the lack of information our kids grades give us about their school work. But it wouldn't be DCUM if someone didn't complain..

[Anonymous]

Pyle MS Honor Roll for 1st Quarter
First Grading Period 2015-2016

1372 Students Made the Honor Roll This Grading Period
out of 1518 Total Students for 90.38%

447 Sixth Graders, 468 Seventh Graders, 457 Eighth Graders

*661 Students Received All Grades of A
48.18% of the Honor Roll and 43.54% of All Students

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