50% of all high school seniors have an A average GPA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do students do who transfer from private to MCPS public after 9th or heaven forbid 10th? How can they make up those lost booster points without "Honors" coursework?

They can't unless they take gobs and gobs of APs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do students do who transfer from private to MCPS public after 9th or heaven forbid 10th? How can they make up those lost booster points without "Honors" coursework?

They can't unless they take gobs and gobs of APs.

But regular kids take gobs and gobs of AP’s already

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading a lot about grade inflation and easy A's at in AP classes. I have no idea what school district or specific schools you are talking about, but that's not happening at my kids school. There are no easy "A"s in AP classes

I have noticed that a lot (one or a few?) private school parents come on here to bash the public school system for grade inflation (ironic the article states that this is more prevalent in private schools). I never saw grade inflation at my children's MCPS. My kids were prepared very well for college by their high school, and I feel very thankful and blessed that I was able to send my children to the public school they attended. At the same time, I believe that being well prepared for college may also depend upon a person's personality (maybe personality is the wrong word here?)-- do they like school? do they work hard? do they care about school? etc. There are some kids who simply hate school and will not be prepared for college no matter what we do for them.

What the F are you smoking lady? MCPS is known everywhere in the DMV and by all Maryland college admissions to be the most inflated.

1. No final exams anymore since kids were doing so bad
2. Retakes on tests are allowed. The test scores aren't even combined. The 2nd score is the final score. Get a 64 on first test and a 90 on the second. You get a 90.
3. Projects, papers, and homework can be turned in late without penality
4. They have a weighted country-wide grade policy. No number grades are submitted to colleges for 100 point scale. All letter grades. A+B will always equal A for a semester. So a 79.5 + 89.5 always equals an A? In MCPS - absolutely!!
5. They give an entire GPA point for AP classes. So that 79.5 and 89.5 now all of a sudden equal a 5.0 on the GPA scale.
6. They give an entire GPA point higher for honors classes. Same as above
7. Most kids minus remedial are taking at least 2 honors courses Freshman year. Honors courses in MCPS are basic courses. There is nothing honors about them.
8. You are allowed to take college AP courses as a freshman and are unlimited the entire 4 years.


You have honestly have to be the biggest idiot to not get honor roll every semester at a MCPS school. This helps lazy kids and punishes the hard working kids. Nothing to distinguish between a child that gets a 97 and a 95 for their semester when a kid that gets a 79.5 and a 89.5 gets the SAME EXACT grade sent to college admissions. It is impossible for them to weed out the kids who are high achievers. Yes, certain tracks are tougher but barely scraping by getting A's and clearly mastering the class is two very different things. Having kids that are high achieving it is a terrible policy. But MCPS rather hide behind a grading table than a 100 point scale. They teach kids to find ways to master the system then to show colleges they have actually mastered the class.

I don't understand how those two grades just equal an A. It is obviously a B, not even a B+. How can MCPS just give an A for those grades?

79.5=B 89.5=A A+B=A

But it equals an 84.5 which is a B.

Agree. I used to think MCPS was supposed to be so great. But they have gamed a system to come out looking smarter than surrounding counties and privates. It is pretty embarrassing that they even have to do this to get kids to pass and claim lots of honor society kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading a lot about grade inflation and easy A's at in AP classes. I have no idea what school district or specific schools you are talking about, but that's not happening at my kids school. There are no easy "A"s in AP classes

I have noticed that a lot (one or a few?) private school parents come on here to bash the public school system for grade inflation (ironic the article states that this is more prevalent in private schools). I never saw grade inflation at my children's MCPS. My kids were prepared very well for college by their high school, and I feel very thankful and blessed that I was able to send my children to the public school they attended. At the same time, I believe that being well prepared for college may also depend upon a person's personality (maybe personality is the wrong word here?)-- do they like school? do they work hard? do they care about school? etc. There are some kids who simply hate school and will not be prepared for college no matter what we do for them.

What the F are you smoking lady? MCPS is known everywhere in the DMV and by all Maryland college admissions to be the most inflated.

1. No final exams anymore since kids were doing so bad
2. Retakes on tests are allowed. The test scores aren't even combined. The 2nd score is the final score. Get a 64 on first test and a 90 on the second. You get a 90.
3. Projects, papers, and homework can be turned in late without penality
4. They have a weighted country-wide grade policy. No number grades are submitted to colleges for 100 point scale. All letter grades. A+B will always equal A for a semester. So a 79.5 + 89.5 always equals an A? In MCPS - absolutely!!


5. They give an entire GPA point for AP classes. So that 79.5 and 89.5 now all of a sudden equal a 5.0 on the GPA scale.
6. They give an entire GPA point higher for honors classes. Same as above
7. Most kids minus remedial are taking at least 2 honors courses Freshman year. Honors courses in MCPS are basic courses. There is nothing honors about them.
8. You are allowed to take college AP courses as a freshman and are unlimited the entire 4 years.


You have honestly have to be the biggest idiot to not get honor roll every semester at a MCPS school. This helps lazy kids and punishes the hard working kids. Nothing to distinguish between a child that gets a 97 and a 95 for their semester when a kid that gets a 79.5 and a 89.5 gets the SAME EXACT grade sent to college admissions. It is impossible for them to weed out the kids who are high achievers. Yes, certain tracks are tougher but barely scraping by getting A's and clearly mastering the class is two very different things. Having kids that are high achieving it is a terrible policy. But MCPS rather hide behind a grading table than a 100 point scale. They teach kids to find ways to master the system then to show colleges they have actually mastered the class.

Lady-- You lose all credibility with a statement like that. You don't know what you are talking about. Your post comes from a place of ignorance based on that statement alone. We will just have to agree to disagree. You are not a nice person.

NP. I do not think this poster loses any credibility. I am a former MCPS parent who moved her kids to private. The kids have it way too easy. I have a friend who is always bragging about her daughter who gets A's without studying in honors classes. She is on an IEP and struggles in all areas of subject matter. How can this be?

[Anonymous]

In my kid's private, only 16% of the students are 4.0 and above. This is in first semester of junior year. Kids in this school cannot take an AP course until sophomore year and only one is allowed. Also, APs are weighted one point higher honors weighted .5 point higher. An A in this school is truly an A. Kids have mid term and final exams in all classes. I feel so blessed to be able to send my kid to a school that actually has credibility with their grading process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, hey, look GW finds that students who submitted test scores and those who didn't perform the same academically in college:
https://www.gwhatchet.com/2018/04/02/test-optional-applicants-on-par-academically-with-other-students-officials-say/

It's almost as if a high school student's four years of academic performance might give better insight into how they'll fare in college than does a single 3-hour stint of penciling in circles.

I think that course rigor is a pretty good substitute for test scores, and the top math/science courses are now pretty much standardized with the introduction of APs. Kids able to successfully complete AP Calculus as a junior, for instance, are generally pretty smart. That pool of kids had the best college admissions at DCs school, even if they wanted to study the humanities. The NMSF also came from that group of kids or those that were ahead of that benchmark. When DC interviewed at a test-optional school, they seem that concerned about grades, and looked a lot at course selection.

[Anonymous]

My DS scored a 36 on the ACT this past February. While we are thrilled, we wonder if his chances to get into a selective school will be hurt by the fact that his GPA is only a 4.1 (private school) and all his public school friends are getting 4.5. DS did not max out with APs and was not even able to take an AP until his sophomore year (only one available). He will be taking 4 APs next year, and that should help. But to be competing against these kids who take multiple APs in their freshman and sophomore years is worrisome, unless truly the admissions people are aware of the grade inflation in MCPS.

Frankly, I think standardized test scores are a better indicator of future success. I am sure many of these kids getting 4.5 GPA in public schools are not getting perfect ACT scores like DS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS scored a 36 on the ACT this past February. While we are thrilled, we wonder if his chances to get into a selective school will be hurt by the fact that his GPA is only a 4.1 (private school) and all his public school friends are getting 4.5. DS did not max out with APs and was not even able to take an AP until his sophomore year (only one available). He will be taking 4 APs next year, and that should help. But to be competing against these kids who take multiple APs in their freshman and sophomore years is worrisome, unless truly the admissions people are aware of the grade inflation in MCPS.

Frankly, I think standardized test scores are a better indicator of future success. I am sure many of these kids getting 4.5 GPA in public schools are not getting perfect ACT scores like DS.

PP here. I would add that DS's private weights the scores differently than MCPS...i.e. an A in honors classes is 4.5 (not 5 like in MCPS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading a lot about grade inflation and easy A's at in AP classes. I have no idea what school district or specific schools you are talking about, but that's not happening at my kids school. There are no easy "A"s in AP classes

I have noticed that a lot (one or a few?) private school parents come on here to bash the public school system for grade inflation (ironic the article states that this is more prevalent in private schools). I never saw grade inflation at my children's MCPS. My kids were prepared very well for college by their high school, and I feel very thankful and blessed that I was able to send my children to the public school they attended. At the same time, I believe that being well prepared for college may also depend upon a person's personality (maybe personality is the wrong word here?)-- do they like school? do they work hard? do they care about school? etc. There are some kids who simply hate school and will not be prepared for college no matter what we do for them.

What the F are you smoking lady? MCPS is known everywhere in the DMV and by all Maryland college admissions to be the most inflated.

1. No final exams anymore since kids were doing so bad
2. Retakes on tests are allowed. The test scores aren't even combined. The 2nd score is the final score. Get a 64 on first test and a 90 on the second. You get a 90.
3. Projects, papers, and homework can be turned in late without penality
4. They have a weighted country-wide grade policy. No number grades are submitted to colleges for 100 point scale. All letter grades. A+B will always equal A for a semester. So a 79.5 + 89.5 always equals an A? In MCPS - absolutely!!
5. They give an entire GPA point for AP classes. So that 79.5 and 89.5 now all of a sudden equal a 5.0 on the GPA scale.
6. They give an entire GPA point higher for honors classes. Same as above
7. Most kids minus remedial are taking at least 2 honors courses Freshman year. Honors courses in MCPS are basic courses. There is nothing honors about them.
8. You are allowed to take college AP courses as a freshman and are unlimited the entire 4 years.


You have honestly have to be the biggest idiot to not get honor roll every semester at a MCPS school. This helps lazy kids and punishes the hard working kids. Nothing to distinguish between a child that gets a 97 and a 95 for their semester when a kid that gets a 79.5 and a 89.5 gets the SAME EXACT grade sent to college admissions. It is impossible for them to weed out the kids who are high achievers. Yes, certain tracks are tougher but barely scraping by getting A's and clearly mastering the class is two very different things. Having kids that are high achieving it is a terrible policy. But MCPS rather hide behind a grading table than a 100 point scale. They teach kids to find ways to master the system then to show colleges they have actually mastered the class.

I don't understand how those two grades just equal an A. It is obviously a B, not even a B+. How can MCPS just give an A for those grades?

79.5=B 89.5=A A+B=A

But it equals an 84.5 which is a B.

Agree. I used to think MCPS was supposed to be so great. But they have gamed a system to come out looking smarter than surrounding counties and privates. It is pretty embarrassing that they even have to do this to get kids to pass and claim lots of honor society kids.

Do these 'A' students struggle once they get into college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS scored a 36 on the ACT this past February. While we are thrilled, we wonder if his chances to get into a selective school will be hurt by the fact that his GPA is only a 4.1 (private school) and all his public school friends are getting 4.5. DS did not max out with APs and was not even able to take an AP until his sophomore year (only one available). He will be taking 4 APs next year, and that should help. But to be competing against these kids who take multiple APs in their freshman and sophomore years is worrisome, unless truly the admissions people are aware of the grade inflation in MCPS.

Frankly, I think standardized test scores are a better indicator of future success. I am sure many of these kids getting 4.5 GPA in public schools are not getting perfect ACT scores like DS.

You are the mom whose kid was able to take the ACT over several days, right?

Most kids who are in the upper score range on the ACT could easily get a perfect ACT with the time component eliminated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS scored a 36 on the ACT this past February. While we are thrilled, we wonder if his chances to get into a selective school will be hurt by the fact that his GPA is only a 4.1 (private school) and all his public school friends are getting 4.5. DS did not max out with APs and was not even able to take an AP until his sophomore year (only one available). He will be taking 4 APs next year, and that should help. But to be competing against these kids who take multiple APs in their freshman and sophomore years is worrisome, unless truly the admissions people are aware of the grade inflation in MCPS.

Frankly, I think standardized test scores are a better indicator of future success. I am sure many of these kids getting 4.5 GPA in public schools are not getting perfect ACT scores like DS.

Your kid sounds like he is doing great. I don’t think you have to worry about him looking bad compared to MCPS kids. The top colleges are only going to take a few kids from each school. He will be compared to others at his school. The ones who are at a disadvantage are the top kids at MCPS, who can’t distinguish themselves based on grades from those kids getting the low As.

Has anyone heard of admissions officers looking behind the MCPS transcript grades to actually see what the kid got per quarter, or the percentage? I’m pretty sure they don’t weight Honors classes and AP classes the same when the redo the calculations - that is easy to see from the transcript and they certainly know the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS scored a 36 on the ACT this past February. While we are thrilled, we wonder if his chances to get into a selective school will be hurt by the fact that his GPA is only a 4.1 (private school) and all his public school friends are getting 4.5. DS did not max out with APs and was not even able to take an AP until his sophomore year (only one available). He will be taking 4 APs next year, and that should help. But to be competing against these kids who take multiple APs in their freshman and sophomore years is worrisome, unless truly the admissions people are aware of the grade inflation in MCPS.

Frankly, I think standardized test scores are a better indicator of future success. I am sure many of these kids getting 4.5 GPA in public schools are not getting perfect ACT scores like DS.

Lord, is this “perfect 36 with accommodations” parent? Bless your heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS scored a 36 on the ACT this past February. While we are thrilled, we wonder if his chances to get into a selective school will be hurt by the fact that his GPA is only a 4.1 (private school) and all his public school friends are getting 4.5. DS did not max out with APs and was not even able to take an AP until his sophomore year (only one available). He will be taking 4 APs next year, and that should help. But to be competing against these kids who take multiple APs in their freshman and sophomore years is worrisome, unless truly the admissions people are aware of the grade inflation in MCPS.

Frankly, I think standardized test scores are a better indicator of future success. I am sure many of these kids getting 4.5 GPA in public schools are not getting perfect ACT scores like DS.

You are the mom whose kid was able to take the ACT over several days, right?

Most kids who are in the upper score range on the ACT could easily get a perfect ACT with the time component eliminated

?? Not sure what you mean here. He did not have accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS scored a 36 on the ACT this past February. While we are thrilled, we wonder if his chances to get into a selective school will be hurt by the fact that his GPA is only a 4.1 (private school) and all his public school friends are getting 4.5. DS did not max out with APs and was not even able to take an AP until his sophomore year (only one available). He will be taking 4 APs next year, and that should help. But to be competing against these kids who take multiple APs in their freshman and sophomore years is worrisome, unless truly the admissions people are aware of the grade inflation in MCPS.

Frankly, I think standardized test scores are a better indicator of future success. I am sure many of these kids getting 4.5 GPA in public schools are not getting perfect ACT scores like DS.

I am not aware of any MCPS students who take multiple AP classes in their Freshman or Sophomore years. BTW, colleges take into account where kids went to school. They know that a kid who comes from Whitman with a 4.5 GPA is not necessarily a stronger student than a kid who comes from a private with a 3.5 GPA with no APs. Colleges take into account the rigor and offerings of each individual school. They are not going to penalize a student for not taking AP classes if his school does not offer any AP classes. Schools send profiles of their offerings, GPAs, student rankings, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading a lot about grade inflation and easy A's at in AP classes. I have no idea what school district or specific schools you are talking about, but that's not happening at my kids school. There are no easy "A"s in AP classes

I have noticed that a lot (one or a few?) private school parents come on here to bash the public school system for grade inflation (ironic the article states that this is more prevalent in private schools). I never saw grade inflation at my children's MCPS. My kids were prepared very well for college by their high school, and I feel very thankful and blessed that I was able to send my children to the public school they attended. At the same time, I believe that being well prepared for college may also depend upon a person's personality (maybe personality is the wrong word here?)-- do they like school? do they work hard? do they care about school? etc. There are some kids who simply hate school and will not be prepared for college no matter what we do for them.

What the F are you smoking lady? MCPS is known everywhere in the DMV and by all Maryland college admissions to be the most inflated.

1. No final exams anymore since kids were doing so bad
2. Retakes on tests are allowed. The test scores aren't even combined. The 2nd score is the final score. Get a 64 on first test and a 90 on the second. You get a 90.
3. Projects, papers, and homework can be turned in late without penality
4. They have a weighted country-wide grade policy. No number grades are submitted to colleges for 100 point scale. All letter grades. A+B will always equal A for a semester. So a 79.5 + 89.5 always equals an A? In MCPS - absolutely!!
5. They give an entire GPA point for AP classes. So that 79.5 and 89.5 now all of a sudden equal a 5.0 on the GPA scale.
6. They give an entire GPA point higher for honors classes. Same as above
7. Most kids minus remedial are taking at least 2 honors courses Freshman year. Honors courses in MCPS are basic courses. There is nothing honors about them.
8. You are allowed to take college AP courses as a freshman and are unlimited the entire 4 years.


You have honestly have to be the biggest idiot to not get honor roll every semester at a MCPS school. This helps lazy kids and punishes the hard working kids. Nothing to distinguish between a child that gets a 97 and a 95 for their semester when a kid that gets a 79.5 and a 89.5 gets the SAME EXACT grade sent to college admissions. It is impossible for them to weed out the kids who are high achievers. Yes, certain tracks are tougher but barely scraping by getting A's and clearly mastering the class is two very different things. Having kids that are high achieving it is a terrible policy. But MCPS rather hide behind a grading table than a 100 point scale. They teach kids to find ways to master the system then to show colleges they have actually mastered the class.

I don't understand how those two grades just equal an A. It is obviously a B, not even a B+. How can MCPS just give an A for those grades?

79.5=B 89.5=A A+B=A

But it equals an 84.5 which is a B.

Agree. I used to think MCPS was supposed to be so great. But they have gamed a system to come out looking smarter than surrounding counties and privates. It is pretty embarrassing that they even have to do this to get kids to pass and claim lots of honor society kids.

Do these 'A' students struggle once they get into college?

My A students continue to be A students in college. So no, in my case.