Report Cards

[Anonymous]

I was shocked when I saw my 2nd graders report card. It was all 3s including math (although above grade level is indicated) where he participates in class, completes every assignment and finds it incredibly easy. He also logs 2+ hrs of ST math a week BY HIS choice. The kids is crazy about math. Then I looked at my other kids and they have all 3s too - even one that put in no effort and has many missing assignments. Did everyone just get 3s across the board? I wouldn’t care expect I’m concerned if this will impact his AAP chances given how little data the school already has to go on. His NNAT was 139 so I’m assuming he will be in pool. Will report cards matter?

[Anonymous]

My 3rd grade received 4's with a few 3's in writing and 1 special. As a second grader he had mainly 4s, some 3s in specials, and a 2 in writing, his penmanship was horrible. So no, there is no county wide give the kids all 3's directive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So no, there is no county wide give the kids all 3's directive.

My kids received a mix of 3s and 4s, so we didn't see that either.

I HAVE heard rumors in the past that some teachers intentionally give kids 3s in the fall to show "progress" over the school year. Never heard those rumors substantiated, so take it for what it's worth.

[Anonymous]

They give them all 2s/3s in the fall and all 4s in the spring so the teachers can tell parents and admins that there was "growth"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade received 4's with a few 3's in writing and 1 special. As a second grader he had mainly 4s, some 3s in specials, and a 2 in writing, his penmanship was horrible. So no, there is no county wide give the kids all 3's directive.

My 3rd grader received 4s in all his specials. He doesn't attend any specials...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grade received 4's with a few 3's in writing and 1 special. As a second grader he had mainly 4s, some 3s in specials, and a 2 in writing, his penmanship was horrible. So no, there is no county wide give the kids all 3's directive.

My 3rd grader received 4s in all his specials. He doesn't attend any specials...

Mine enjoys art, music, and PE. His 3 was in one area of health.

[Anonymous]

IMO report card doesn’t really matter - some teachers are stingier than others especially first quarter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was shocked when I saw my 2nd graders report card. It was all 3s including math (although above grade level is indicated) where he participates in class, completes every assignment and finds it incredibly easy. He also logs 2+ hrs of ST math a week BY HIS choice. The kids is crazy about math. Then I looked at my other kids and they have all 3s too - even one that put in no effort and has many missing assignments. Did everyone just get 3s across the board? I wouldn’t care expect I’m concerned if this will impact his AAP chances given how little data the school already has to go on. His NNAT was 139 so I’m assuming he will be in pool. Will report cards matter?

Relax. It’s first quarter. This is normal as teachers want to demonstrate progress during the year.

Check your ego. Your snowflake is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They give them all 2s/3s in the fall and all 4s in the spring so the teachers can tell parents and admins that there was "growth"

My 3rd grader received all 4s in core subjects. Specials were a mix of 3s and 4s and one utter nonsense 2 in virtual PE. I don’t care about the 2, I just can’t believe the PE teacher gave a 2 for virtual gym.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was shocked when I saw my 2nd graders report card. It was all 3s including math (although above grade level is indicated) where he participates in class, completes every assignment and finds it incredibly easy. He also logs 2+ hrs of ST math a week BY HIS choice. The kids is crazy about math. Then I looked at my other kids and they have all 3s too - even one that put in no effort and has many missing assignments. Did everyone just get 3s across the board? I wouldn’t care expect I’m concerned if this will impact his AAP chances given how little data the school already has to go on. His NNAT was 139 so I’m assuming he will be in pool. Will report cards matter?

Relax. It’s first quarter. This is normal as teachers want to demonstrate progress during the year.

Check your ego. Your snowflake is fine.

fine, but if they are all 2, the kids with 3s and 4s are getting the stronger GBRs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was shocked when I saw my 2nd graders report card. It was all 3s including math (although above grade level is indicated) where he participates in class, completes every assignment and finds it incredibly easy. He also logs 2+ hrs of ST math a week BY HIS choice. The kids is crazy about math. Then I looked at my other kids and they have all 3s too - even one that put in no effort and has many missing assignments. Did everyone just get 3s across the board? I wouldn’t care expect I’m concerned if this will impact his AAP chances given how little data the school already has to go on. His NNAT was 139 so I’m assuming he will be in pool. Will report cards matter?

Relax. It’s first quarter. This is normal as teachers want to demonstrate progress during the year.

Check your ego. Your snowflake is fine.

fine, but if they are all 2, the kids with 3s and 4s are getting the stronger GBRs

Exactly my point. Additionally, a child that gets the same “grade” in a class they spend so much time going above and beyond and one they don’t even show up for really sends the wrong message to the kids. My twins were opposites, one worked so hard, did every assignment and spent hrs on ST math got the same grade as her sibling who did the minimum.

[Anonymous]

I know twins where one kid was accepted into AAP and the other is not in Level III. No big deal, different skills, different kids. Just because they are Twins doesn't mean they are equally bright or good at school. It could be that one of your kid needs to work harder then the other to learn the material, that is just life.d

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was shocked when I saw my 2nd graders report card. It was all 3s including math (although above grade level is indicated) where he participates in class, completes every assignment and finds it incredibly easy. He also logs 2+ hrs of ST math a week BY HIS choice. The kids is crazy about math. Then I looked at my other kids and they have all 3s too - even one that put in no effort and has many missing assignments. Did everyone just get 3s across the board? I wouldn’t care expect I’m concerned if this will impact his AAP chances given how little data the school already has to go on. His NNAT was 139 so I’m assuming he will be in pool. Will report cards matter?

Relax. It’s first quarter. This is normal as teachers want to demonstrate progress during the year.

Check your ego. Your snowflake is fine.

fine, but if they are all 2, the kids with 3s and 4s are getting the stronger GBRs

Exactly my point. Additionally, a child that gets the same “grade” in a class they spend so much time going above and beyond and one they don’t even show up for really sends the wrong message to the kids. My twins were opposites, one worked so hard, did every assignment and spent hrs on ST math got the same grade as her sibling who did the minimum.

I don't get all the angst about grades in this thread... they're just arbitrary numbers; you don't need to put so much weight on their meaning. Worry more whether your children are actually learning anything meaningful in school, and if not, how to make it better for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know twins where one kid was accepted into AAP and the other is not in Level III. No big deal, different skills, different kids. Just because they are Twins doesn't mean they are equally bright or good at school. It could be that one of your kid needs to work harder then the other to learn the material, that is just life.d

Seriously, I know that. You missed the entire point. Two kids, same class, completely different efforts but the same grade. It reinforced for one kid that goofing off and doing nothing is fine and for the kid that worked hard, it showed her it didn’t matter. She could have coasted and not shown up like the brother half the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know twins where one kid was accepted into AAP and the other is not in Level III. No big deal, different skills, different kids. Just because they are Twins doesn't mean they are equally bright or good at school. It could be that one of your kid needs to work harder then the other to learn the material, that is just life.d

Seriously, I know that. You missed the entire point. Two kids, same class, completely different efforts but the same grade. It reinforced for one kid that goofing off and doing nothing is fine and for the kid that worked hard, it showed her it didn’t matter. She could have coasted and not shown up like the brother half the time.

No you miss the point. All that matters is that the kid learns the material. If both your kids learned the same material then they will earn the same grade. If one has to work harder to learn the material, no big deal. The one who is more motivated to do additional work and not coast by is going to be better off in the future. She is more likely to do the homework and push beyond what the Teacher asks. That might not mean as much in ES but will mean a lot more in HS. My brothers were super smart and mainly earned Bs in high school because they never did their homework. They aced all their tests with very little work but that was not enough to earn the A. I worked my butt off, did all my homework and earned my A even though I am not as bright as they are because I did the work.

What you tell your daughter is that you always make your best effort and it will pay off. Right now she is developing good habits. You tell her brother that it is easy to coast by now but the day will come that won't suffice and his lack of effort will hurt him.

You are capable of changing the message and sending the right one.