Reply to Middle school grades on high school transcripts

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, my child is a sixth grader at Pyle Middle School and when I attended the parent info night last year, I, too, found the information and "guidance" on whether or not to start a world language in sixth misleading and confusing. My child's elem school gave no opinion or guidance, other than that he was recommended as ready for a world language (which seemed to me simply to mean he didn't need reading support, not that the teacher actually thought he would do well in a world language class), so he had the option to take one or to take digital literacy. I asked many other parents at the time (incl many whose children, like mine, had high map-R scores and were strong readers) and I got a mixed bag of answers - it seemed many wanted their child to start a world language, but equally many felt their child wasn't ready in their first year of middle school for their grade to count toward their high school gpa (not that they felt that their kids were not ready for the class, by the way - an important distinction and where I think MoCo is failing our students if parents are holding off on having their kids start a world language simply because of that fact). I fell into the latter camp - as much as I recognize that the earlier the better for one to start learning a second language, I allowed my child to take digital literacy because I did not think his study skills had been developed at all in elem school and I feared that his learning curve would have a long term impact that seemed an unfair burdencon him at age 11. Anyway, I don't regret the decision, although I do think he would have been fine taking the language, too - he says that digital literacy can be boring at times, but he probably would have felt that way in french I, too :-).  I really think this policy is crazy in MoCo - I am not aware of any other middle schools in other areas of the country that follow this policy that languages (and some math) taken in middle school will count towards high school gpa.  My own experience many years ago at a reputable pulic school in Westchester County, NY was that I had taken enough spanish in middle school to start in spanish II in ninth grade (and also algrebra II) but my high school gpa only used grades earned while I was IN high school. [/quote]

I also went to high school in Westchester, and had the very same experience with French and math. But this whole thread raises a huge question for me as the parent of a current 5th grader. Have the stakes become so high, that a B in French in 6th grade will have serious repercussions on a student's ability to get into a good college? Yes, I understand it will  be part of the overall GPA. But won't the transcript show that the grade was earned when the kid was 11? And the larger question, do kids with B averages not get into college these days? Is the pressure really that high?
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Depends on your race - black and Hispanic kids can get lower grades than Asian and white. Until the Supreme Court ends affirmative action that is the way it is for colleges.  I understand the need for African Americans as their ancestors were harmed in the past, however someone that comes here illegally should not get a pass to attend public colleges with lower grades before other students.[/quote]

This post is effed up in so many ways (because only the "ancestors" of African Americans have been harmed by racism, right?), but at the end of the day, if some 12 year old leaves everything she knows and walks 1,000 miles for a chance at a better life and manages to do better in school in her second language than my kid can do in his first language then by all means give that kid a decent college education and see what she can do for this country.[/quote]

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