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[quote=Anonymous]For us as parents and guardians, grades are only one (very, very small) data point to help us understand whether our children are learning what they need to know - and "what they need to know" includes, of course, not only academic knowledge, but also practical abilities, life skills, emotional growth, and the ethical content of what our families (and/or our cultural and faith backgrounds as applicable) consider part of becoming a good person.

We necessarily know our children better than any teacher ever can, and at this grade level it is not too hard to find out what the standards are and whether they are meeting them.  Some of this information is published; some of it is available through the school; some of it is visible in their work (much of which shows up online now); and some of it emerges in conversations with teachers and counselors.

DC is stable on literacy and math skills, and I know where their strengths and weaknesses are in terms of their approach to their work (as opposed to their knowledge).  Since I am comfortable with my level of acquaintance with those things, if DC is learning what they need to know, doing their best job under nearly all circumstances, holding up their responsibilities, learning independence, showing respect to teachers and classmates, and trying new things, I _generally_ don't worry much about grades. Chances are that if DC brings home a lower grade one quarter, they tanked on a key assessment by rushing or not paying attention, or they missed a concept that we can repair at home.

There are, however, a few important moments in ES where grades matter.  One is quarters 1 and 2 of grade 3, where the grades in literacy-based courses determine in vs. out of the lottery for seats in the CES for grade 4.  DC earned a significantly positioned B in grade 3, so that CES game is over for them.  But our ES offers plenty of interest and challenge generally speaking, and DC's other qualifications should help them make the bar for ELC at our school (ELC will include those who qualified for the CES lottery, but not _only_ those students).  I care more about curriculum and challenge than I do about the specific program, so that is fine with me.

For MS this past year (YMMV in later years), what mattered grade-wise was quarters 1 and 2 of grade 5 for the lottery for the qualifications-based magnets (TPMS and EMS in the Downcounty).

Takeaway: grades and learning are so separate from one another that I just don't stress about the grades unless they are demonstrating that DC is making poor behavioral decisions.  Will I care in HS?  Only insofar as the grades reflect good decision-making (across both academic life and social life), honest hard work, and commitment.  If that produces less than perfection, that's still OK with me.  I'm a college prof, so I have plenty of experience with the way that HS performance predicts or doesn't predict success in college.  And I also know how many possible college matches exist out there for every kid, including the ones who don't graduate with A averages from HS.  With good family support, grades are an extremely small piece of a bright future.[/quote]

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