Reply to Let's talk about the real world and retakes and deadlines

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "Let's talk about the real world and retakes and deadlines "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I was completely irresponsible in high school. Didn’t care about grades at all. I didn’t study at all. My parents definitely helped me out. I matured throughout college and by the time I graduated, I was able to be successful in a job. I[b]f my parents had just let me sink in high school I wouldn’t have gotten to go to college and become successful. [/b]

I think 50s and retakes are good so you don’t just tank a kids future. They will grow up. 
[/quote]

This is a critical distinction, however. It is not the school letting you slide. [/quote]

Not every kid has parents who are paying attention. Like it or not, there are kids who could do better but whose parents are not paying attention for a wide variety of reasons. Maybe some of the kids who can do better and who have less attentive parents are taking advantage of the opportunities.

I am not sure how I feel about the policy but I wish that it was uniform across the County and it is not.

Grades in high school shouldn't be a competition, kids who earn an A on the first test can look at the restest options and be happy that they don't have to stress out over taking the test a second time or completing the work to show that they are ready for a second test. The A student, or student happy with their grade, can focus on the new material. The student who wants to pull up their grade has a larger burden. They need to focus on learning the past material and the new material at the same time. That is not an easy task.  The kid who got the A on the first go around should be happy with that. If another kid wants to redo work while learning new material, more power to them.

I do think the rule should be adjusted that once the next test is past, you cannot retake an older test. At some point in time Teachers need to be able to set grades and not have to worry about extra grading based on past materials. And the policy needs to be uniform across the County. [/quote]

This is not my problem. And the fact is, grades in HS ARE a competition. [/quote]

Colleges use grades for admissions, yes. And Grad Schools use grades for admissions. So yes, grades are a competition. But they are not a competition in a given class, at least I doubt that many Teachers are grading on a curve in FCPS HS.

If you are so worried that a kid who doesn't have attentive parents is using the makeup policy to better themselves then I would suggest that you need to view the world more broadly then that kid might get into a college ahead of your kid who has attentive parents.

The reality is that admissions to the "top tier" schools is a bit of a crap shoot anyway. Lots of kids have the same, or similar, GPAs, AP scores, and SAT/ACT scores. If you are worried that a few kids who did poorly on a test and then did all the make up work to get an A on it so they have the same grade as your kid then you have not looked at the probability of your kid getting into Harvard or whatever school you have your eyes on.

Kids who are earning A's in AP/IB classes are not going to have an issue getting into a really good college, even if it is not one of the prized schools.

So I stand by my statement, High School grades are not a competition. Your child's A does not depend on other kids getting a B. I would guess that kids taking advantage of the makeup policy are more likely kids looking to get a C or B and pass and not the kids dead set on getting all A's. [/quote]

I don't need to broaden anything. I see it happening. And while I try to not verbalize that frustration to my child, I here it from DC and friends. THEY see it happening and it is demoralizing. I'm not sure why that is any less valid than the opposite mentioned here (the concern over failing kids not having the opportunity to dig themselves out of their hole). These kids bust their butts only to see other kids get what amounts to extensions of time [b]to submit work for the same or better grades[/b]. And, I hate to tell you, it is not C graded kids only taking advantage. It's just not. And those kids are competing with the high performing students. [/quote]

This doesn't make sense. I[b]F the policy is any test can be retaken and the highest grade is awarded, then any kid (yours included can strive for 100%). So how can anyone do better than your child?[/b] If you are upset a kid who scored 82 retook and got a 97 when your kid got a 95, well they're both A's so they did not actually do better GPA wise. If your kid got an A- (90-92) then they could have retaken to try to improve to an A. Don't be mad some other child did and yours did not. My DD's Chemistry H teacher said my child is the only one who takes advantage of retakes in his class to get 100%. He is shocked no one else does. I'm not because he requires anyone who wants a retake to do an assignment (like a quiz) and score 75% BEFORE being able to take the retest. It's tough but anyone can do it. My DD chooses to.

IF the policy is only tests below 80 can be retaken with no more than an 80 awarded, then chances are no one is going to surpass your prized Larla in a grade. They can only get an 80.

Settle down. Comparison is the thief of joy.

[/quote]

First, don't tell me to settle down. It's patronizing. The fact is that in some classes you cannot retake if you got high enough of a grade but didn't fail. And those re-takers can get full credit (not 80% max). Surely you understand things vary from school to school, and from class to class. And it's not just my child complaining about it. I hear it from DC's friends too. [/quote]

She's lying. Yes it varies by school but NO school outs a cap on who can retest without also caring the score retested can get. They either cap neither (who can retest and what they can get) or cap both (who can retest and how high the score can be). Nice try though.

My kid never took a retest that I know about but cglad he has the option if he ever needs to. I like the policy[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics