Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 15:17     Subject: Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:Np, what about AP biology? Does a student need to take honors/regular biology first or can they take it instead of honors/regular?


Technically yes but they'll wave the requirement in many cases.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 15:16     Subject: Re:Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:MCPS has done away with any meaningful distinctions between honors and on-level courses. If your school offers only honors-level Bio, it's pretty much a regular bio class with honors being in name only.

I assume schools that offer both on-level and honors versions of the same class have some differences, but I've never been able to get a clear articulation of what those differences are from educators or counselors.


+1. Soon all subjects (unless it is remedial) will be honors for all. Take the BCC example (this happens in other highschools too). You have these mixed classrooms where honors kids are not doing meaningfully harder work, but, they are getting the GPA boost. Teachers recognize that it isn't really fair to the "non-honors" kids (who also are more likely to be brown). What I don't understand is why MCPS parents continue to accept these mixed level classrooms. These mixed level classrooms and the extreme grade inflation are the main reason we moved to private for HS.


Why don't we just do away with honors as a concept all together if this is how it's going to be?

Then you just have regular classes and AP classes? I really don't understand how we got to this place but since we're here, it's insane to do things the way that we are.


How could they inflate the GPAs by offering a 5 for a grade level class? People might start to realize that a 4.0 is about a B.


Does the MCPS GPA mean anything anyway since colleges ignore it and calculate their own values?
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 15:15     Subject: Re:Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:MCPS has done away with any meaningful distinctions between honors and on-level courses. If your school offers only honors-level Bio, it's pretty much a regular bio class with honors being in name only.

I assume schools that offer both on-level and honors versions of the same class have some differences, but I've never been able to get a clear articulation of what those differences are from educators or counselors.


I get that you have gripes but this is simply untrue.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 15:12     Subject: Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:Np, what about AP biology? Does a student need to take honors/regular biology first or can they take it instead of honors/regular?


I think this might vary by school, so check your course catalog. At our school, in order to take AP Bio, students must have "Attainment of objectives for Biology and one of the following: completion of Chemistry or concurrent enrollment in Chemistry." AP Chem requires Bio, Chem, and Algebra II. AP Physics B only requires completion or concurrent enrollment in precalculus.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 14:59     Subject: Re:Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:MCPS has done away with any meaningful distinctions between honors and on-level courses. If your school offers only honors-level Bio, it's pretty much a regular bio class with honors being in name only.

I assume schools that offer both on-level and honors versions of the same class have some differences, but I've never been able to get a clear articulation of what those differences are from educators or counselors.


+1. Soon all subjects (unless it is remedial) will be honors for all. Take the BCC example (this happens in other highschools too). You have these mixed classrooms where honors kids are not doing meaningfully harder work, but, they are getting the GPA boost. Teachers recognize that it isn't really fair to the "non-honors" kids (who also are more likely to be brown). What I don't understand is why MCPS parents continue to accept these mixed level classrooms. These mixed level classrooms and the extreme grade inflation are the main reason we moved to private for HS.


Why are the non-honors kids most likely to be brown?
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 14:41     Subject: Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Who is teaching just honors bio?


Churchill, for one:
https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/winstonchurchillhscourse23-24/home/course-offerings/science


And Quince Orchard for another
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 14:38     Subject: Re:Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:MCPS has done away with any meaningful distinctions between honors and on-level courses. If your school offers only honors-level Bio, it's pretty much a regular bio class with honors being in name only.

I assume schools that offer both on-level and honors versions of the same class have some differences, but I've never been able to get a clear articulation of what those differences are from educators or counselors.


+1. Soon all subjects (unless it is remedial) will be honors for all. Take the BCC example (this happens in other highschools too). You have these mixed classrooms where honors kids are not doing meaningfully harder work, but, they are getting the GPA boost. Teachers recognize that it isn't really fair to the "non-honors" kids (who also are more likely to be brown). What I don't understand is why MCPS parents continue to accept these mixed level classrooms. These mixed level classrooms and the extreme grade inflation are the main reason we moved to private for HS.


Why don't we just do away with honors as a concept all together if this is how it's going to be?

Then you just have regular classes and AP classes? I really don't understand how we got to this place but since we're here, it's insane to do things the way that we are.


How could they inflate the GPAs by offering a 5 for a grade level class? People might start to realize that a 4.0 is about a B.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 14:33     Subject: Re:Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:MCPS has done away with any meaningful distinctions between honors and on-level courses. If your school offers only honors-level Bio, it's pretty much a regular bio class with honors being in name only.

I assume schools that offer both on-level and honors versions of the same class have some differences, but I've never been able to get a clear articulation of what those differences are from educators or counselors.


+1. Soon all subjects (unless it is remedial) will be honors for all. Take the BCC example (this happens in other highschools too). You have these mixed classrooms where honors kids are not doing meaningfully harder work, but, they are getting the GPA boost. Teachers recognize that it isn't really fair to the "non-honors" kids (who also are more likely to be brown). What I don't understand is why MCPS parents continue to accept these mixed level classrooms. These mixed level classrooms and the extreme grade inflation are the main reason we moved to private for HS.


Why don't we just do away with honors as a concept all together if this is how it's going to be?

Then you just have regular classes and AP classes? I really don't understand how we got to this place but since we're here, it's insane to do things the way that we are.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 14:14     Subject: Re:Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:MCPS has done away with any meaningful distinctions between honors and on-level courses. If your school offers only honors-level Bio, it's pretty much a regular bio class with honors being in name only.

I assume schools that offer both on-level and honors versions of the same class have some differences, but I've never been able to get a clear articulation of what those differences are from educators or counselors.


+1. Soon all subjects (unless it is remedial) will be honors for all. Take the BCC example (this happens in other highschools too). You have these mixed classrooms where honors kids are not doing meaningfully harder work, but, they are getting the GPA boost. Teachers recognize that it isn't really fair to the "non-honors" kids (who also are more likely to be brown). What I don't understand is why MCPS parents continue to accept these mixed level classrooms. These mixed level classrooms and the extreme grade inflation are the main reason we moved to private for HS.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 14:08     Subject: Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Anonymous wrote:Who is teaching just honors bio?


Churchill, for one:
https://sites.google.com/mcpsmd.net/winstonchurchillhscourse23-24/home/course-offerings/science
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 14:03     Subject: Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
We were told at a meeting for incoming B-CC parents last week that honors and non-honors students are in class together and the difference is that honors students have harder tests (not just for biology, but for other subjects, too).
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 14:02     Subject: Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Np, what about AP biology? Does a student need to take honors/regular biology first or can they take it instead of honors/regular?
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 13:10     Subject: Re:Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
MCPS has done away with any meaningful distinctions between honors and on-level courses. If your school offers only honors-level Bio, it's pretty much a regular bio class with honors being in name only.

I assume schools that offer both on-level and honors versions of the same class have some differences, but I've never been able to get a clear articulation of what those differences are from educators or counselors.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 13:06     Subject: Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Who is teaching just honors bio?
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2023 12:58     Subject: Bio & Honors Bio and schools with only Honors Bio
Some schools offer both Honors Biology and regular Biology, while others only offer Honors Biology. If a school only offers Honors Biology, are they teaching the regular Biology class or the Honors Biology class?