We always told our kids that grades were not the goal of school, learning was. Grades were just a rough indicator of the learning that was going on. When report cards came out, we usually had a small celebration (taco night, ice cream, pizza, etc.) to celebrate all the hard work that was reflected in their grades.

FWIW my kids had excellent grades.

Anonymous wrote:My DD is in a new (not FCPS) school and they have already had tests, grades for homework, etc. she is adjusting to a harder school and her grades reflect that.

How much do grades in elementary school matter? Is it more to get the foundation of information and learn how to study that matters? When do grades matter? Middle school?

For college admissions, starting in 9th grade.

Depending on the school or school district, elementary grades might matter deeply for DC being selected for any "advanced" curriculum track which might exist.

They don't matter until HS.

In early elementary (K- 2 or 3) grades mostly "matter" as an indicator of whether the kid is learning & mastering skills or is starting to fall behind.

In upper elementary (4th or 5th depending on the district) grades start to more directly influence teachers' perceptions of how much the student has learned/mastered, leading to impacts on teacher recommendations for differentiated classes. This generally matters most in math (starts to be tracked by late elementary or middle school), English (some districts track in middle), and whether or not the student is recommended to start foreign language classes in middle school or wait until high school.

If the student's grades are reasonable for their ability, interest, and intellect, they are likely to be tracked fairly appropriately. If there is some sort of issue (poor attitude, slacking, severe organizational/executive function deficit, unaddressed learning challenge) causing the student's grades to consistently be lower than parents think the student is reasonably capable of, I would advise trying to effectively address the issue by mid elementary or as soon as possible.

In elementary grades matter only insofar as they tell you whether your kid is on grade level or not (learning what they are supposed to based on curriculum standards so they are ready for the next year's material on time) and also to see if your child is making steady progress. An individual grade is just a snapshot but if you look at grades over time you will see patterns that are useful in terms of telling you if your kid is learning.

But elementary grades don't matter for the future (no one cares if you got an A or a B in 3rd grade math -- literally forever no one will ever care about that.

The majority of elementary schools have grading scales and methods that reflect this. They don't give As and Bs they give grades that mean below or on or above grade level and usually the grading rubric requires teachers to explain what deficits a child below grade level needs to work on to come up to grade level.

Our school also does assessments at beginning-middle-end of year and these can be directly compared to see learning growth over the school year. And then on top of this we get iReady and DIBELS scores that allow us to see how our kids are doing as compared to all kids in the state or country. I find the assessments much more useful than report card grades.

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Of course grades matter. Grades should be a reflection of mastery of skills and standards. Sure there are fluff grades like participation but look at the actual grades and the work returned. Does she understand the work? Understand the errors? Grades travel with students. I teach middle school. I can see what my students grades were back in kindergarten and if there is a trend. Always low in Reading and continue to be low? Huge red flag in middle school and yes, we will use it as a basis to set up interventions. Some gifted and talented programs will look at grades in connection with test scores. As a parent myself, grades show that you participate and understand. I have taught elementary and honestly, it is not hard to get a B or higher. You have to truly be low to get anything C and below as an overall grade. With that being said OP, school just started. Give it till the end of the quarter.

OP - DD just had her first test at the new school and she got an 82. She didn't really study (our fault) but had been doing well on all her homework/worksheets. Overall she is doing okay but the new school is much faster pace and much more difficult material than she had in her previous public school. Just wondering how much it will matter if 4th grade scores are lower than we would expect due to the new transition.

They clearly don’t. APS. Where you no longer get meaningful grades in elementary.

Teacher here. Of course grades matter. Grades should be a reflection of mastery of skills and standards. Sure there are fluff grades like participation but look at the actual grades and the work returned. Does she understand the work? Understand the errors? Grades travel with students. I teach middle school. I can see what my students grades were back in kindergarten and if there is a trend. Always low in Reading and continue to be low? Huge red flag in middle school and yes, we will use it as a basis to set up interventions. Some gifted and talented programs will look at grades in connection with test scores. As a parent myself, grades show that you participate and understand. I have taught elementary and honestly, it is not hard to get a B or higher. You have to truly be low to get anything C and below as an overall grade. With that being said OP, school just started. Give it till the end of the quarter.

What are the schools rules on passing classes to advance to the next grade? We moved from FCPS to a private and that's the only thing that grades (which are definitely lower for my kids too) impact.

For getting into advanced programs, maybe?

Map more important

My DD is in a new (not FCPS) school and they have already had tests, grades for homework, etc. she is adjusting to a harder school and her grades reflect that.

How much do grades in elementary school matter? Is it more to get the foundation of information and learn how to study that matters? When do grades matter? Middle school?