I'm a teacher at a DC-area independent school and have seen grade distribution charts of a number of local schools as part of an internal study on grade inflation. There is no question whatsoever that NCS does not significantly inflate grades. They also have very high board scores for this area. So the parent who identified her daughter with a 3.5 GPA as being in the top 33% of the class, and scoring highly on the SAT, comes across as very credible to me. I get that it's an anonymous board and anyone can say what they want, but I just wanted to weigh in (anonymously!) that a 3.5 GPA in the top third at NCS is absolutely consistent with what I've seen of the aggregate data.

Aside from what I've seen in terms of grade distribution info, I had a college friend with a daughter at NCS who had about a B+/A minus average, I think 2150 on the SAT, but scored close to a perfect score on the ACT (which they were surprised by -- some kids do better with that format and NCS had advised her to try the ACT, and they were glad she did). She got in to some excellent colleges. More importantly (turning on the preachy thing here) she felt like she got a great education along the way and she's doing wonderfully in college.

So, I don't teach there and don't have a child there, but ask any educator in this area (or, I suspect, college admissions personnel at selective colleges), and they will speak very highly about NCS and the quality of its students.

'm not lying about my DD's gpa or test scores. Nor her college admissions results.

LIES, LIES, LIES. All your children would be embarrassed to read what their parents claim and say about them. No tutors, No prep, took SAT one time ONLY with study guide. Happy and smart and in top tier and top most school and college. LIES, LIES, LIES. You are all lucky you are not before a rand jury and under oath. Your children will out you with your shameful lies.

I don't think she meant that to come off as snarky. She was simply stating that Madeira's national notoriety may stem in part from that particular scandal. I would suggest instead that Madeira is known nationally because it is a boarding school, not a local independent. That has nothing whatsoever to do with its national ranking in terms of matriculation. Just because a school is well known nationally (as many boarding schools are) does not mean it is highly ranked academically. If you are truly doubtful of NCS's national standing, at least in terms of matriculation, you can look it up on matriculationstats.org. It compares quite favorably to well known boarding schools and day schools in NYC.

Anonymous wrote:Another NCS Mom here. I can tell you at college night when they put a sample report card on the screen it had a 3.2 average, which they said was typical. I don't doubt that others with PP's daughter's GPA didn't into some of the schools she did because they look at more than GPAs and it sounds like this is a student who had great scores and great teacher recs. We've all heard stories of kids with 4.0s who get roundly rejected so obviously its not solely based on GPA.

Again, if you aren't an NCS parent, you just don't know. They've resisted grade inflation even more than STA.

THe reason Madeira has a higher national profile is because the head of the school murdered a minor celebrity. So you can go with that.

Forget NCS GPAs -- are all NCS moms as charming as you? I don't have any connection to Madeira, but your comment about it kind of sucks.

Another NCS mom here. I don't doubt you for a minute. People outside of NCS just have no idea. There is no grade inflation. I question the PP who thinks 2320 and 3.5 is average at NCS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Completely agree. Glad someone else put it out there. 3.5 at NCS is a 3.5. And a 3.48 is not likely top third. Top half, yes. Kid is hooked. Legacy, URM, athlete or other talent. 3.48 and 2320 is not an exceptional student at NCS. She is average. I know of many and they were not accepted at Ivies. Good top 20 schools but not Ivies, unless they were hooked.

Really? I have no connection to NCS, and don't know details about the grade distribution there, but I kind of doubt your analysis.

Here is Andover's grade distribution chart -- http://www.andover.edu/Academics/CollegeCounseling/Documents/School_Profile_2011-2012.pdf -- at the bottom of page 4. It's a 6-point scale rather than NCS's 4-point scale, but a 3.5 GPA at NCS would roughly convert to a 5.25 GPA on Andover's 6-point scale. I assume the GPA distributions at both schools are similar bell curves. And looking at the percentages, it appears a 5.25 GPA would be in the top 20% of Andover's class.

It's a little harder to judge SAT scores, since Andover doesn't provide a detailed bell curve. But a total score of 2320 suggests an average score of 773 in each of the three subtests. That sure looks to me like it would be in the top 20% of Andover's class too.

Maybe PP is lying about her child's GPA & SAT scores, but if she's telling the truth about the numbers, they seem a lot better than average to me. If they're average at NCS, then that means NCS has a TON of grade inflation.

I'm not lying about my DD's gpa or test scores. Nor her college admissions results.

Another NCS Mom here. I can tell you at college night when they put a sample report card on the screen it had a 3.2 average, which they said was typical. I don't doubt that others with PP's daughter's GPA didn't into some of the schools she did because they look at more than GPAs and it sounds like this is a student who had great scores and great teacher recs. We've all heard stories of kids with 4.0s who get roundly rejected so obviously its not solely based on GPA.

Again, if you aren't an NCS parent, you just don't know. They've resisted grade inflation even more than STA.

THe reason Madeira has a higher national profile is because the head of the school murdered a minor celebrity. So you can go with that.

Anonymous wrote:Completely agree. Glad someone else put it out there. 3.5 at NCS is a 3.5. And a 3.48 is not likely top third. Top half, yes. Kid is hooked. Legacy, URM, athlete or other talent. 3.48 and 2320 is not an exceptional student at NCS. She is average. I know of many and they were not accepted at Ivies. Good top 20 schools but not Ivies, unless they were hooked.

Really? I have no connection to NCS, and don't know details about the grade distribution there, but I kind of doubt your analysis.

Here is Andover's grade distribution chart -- http://www.andover.edu/Academics/CollegeCounseling/Documents/School_Profile_2011-2012.pdf -- at the bottom of page 4. It's a 6-point scale rather than NCS's 4-point scale, but a 3.5 GPA at NCS would roughly convert to a 5.25 GPA on Andover's 6-point scale. I assume the GPA distributions at both schools are similar bell curves. And looking at the percentages, it appears a 5.25 GPA would be in the top 20% of Andover's class.

It's a little harder to judge SAT scores, since Andover doesn't provide a detailed bell curve. But a total score of 2320 suggests an average score of 773 in each of the three subtests. That sure looks to me like it would be in the top 20% of Andover's class too.

Maybe PP is lying about her child's GPA & SAT scores, but if she's telling the truth about the numbers, they seem a lot better than average to me. If they're average at NCS, then that means NCS has a TON of grade inflation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have reading comprehension issues. As I said, NCS is a GREAT school. My point (again) is that the OP is clearly delusional about her daughter's capabilities. If she can't manage even a 3.5 at NCS, she is not going to be a 4.5 student somewhere else. Clearly she is not a great student to begin with.

Its a very good GPA for NCS and thats why she got into a number of highly selective, including Ivy, schools. I'm not the mom, BTW, but I think its absurd for people who are unfamiliar with the grading at NCS to make any judgments. You clearly don't know what you are talking about.

I'm the Mom, my daughter was an exceptional student at NCS, never had a tutor, and scored a 2320 on her SAT after one sitting by using study guides. She's intelligent, well-rounded, and confident in her talents.

The nasty comments were pretty rotten, but meaningless.

Someone with a 3.5 at NCS is not going to get into top colleges unless she has other hooks. The lying on this thread is unbelievable.

Completely agree. Glad someone else put it out there. 3.5 at NCS is a 3.5. And a 3.48 is not likely top third. Top half, yes. Kid is hooked. Legacy, URM, athlete or other talent. 3.48 and 2320 is not an exceptional student at NCS. She is average. I know of many and they were not accepted at Ivies. Good top 20 schools but not Ivies, unless they were hooked.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have reading comprehension issues. As I said, NCS is a GREAT school. My point (again) is that the OP is clearly delusional about her daughter's capabilities. If she can't manage even a 3.5 at NCS, she is not going to be a 4.5 student somewhere else. Clearly she is not a great student to begin with.

Its a very good GPA for NCS and thats why she got into a number of highly selective, including Ivy, schools. I'm not the mom, BTW, but I think its absurd for people who are unfamiliar with the grading at NCS to make any judgments. You clearly don't know what you are talking about.

I'm the Mom, my daughter was an exceptional student at NCS, never had a tutor, and scored a 2320 on her SAT after one sitting by using study guides. She's intelligent, well-rounded, and confident in her talents.

The nasty comments were pretty rotten, but meaningless.

Someone with a 3.5 at NCS is not going to get into top colleges unless she has other hooks. The lying on this thread is unbelievable.

Notable alumna: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cathedral_School

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh boy, here comes another round of why TJ is superior.

Wrong. I'm the one who laughed at the 3.5, and I am NOT affiliated with TJ. NCS is a great school. My point is if the OP's daughter can only muster a 3.5, she would NOT have gotten a 4.5 in public school. Please.

You clearly know nothing about the top private school world. NCS is ranked nationally in the top 20 of all us private schools
, and top 10 if you take out NYC privates. Your moco or fairfax county publics just can't compare. Please.

Really? Never heard of it until I moved to DC and got on DCUM. I've heard of Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Choate. TJ, Stuy, New Trier. Brearly, Dalton, Spence even Miss Porter's and Madeira but NCS? I'm sure it's a good school but it's simply not that well known outside DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have reading comprehension issues. As I said, NCS is a GREAT school. My point (again) is that the OP is clearly delusional about her daughter's capabilities. If she can't manage even a 3.5 at NCS, she is not going to be a 4.5 student somewhere else. Clearly she is not a great student to begin with.

Its a very good GPA for NCS and thats why she got into a number of highly selective, including Ivy, schools. I'm not the mom, BTW, but I think its absurd for people who are unfamiliar with the grading at NCS to make any judgments. You clearly don't know what you are talking about.

I'm the Mom, my daughter was an exceptional student at NCS, never had a tutor, and scored a 2320 on her SAT after one sitting by using study guides. She's intelligent, well-rounded, and confident in her talents.

The nasty comments were pretty rotten, but meaningless.

Anonymous wrote:You have reading comprehension issues. As I said, NCS is a GREAT school. My point (again) is that the OP is clearly delusional about her daughter's capabilities. If she can't manage even a 3.5 at NCS, she is not going to be a 4.5 student somewhere else. Clearly she is not a great student to begin with.

Its a very good GPA for NCS and thats why she got into a number of highly selective, including Ivy, schools. I'm not the mom, BTW, but I think its absurd for people who are unfamiliar with the grading at NCS to make any judgments. You clearly don't know what you are talking about.

Everyone move on, it got mean and stupid.