Anonymous
10/15/2023 19:33
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
. Here's a crazy question- why did you choose to send your kid to a school notorious for the grind and grade deflation? There are dozens of privates in the area that offer comparable educations minus the misery, but big 3 families somehow see it as a badge of pride. None of these schools make any secret of their culture, but somehow it shifts from a great thing when families apply to a terrible thing when they realize they have a 3 GPAAnonymous wrote:Oh please, not the OP but you are full of it. And, your reading comprehension is lacking. OP said what class averages were really low. Her child is doing much better than the lower average. The OP takes issue with the excessively unnecessary grind combined with the harsh and demoralizing grading. I agree with OP, as someone who has three kids at a big three, that the grade deflation is ridiculous and unnecessary. The kids should be graded fairly. A work deserves an A. Stupid to force a curve or grade distribution, doesn't add anything to the rigor or what the kids are learning. Before you say well go to another school, options are bleak. It shouldn't be all or nothing but it is. If you want your child to get a certain kind of education that there are tradeoffs. Doesn't mean we as parents have to be happy with the bad.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
The point of going to a top 3 school is to get a demanding, rigorous education.
If you’re not happy with it, switch to public or Maret or field or someplace like that.
Was your child admitted early, like in kindergarten or elementary? Maybe it’s not the right fit.
Bs are one thing by getting multiple scores like 75 or 65 could be a sign your kid shouldn’t be of the school.
I tire The people who get their kids into super progress schools and then complain that they are too rigorous.
I might have a different take on this argument. We have a big 3 kid. Our kid was diagnosed with sever ADD just prior to the Pandemic. Our kid struggled during on line learning during COVID. Made some bad grades and put our kid behind. Our kid came back with a vengeance when school started again in person. The kid has made nothing but B's and a few A's here and there. Our kids GPA won't be great and we are waiting on the PSAT score to understand college options.
We paid big money for our kids education. No doubt. It's a rigorous school that our kid struggles with but is learning how to deal with it. That being said, our kid is maturing and doing better each week and month. My husband and I both believe the education our kid receives at a top private has been a blessing. Nothing in life is easy. Our kid understands that premise. Our kid will be prepared for college even if DCUM looks down on my kids choice of college.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 19:13
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
As a teacher, I can tell you that families’ perceptions of typical grades and levels of struggle are often inaccurate. I have sat in numerous conferences where I’ve heard “everyone” has a tutor and a good portion of the class is “failing,” and it’s just not the case. Perceptions are colored by mindset and by one’s social group. Also, a lot of the kids who spend hours studying at home aren’t using their daytime study halls well and may not have efficient work habits in place.
That said, the Big 3 are very challenging places to go to school. Not every student, even hard-working, intelligent kids, will do well there. The type of teen who thrives in those schools is into the academic content, high energy, self assured, and self motivated. I did not have all of those attributes when I attended NCS, and I floundered a bit.
If the school isn’t a good fit, it isn’t a good fit. There is no shame in transferring. For students who have a hard time keeping up, the advantages you believe that the school confers may be overridden by the intense stress. Complain all you want, but these schools have operated with this culture for decades. The only real choices they will offer you are to try to keep up or enroll somewhere else.
That said, the Big 3 are very challenging places to go to school. Not every student, even hard-working, intelligent kids, will do well there. The type of teen who thrives in those schools is into the academic content, high energy, self assured, and self motivated. I did not have all of those attributes when I attended NCS, and I floundered a bit.
If the school isn’t a good fit, it isn’t a good fit. There is no shame in transferring. For students who have a hard time keeping up, the advantages you believe that the school confers may be overridden by the intense stress. Complain all you want, but these schools have operated with this culture for decades. The only real choices they will offer you are to try to keep up or enroll somewhere else.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 18:12
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:C = Average
B = Above Average
A = Excellent
Most students should not be receiving A's. If the majority is excellent, then it becomes the norm not the exception.
Very old fashioned and highly dubious model.
Students who can demonstrate that they have mastered the content and done all assignments to a high standard should get As irrespective of how many others do or do not master the material covered.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 18:11
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:C = Average
B = Above Average
A = Excellent
Most students should not be receiving A's. If the majority is excellent, then it becomes the norm not the exception.
Tell that to the colleges.
I agree OP whole heartedly. It kids are getting 5s in APs then there should be many As.
This school is screwing your kid. See threads on what is happening to kids with Bs. Even high Bs in admission process.
And don’t by the “college knows how hard we are”. Some do most don’t or your app is weeded out before an actual person sees it given the huge spike in numbers.
SAT and ACT scores used to even this out. With TO, no more.
The top schools need to adjust. And fast.
And
Anonymous
10/15/2023 17:12
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP, the good news, after 4 years, your kid will be incredibly well prepared for college and likely find college to be easy.
-parent of big3 kids who are in college
I am not sure how that is "good" news. Also, are you claiming Big3 kids are somehow able to just waltz through college senior-level STEM classes because of their Big3 training?
My class of '22 big 3 grad is killing it currently at their T15 school. They are not waltzing, no, but they work fairly hard and get results that are superior to most of their T15 peers, so far.
Their professors repeatedly tell them what an excellent writer and thinker they are, actually. One prof, who many DC parents would know, called my kid a 'standout.' I attribute a LOT of this to kid's HS experience, which was indeed rigorous. And excellent.
Are you now claiming your Big3 grad is superior to the boarding school and LA/NYC private school kids?
No idea. That wasn’t the prompt though. The above post responded to someone wondering if a deeply rigorous HS education at a (grade-deflating) big3 might make even a top college feel like a “waltz.” The answer for my kid is a qualified Yes. Perhaps their Andover alum college classmates feel exactly the same, who knows
The prompt actually was whether a big3 grad could “waltz” through “senior level STEM classes” as a result of the implied ass kicking the student received at Sidwell or the like. My big3 kid is getting among the highest grades, or the very highest in a few cases, in upper level math and econ classes, and also their humanities classes and chem. They don’t find the work particularly difficult compared to their HS. Sorry if you deem this blather, and most of all I deeply apologize that the kid isn’t a CS major. Since everyone knows that’s the only difficult and worthwhile major.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 16:16
Subject: Re:The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.
I don’t think retakes are an expected thing. In my kid’s private MS and now in (a different) HS, there are no retakes. Some teachers (math and science most commonly) allow students to turn in test corrections to get partial additional credit (about 1/3 of the points back that they missed, in the case of DC’s current science teacher, for example). I see that as a good thing because it encourages the students to review and learn from the mistakes they make on tests, and they probably do better when finals come around, or when they need to apply those skills to the next unit that relies on them. But they can’t completely retake a test and can’t earn back full credit. DC is only in 9th so I don’t know if this is a way of easing kids into high school expectations and will change in later years. How many schools actually offer full test retakes?
This is really generous! NCS would shutter their doors before they offered test corrections. 🙁😡
Many math teachers offer test corrections. My daughter is at NCS in the Upper School. Corrections couldn't take you over an 80 ... but they do happen.
huh. My daughter is at NCS in the honors math track (honors precalc, BC calc) and she's never been offered test corrections. They must only offer them in the lower level classes.
No, your info is wrong. Your daughter hasn't shared the info -- but test corrections were available in Hon Geometry and Hon Alg 2. Maybe they stop after Alg 2, but she and her classmates would have been offered them in those early honors classes.
My daughter is currently in one of the classes you mention and no test corrections are offered in her section. Maybe it’s dependent on the teacher which seems to deeply affect outcomes at NCS whether bc of policies like this or teaching/grading style.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 14:26
Subject: Re:The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:When did retakes become an expected thing?? I graduated 20 years ago after attending public and private schools in high school….this was never allowed anywhere except in certain (usually medical) circumstances.
I don’t think retakes are an expected thing. In my kid’s private MS and now in (a different) HS, there are no retakes. Some teachers (math and science most commonly) allow students to turn in test corrections to get partial additional credit (about 1/3 of the points back that they missed, in the case of DC’s current science teacher, for example). I see that as a good thing because it encourages the students to review and learn from the mistakes they make on tests, and they probably do better when finals come around, or when they need to apply those skills to the next unit that relies on them. But they can’t completely retake a test and can’t earn back full credit. DC is only in 9th so I don’t know if this is a way of easing kids into high school expectations and will change in later years. How many schools actually offer full test retakes?
This is really generous! NCS would shutter their doors before they offered test corrections. 🙁😡
Many math teachers offer test corrections. My daughter is at NCS in the Upper School. Corrections couldn't take you over an 80 ... but they do happen.
huh. My daughter is at NCS in the honors math track (honors precalc, BC calc) and she's never been offered test corrections. They must only offer them in the lower level classes.
No, your info is wrong. Your daughter hasn't shared the info -- but test corrections were available in Hon Geometry and Hon Alg 2. Maybe they stop after Alg 2, but she and her classmates would have been offered them in those early honors classes.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 14:26
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No one here has made an argument here that test corrections is a bad thing. I think NCS, etc., need to be pushed to update how they do things
You’ve got ten pages of private parents looking down their noses at public schools that do this.
I don’t think they look down their noses vs defending what exists. I doubt anyone would pull their kid from NCS if they started allowing retakes or any of the things they deride.
This exactly
Anonymous
10/15/2023 13:41
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No one here has made an argument here that test corrections is a bad thing. I think NCS, etc., need to be pushed to update how they do things
You’ve got ten pages of private parents looking down their noses at public schools that do this.
I don’t think they look down their noses vs defending what exists. I doubt anyone would pull their kid from NCS if they started allowing retakes or any of the things they deride.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 13:11
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
No. Top privates have scaffolded curriculum and if you are taking hardest classes they are on par with college load. Hopefully schools discuss this with colleges but when they do not those kids will find themselves in a difficult position because they are competing with public school grade inflection and to a to an extent private school grade inflation.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 12:11
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
I think a big part of the problem is that middle schools are notorious for grade inflation. Students coming into HS with straight high A's think they are more academic than they might be.
Our kids will be prepared for college, but it the process of getting there can be brutal.
Our kids will be prepared for college, but it the process of getting there can be brutal.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 11:48
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:You will get an excellent education at the top private schools in the DC area but the question is at what cost? It is a tough decision and will obviously vary from family to family and kid to kid.
Middle and highschool education affect your writing style, speaking eloquence or lack there of. Much more important to go to top schools for highschool. I know enough people that went to top colleges but don’t have the writing or speaking sophistication required and I think it affects their career path.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 11:27
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:No one here has made an argument here that test corrections is a bad thing. I think NCS, etc., need to be pushed to update how they do things
You’ve got ten pages of private parents looking down their noses at public schools that do this.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 11:12
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:Maybe only for kids of Big Donors.
FWIW, at our kids' prior public school, retakes are only offered if you get below a C the first time around, and it can only bump you a grade or half a grade (I forget). So if your kid consistently gets Bs, you wouldn't be getting retakes anyway.
Anonymous
10/15/2023 11:09
Subject: The deflated grading is just exhausting.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:dripping to entry level classes. Take honors/AP only if your school weights class or you are sure your child will get an A.
Then you won’t have rigor.
+1 that is a losing strategy, unless it is not clear from the college profile which classes are more rigorous at your school.