Anonymous wrote:I take them to Krispy Kreme.

..:and I think they give the kids a donut for each A

We are surprising DD with a nice dinner out after she got As and A+s all year. I think it’s important to recognize the achievement . You never know how hard it may have been for your kid to get all A’s even though 25-30% of the class gets A’s nowadays.

No, just as I don't pay them to do their chores. I expect them to get good grades.

No, I expect straight As, even from my kid who is twice exceptional (high IQ but severe ADHD and learning disabilities). However, I praise effort consistently and we get their favorite take-out when they perform in recitals, finish AP exams, and similarly stressful periods. They get time to relax during the summer, which is the biggest reward of all, to be honest.

- parent of college kid and high schooler.

Anonymous wrote:Nope. We meet our kids where they are. Rewarding them if they can’t is demeaning. Think of all the outside the box situations that don’t equate to all As

Or a school that gives As to everyone, then they find out that’s a farce.

I get this. But if you know your child is capable of an A with putting in some effort, but they are losing steam toward the end of the yr, sometimes knowing they get money or something else they’ve been wanting gives them that little extra push to stay motivated until the end

Nope. We meet our kids where they are. Rewarding them if they can’t is demeaning. Think of all the outside the box situations that don’t equate to all As

Or a school that gives As to everyone, then they find out that’s a farce.

Anonymous wrote:I say, “Yay, buddy!! Awesome job!”

This. I never paid for good grades. I paid 100% for undergrad. And I took them on a very trip after.

Only do something if they get an A in something they normally struggle with.

Anonymous wrote:About a third of high school kids get straight As now.

The distinction comes down to 97+ vs. 91. GPAs account for this.

How would a GPA account for that? A 93% and a 100% are both As and have a 4.0 weight. No one knows the exact percentage in a class anyone had except them. It isn’t on a transcript

I say, “Yay, buddy!! Awesome job!”

Anonymous wrote:FCCPS had 99/222 graduate with over 4.0 this year and bragged about it. So no, I would not do anything special for your kid with straight As. Grade inflation is everywhere.

https://mhs.fccps.org/o/mhs/article/2237777

First, wow, I didn’t realize there are schools in Fairfax county with this small of graduating classes, that’s really cool. Second, do they not have hard honors and AP classes at this HS? My son could get straight As in regular classes but definitely has some Bs bc he chooses advanced math and other hard APs.

Anonymous wrote:About a third of high school kids get straight As now.

The distinction comes down to 97+ vs. 91. GPAs account for this.

i dont think so--where are you getting this?

My parents never rewarded me for grades after elementary school. I got a few Bs in 6th Grade, and then I figured out exactly what was expected of me in 7th. I'd reward myself at the end of every quarter for getting straight As by purchasing a CD. At the beginning of 9th grade I decided I wanted to be high school valedictorian, and succeeded at it despite my guidance counselor's efforts to discourage me (she was an idiot). I left high school with a great classical music CD collection and a Stanford admission.

We'll never know. But our kids are successful anyway.

We always had a small celebration when report cards came out (along the lines of ordering pizza, having tacos, or going out for ice cream) to acknowledge all their hard work, but it wasn’t dependent on straight As, or any grades in particular. I wanted to convey the message that the goal of school was to learn, not to make grades. Grades are just a rough indicator of how much learning has taken place.