Anonymous wrote:Whoever said middle school would get harder or have more homework, etc... is crazy. She had more homework and projects in her ES than MS.

My daughter did the absolute bare minimum and is still finishing up with all A's and two B's for her final. The late assignments get the same points, the retakes, the 89.5 and 79.5 will always equal an A for the semester. The teachers are done tired and don't care - and I don't blame them. My oldest went to a top 5 private school and we wanted to try public for my daughter since she has such close friends. I keep thinking it will get better after the pandemic, but it has not. And my daughter's work ethic has just plummeted. She could have easily have gotten all A's but who am I to be the pushy mom who insists on extra during this mental healthness outbreak. It is a fine line. And she sees that the hard workers and mediocre workers get the same grades so she chose mediocre (of course she loves saying how so many kids are failing etc... and she is trying her best.) It's total BS.

I know we are trying to bring up the rear and help out the struggling as a public school, but please tell me high school gets more competitive. She is a rising 8th grader and I am seriously contemplating private for high school. There is no way this type of learning will get them ready for a tough degree in college.

Anyone else feeling this with their middle school kids? I don't care about the learning as much as engaging and trying. It just isn't there.

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Anonymous wrote:It depends on the class. Some are more rigorous than others but they aren't very rigorous. However, everything is done online so no need for a backpack. Why is she getting B's if its so easy? Weren't you monitoring things?

You are that mom. All A's or you are the worst? Not the PP but my kids can get all A's and B's and that is just fine. You have no idea who is trying their best or not. And honestly trying your absolute best for all A's in middle school and stressing about it is a huge waste of time. No one cares.

DP. I agree with the PP. middle school is a lot easier than high school and if she’s already getting two B’s, it doesn’t bode well for a GPA good enough for something like UMD. It’s gotten very competitive. Moreover, her work ethic is going to have to improve because AP classes are no joke. And she’s not going to get into even average schools without a bunch of AP’s. Honors and below will not cut it even for the flagship.

AP's are the biggest money making scam of this generation. Most have to retake them in college and many colleges don't accept a lot of them.

Find me a student that has fun through high school without popping Adderall to stay up and study - goes to JUCO for 2 years and transfers to the same college as Adderall-popping anxious depressed kids who paid WAY over 5 figures for tutors, AP's, AP testing, ACT/SAT prep, and five SAT/AC tests. Not to mention all of the money spent to make your kid look college perfect on a piece of paper.

Not only do those A's with mixed B's and C's kids have a more normal fun life, they graduate college with the same degree with half the debt and half the stress.

So please please stop pointing people in the direction of all A's and AP's all of the time. You wonder why so many high schoolers are f'ing miserable.

Both my kids graduated in 3 years from UMD due to AP credit so they sure saved us a ton of money. One of my kids got a merit scholarship so saved us even more money. AP’s were not a scam for us.

Can someone explain, if a kid takes an AP class in public high school at have to pay? How? How are they a scam?

Not the PP, but many kids don't even pass the AP test, have you seen the percentages? They are abysmal. And most colleges don't allow 3's anymore and some aren't allowing any - even 5's now. Some only allow 2-3 AP's max. And if you use one and fail the following course, college advisors will make your retake that AP course. Example. You come in with a Calc AP, but fail the next level Calc course. You are retaking your AP Calculus your 2nd semester and you are now further behind than those that never took the AP. It happens more than you know. Many advisors recommend just retaking certain courses if they are in your major because they know (and so do all of you parents) that a high school teacher with a BA from Towson isn't teaching Calc BC like a professor at an engineering college.

You're clueless. Over 70% of MCPS students passed with 3 or higher.

Cite your sources and the breakdown for each course. And please do it pre-covid because the AP were dumbed down in 20 and 21

Even with the dumbed down tests hardly anyone is getting a 4 or higher

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions

There
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/publicinfo/MCPS_AP_IB_Enrollment.pdf

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Anonymous wrote:It depends on the class. Some are more rigorous than others but they aren't very rigorous. However, everything is done online so no need for a backpack. Why is she getting B's if its so easy? Weren't you monitoring things?

You are that mom. All A's or you are the worst? Not the PP but my kids can get all A's and B's and that is just fine. You have no idea who is trying their best or not. And honestly trying your absolute best for all A's in middle school and stressing about it is a huge waste of time. No one cares.

DP. I agree with the PP. middle school is a lot easier than high school and if she’s already getting two B’s, it doesn’t bode well for a GPA good enough for something like UMD. It’s gotten very competitive. Moreover, her work ethic is going to have to improve because AP classes are no joke. And she’s not going to get into even average schools without a bunch of AP’s. Honors and below will not cut it even for the flagship.

AP's are the biggest money making scam of this generation. Most have to retake them in college and many colleges don't accept a lot of them.

Find me a student that has fun through high school without popping Adderall to stay up and study - goes to JUCO for 2 years and transfers to the same college as Adderall-popping anxious depressed kids who paid WAY over 5 figures for tutors, AP's, AP testing, ACT/SAT prep, and five SAT/AC tests. Not to mention all of the money spent to make your kid look college perfect on a piece of paper.

Not only do those A's with mixed B's and C's kids have a more normal fun life, they graduate college with the same degree with half the debt and half the stress.

So please please stop pointing people in the direction of all A's and AP's all of the time. You wonder why so many high schoolers are f'ing miserable.

Both my kids graduated in 3 years from UMD due to AP credit so they sure saved us a ton of money. One of my kids got a merit scholarship so saved us even more money. AP’s were not a scam for us.

Can someone explain, if a kid takes an AP class in public high school at have to pay? How? How are they a scam?

Not the PP, but many kids don't even pass the AP test, have you seen the percentages? They are abysmal. And most colleges don't allow 3's anymore and some aren't allowing any - even 5's now. Some only allow 2-3 AP's max. And if you use one and fail the following course, college advisors will make your retake that AP course. Example. You come in with a Calc AP, but fail the next level Calc course. You are retaking your AP Calculus your 2nd semester and you are now further behind than those that never took the AP. It happens more than you know. Many advisors recommend just retaking certain courses if they are in your major because they know (and so do all of you parents) that a high school teacher with a BA from Towson isn't teaching Calc BC like a professor at an engineering college.

You're clueless. Over 70% of MCPS students passed with 3 or higher.

Cite your sources and the breakdown for each course. And please do it pre-covid because the AP were dumbed down in 20 and 21

Even with the dumbed down tests hardly anyone is getting a 4 or higher

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions

There
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/publicinfo/MCPS_AP_IB_Enrollment.pdf

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Anonymous wrote:Why are you announcing that you raised a lazy kid? That’s not something to be proud of.

It's showing how pitiful the learning and grading are in MCPS. How easy it is to work around. All of my kids know if they get an A in Q1, they can get as low as a 79.5 in Q2 and still get an A for the first semester. Then in Q3 get another A and can get as low as a 69.5 in Q4 and still get an A for a final grade.

Yup -work the system and get the same grades as the smarties. So easy

who's the smart one?

The one who didn't work as hard - 100%
They probably have less mental health issues and obviously are move savvy and street smart. They also have more time to be natural well rounded people than put on a fake college resume. That goes a lot further than grades. My junior in college beats out a lot of perfectionists for jobs and internships because she can talk, make conversation, work well with others, and does a lot more than just work for straight A's in college. The recruiters do not care about grades if you can haven't worked basic jobs, have social skills, and can work well with a team.

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Anonymous wrote:Yeah. Middle school is definitely the weakest link. It will get better in high school.

It really depends on the middle school and the students electives.

My child had a lot of homework. I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm sure every school and teacher is different.

Mine had a lot of homework too! 7th grade at TPMS

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Anonymous wrote:Why are you announcing that you raised a lazy kid? That’s not something to be proud of.

It's showing how pitiful the learning and grading are in MCPS. How easy it is to work around. All of my kids know if they get an A in Q1, they can get as low as a 79.5 in Q2 and still get an A for the first semester. Then in Q3 get another A and can get as low as a 69.5 in Q4 and still get an A for a final grade.

Yup -work the system and get the same grades as the smarties. So easy

who's the smart one?

The one who didn't work as hard - 100%
They probably have less mental health issues and obviously are move savvy and street smart. They also have more time to be natural well rounded people than put on a fake college resume. That goes a lot further than grades. My junior in college beats out a lot of perfectionists for jobs and internships because she can talk, make conversation, work well with others, and does a lot more than just work for straight A's in college. The recruiters do not care about grades if you can haven't worked basic jobs, have social skills, and can work well with a team.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you announcing that you raised a lazy kid? That’s not something to be proud of.

It's showing how pitiful the learning and grading are in MCPS. How easy it is to work around. All of my kids know if they get an A in Q1, they can get as low as a 79.5 in Q2 and still get an A for the first semester. Then in Q3 get another A and can get as low as a 69.5 in Q4 and still get an A for a final grade.

Yup -work the system and get the same grades as the smarties. So easy

who's the smart one?

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Anonymous wrote:In contrast, my kid went to Eastern magnet and it kicked his butt.

Same here! I wish she'd had a little more of what the OP posted honestly. In the end I'm not sure it's really necessary to have the amount of homework and "rigor," that exists in that program. I don't mean for everyone necessarily, but for my kid. My older kid went through the program too and I don't know if I think it's worth some of the stress. I'm sure for some kids it is...but in hindsight for my kids. The older I get and the older my kids get the less I think I should have worried so much about enrichment at a young age. They most likely would turn out just as smart, skilled and capable by age 18...but just had less homework at age 12. Obviously YMMV.

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Anonymous wrote:In contrast, my kid went to Eastern magnet and it kicked his butt.

Same here! I wish she'd had a little more of what the OP posted honestly. In the end I'm not sure it's really necessary to have the amount of homework and "rigor," that exists in that program. I don't mean for everyone necessarily, but for my kid. My older kid went through the program too and I don't know if I think it's worth some of the stress. I'm sure for some kids it is...but in hindsight for my kids. The older I get and the older my kids get the less I think I should have worried so much about enrichment at a young age. They most likely would turn out just as smart, skilled and capable by age 18...but just had less homework at age 12. Obviously YMMV.

Anonymous wrote:In contrast, my kid went to Eastern magnet and it kicked his butt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you announcing that you raised a lazy kid? That’s not something to be proud of.

It's showing how pitiful the learning and grading are in MCPS. How easy it is to work around. All of my kids know if they get an A in Q1, they can get as low as a 79.5 in Q2 and still get an A for the first semester. Then in Q3 get another A and can get as low as a 69.5 in Q4 and still get an A for a final grade.

Yup -work the system and get the same grades as the smarties. So easy

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the class. Some are more rigorous than others but they aren't very rigorous. However, everything is done online so no need for a backpack. Why is she getting B's if its so easy? Weren't you monitoring things?

You are that mom. All A's or you are the worst? Not the PP but my kids can get all A's and B's and that is just fine. You have no idea who is trying their best or not. And honestly trying your absolute best for all A's in middle school and stressing about it is a huge waste of time. No one cares.

DP. I agree with the PP. middle school is a lot easier than high school and if she’s already getting two B’s, it doesn’t bode well for a GPA good enough for something like UMD. It’s gotten very competitive. Moreover, her work ethic is going to have to improve because AP classes are no joke. And she’s not going to get into even average schools without a bunch of AP’s. Honors and below will not cut it even for the flagship.

AP's are the biggest money making scam of this generation. Most have to retake them in college and many colleges don't accept a lot of them.

Find me a student that has fun through high school without popping Adderall to stay up and study - goes to JUCO for 2 years and transfers to the same college as Adderall-popping anxious depressed kids who paid WAY over 5 figures for tutors, AP's, AP testing, ACT/SAT prep, and five SAT/AC tests. Not to mention all of the money spent to make your kid look college perfect on a piece of paper.

Not only do those A's with mixed B's and C's kids have a more normal fun life, they graduate college with the same degree with half the debt and half the stress.

So please please stop pointing people in the direction of all A's and AP's all of the time. You wonder why so many high schoolers are f'ing miserable.

Both my kids graduated in 3 years from UMD due to AP credit so they sure saved us a ton of money. One of my kids got a merit scholarship so saved us even more money. AP’s were not a scam for us.

Can someone explain, if a kid takes an AP class in public high school at have to pay? How? How are they a scam?

Not the PP, but many kids don't even pass the AP test, have you seen the percentages? They are abysmal. And most colleges don't allow 3's anymore and some aren't allowing any - even 5's now. Some only allow 2-3 AP's max. And if you use one and fail the following course, college advisors will make your retake that AP course. Example. You come in with a Calc AP, but fail the next level Calc course. You are retaking your AP Calculus your 2nd semester and you are now further behind than those that never took the AP. It happens more than you know. Many advisors recommend just retaking certain courses if they are in your major because they know (and so do all of you parents) that a high school teacher with a BA from Towson isn't teaching Calc BC like a professor at an engineering college.

You're clueless. Over 70% of MCPS students passed with 3 or higher.

Cite your sources and the breakdown for each course. And please do it pre-covid because the AP were dumbed down in 20 and 21

Even with the dumbed down tests hardly anyone is getting a 4 or higher

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions