Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:not a Walls parent but from my vantage point as a parent of peers (and elementary/middle school classmates of Walls alum), SWW gets a lot of kids into flagship state schools. I've seen no especially remarkable extracurriculars among grads who have had a range of elite state schools to pick from while arguably more remarkable kids from Latin, for instance, do not. To the OP, your SWW walls kid will get into UNC, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin and many other schools. She'll be fine. https://www.instagram.com/sww2023decisions/

Not surprised given DCTAG and the financial reality for many true MC families in this city.

+1

I know some kids at Walls and they got into good private universities but chose state schools due to financial aid packages or scholarship opportunities. That’s why I really dislike these threads every year that judge the list of universities kids choose to attend. Just because you were admitted to U Chicago doesn’t mean you can afford to attend.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:not a Walls parent but from my vantage point as a parent of peers (and elementary/middle school classmates of Walls alum), SWW gets a lot of kids into flagship state schools. I've seen no especially remarkable extracurriculars among grads who have had a range of elite state schools to pick from while arguably more remarkable kids from Latin, for instance, do not. To the OP, your SWW walls kid will get into UNC, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin and many other schools. She'll be fine. https://www.instagram.com/sww2023decisions/

Not surprised given DCTAG and the financial reality for many true MC families in this city.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously, this massive grade inflation was in effect at other DCPS schools, not just Walls.

As a result, the pool of 500 kids that Walls drew from was a pool of kids with vastly inflated grades, at least those from DCPS. Too bad for kids at private schools, charters, and non-DC schools that didn't benefit from the DCPS' grade inflationary policies.

There are going to be a lot of kids going to Walls in the fall who are not as qualified as previous applicants, and just happened to benefit from DCPS' ridiculous pandemic-era grade inflation.

That is yet another reason why Walls' refusal to bring back the entrance exam was a huge blunder.

This is just another nail in the coffin for Walls' status as the most selective public school in DC.

A lot of private schools and the like have grade inflation, retakes, etc. The entrance exam benefited those from schools with a good cohort. It didn't necessarily identify the most qualified students. I doubt the test comes back but I do expect another indicator for entry. There are seniors and juniors(both test in classes) that probably should have left SWW. Good students will always shine. No way to measure work ethic and desire.

The DC top privates don't have grade deflation. There are no retakes and no late work is accepted. You are a day late? That's a zero. There is no GPA bump for honors or AP classes My daughter (from DCPS) is at NCS and they are proud of saying that they have not had a 4.0 grad in 45 years. A "very strong" student will gradate with something like a 3.7
It's the opposite of DCPS.
You are spreading an absolute falsehood.

So you are aware of all private school grading polices...No you are not!

Lady, you need to stop. You're rude and know not of what you speak. And original author, the same is true of our kids' independent school. It's far harsher than I'd have imagined. And amid DCPS counterparts going the other way, it really puts them at a distinct and illogical disadvantage.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids that are gaming the system would do so regardless. Hopefully things will go back to normal next year. Just make sure your kid is organized and working hard. The rest will take care of itself.

A "WS" can also indicate a lot of unorganized and less than stellar teachers. Numerous times they have been entered when assignments have been completed and in Canvas. Those missing assignments can be the difference b/t a C and an A. I know teachers lose things all the time but stop blaming the kids for everything.

Don't be naive. WS is not a grade any teacher wants to give, It has been mandated by DCPS and administrators. It's a gift to kids who perpetually don't turn in work on time, but an F would cause trouble, so you give them a WS and time to get it in. Canvas has a time stamp. Turning it in does not mean it was turned in on time. It's the default "please don't fail this student" meant to appease parents and keep graduation rates higher. If teachers ever really gave your kids the grades they actually deserve, held them accountable for deadlines, you people would be up in arms and threatening to sue. There is absolutely grade inflation at every high school across the country, and that's why so many parents are left complaining that their "high stats" kids dd not get into colleges they wanted. That's because damn near everybody has high stats now. You need the other stuff. High GPA is nearly irrelevant at this point in admissions.

So, wait a minute. Test scores don’t matter and GPA doesn’t matter, WTH? No wonder mental health issues are a thing for this generation. Mediocrity matters!

Honestly, in terms of mental health, I think the problem for ambitious students is that watering down grades and making tests less important can make it so much harder to know where you stand for future admissions. When I applied to college and law school a couple of decades ago, you knew at least generally where a certain GPA and test score would land you, with some wiggle room for other factors like extracurriculars. Now it all feels like more of a crapshoot and those “other factors” have become both more important and harder to quantify. No wonder so many kids are knocking themselves out trying to become as impressive as possible in as many areas as possible, without the peace of mind of having some objective idea where they stand before the actual admissions decisions come in. For every kid at a school like Walls who coasts because of grade inflation, there are at LEAST as many who are doing more and more work to distinguish themselves from the 4.0 pack.

I don’t have any personal stake in this topic — my kid is at a school that doesn’t practice grade inflation and she missed this year’s GPA cutoff for Walls. But I’ve never had this particular thought before on the ways that lack of objective rankings may feed mental health challenges for kids who want to go on to college. How incredibly stressful to be told that someone will be evaluating you on your life choices and performance in a couple of years, then not be given clear input into how that evaluation will be reached.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: “The average high school grade point average increased significantly from 2010 to 2021, with most of the gains coming during the last five years, according to a new report released today by ACT. During the same time, composite scores on the ACT fell from 21.0 to 20.3, suggesting that grade inflation is a serious problem, the testing company said. In that same time period, most of the students studied changed the way they classify themselves, with A becoming the most common way and the number of B students and C students going down.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2022/05/16/act-says-high-school-gpas-are-rising

Actually the Walls class of 23 had really unusually high SAT scores. (Based on the school average published by DCPS and the number of students on the presidential scholars eligibility list.) I bet “grade inflation” at Walls doesn’t look as bad if you control for SAT score.

DCPS shows that Walls had an average SAT score of 1317.

The average SAT score at Sidwell is probably 1440 or so.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a test-in school, full of kids who have gotten all As in middle school. Why is this is a shock?

Uh, it's not a test-in school..

Yes it is.

Please get a clue. You obviously don't have a kid admitted to Walls.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/school-without-walls-admissions-test-diversity/2021/08/27/6959cec2-0293-11ec-a664-4f6de3e17ff0_story.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously, this massive grade inflation was in effect at other DCPS schools, not just Walls.

As a result, the pool of 500 kids that Walls drew from was a pool of kids with vastly inflated grades, at least those from DCPS. Too bad for kids at private schools, charters, and non-DC schools that didn't benefit from the DCPS' grade inflationary policies.

There are going to be a lot of kids going to Walls in the fall who are not as qualified as previous applicants, and just happened to benefit from DCPS' ridiculous pandemic-era grade inflation.

That is yet another reason why Walls' refusal to bring back the entrance exam was a huge blunder.

This is just another nail in the coffin for Walls' status as the most selective public school in DC.

A lot of private schools and the like have grade inflation, retakes, etc. The entrance exam benefited those from schools with a good cohort. It didn't necessarily identify the most qualified students. I doubt the test comes back but I do expect another indicator for entry. There are seniors and juniors(both test in classes) that probably should have left SWW. Good students will always shine. No way to measure work ethic and desire.

The DC top privates don't have grade deflation. There are no retakes and no late work is accepted. You are a day late? That's a zero. There is no GPA bump for honors or AP classes My daughter (from DCPS) is at NCS and they are proud of saying that they have not had a 4.0 grad in 45 years. A "very strong" student will gradate with something like a 3.7
It's the opposite of DCPS.
You are spreading an absolute falsehood.

So you are aware of all private school grading polices...No you are not!

Anonymous wrote:not a Walls parent but from my vantage point as a parent of peers (and elementary/middle school classmates of Walls alum), SWW gets a lot of kids into flagship state schools. I've seen no especially remarkable extracurriculars among grads who have had a range of elite state schools to pick from while arguably more remarkable kids from Latin, for instance, do not. To the OP, your SWW walls kid will get into UNC, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin and many other schools. She'll be fine. https://www.instagram.com/sww2023decisions/

Anonymous wrote:not a Walls parent but from my vantage point as a parent of peers (and elementary/middle school classmates of Walls alum), SWW gets a lot of kids into flagship state schools. I've seen no especially remarkable extracurriculars among grads who have had a range of elite state schools to pick from while arguably more remarkable kids from Latin, for instance, do not. To the OP, your SWW walls kid will get into UNC, UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin and many other schools. She'll be fine. https://www.instagram.com/sww2023decisions/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids that are gaming the system would do so regardless. Hopefully things will go back to normal next year. Just make sure your kid is organized and working hard. The rest will take care of itself.

A "WS" can also indicate a lot of unorganized and less than stellar teachers. Numerous times they have been entered when assignments have been completed and in Canvas. Those missing assignments can be the difference b/t a C and an A. I know teachers lose things all the time but stop blaming the kids for everything.

Don't be naive. WS is not a grade any teacher wants to give, It has been mandated by DCPS and administrators. It's a gift to kids who perpetually don't turn in work on time, but an F would cause trouble, so you give them a WS and time to get it in. Canvas has a time stamp. Turning it in does not mean it was turned in on time. It's the default "please don't fail this student" meant to appease parents and keep graduation rates higher. If teachers ever really gave your kids the grades they actually deserve, held them accountable for deadlines, you people would be up in arms and threatening to sue. There is absolutely grade inflation at every high school across the country, and that's why so many parents are left complaining that their "high stats" kids dd not get into colleges they wanted. That's because damn near everybody has high stats now. You need the other stuff. High GPA is nearly irrelevant at this point in admissions.

So, wait a minute. Test scores don’t matter and GPA doesn’t matter, WTH? No wonder mental health issues are a thing for this generation. Mediocrity matters!

Honestly, in terms of mental health, I think the problem for ambitious students is that watering down grades and making tests less important can make it so much harder to know where you stand for future admissions. When I applied to college and law school a couple of decades ago, you knew at least generally where a certain GPA and test score would land you, with some wiggle room for other factors like extracurriculars. Now it all feels like more of a crapshoot and those “other factors” have become both more important and harder to quantify. No wonder so many kids are knocking themselves out trying to become as impressive as possible in as many areas as possible, without the peace of mind of having some objective idea where they stand before the actual admissions decisions come in. For every kid at a school like Walls who coasts because of grade inflation, there are at LEAST as many who are doing more and more work to distinguish themselves from the 4.0 pack.

I don’t have any personal stake in this topic — my kid is at a school that doesn’t practice grade inflation and she missed this year’s GPA cutoff for Walls. But I’ve never had this particular thought before on the ways that lack of objective rankings may feed mental health challenges for kids who want to go on to college. How incredibly stressful to be told that someone will be evaluating you on your life choices and performance in a couple of years, then not be given clear input into how that evaluation will be reached.

Anonymous wrote:This is a DCPS issue. Students can turn in work whenever they want and often, they have an opportunity to retake/resubmit assignments they do poorly on.

No accountability and no real way for parents to see how their kids are actually doing. I’ve been teaching in DCPS for many years. Never have so many of my students had such high grades. That would be fine if it correlated to their efforts and ability, but it doesn’t.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: “The average high school grade point average increased significantly from 2010 to 2021, with most of the gains coming during the last five years, according to a new report released today by ACT. During the same time, composite scores on the ACT fell from 21.0 to 20.3, suggesting that grade inflation is a serious problem, the testing company said. In that same time period, most of the students studied changed the way they classify themselves, with A becoming the most common way and the number of B students and C students going down.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2022/05/16/act-says-high-school-gpas-are-rising

Actually the Walls class of 23 had really unusually high SAT scores. (Based on the school average published by DCPS and the number of students on the presidential scholars eligibility list.) I bet “grade inflation” at Walls doesn’t look as bad if you control for SAT score.