My son's school's grading scale is UNFAIR!

[robsmom]

I haven't read all the responses, but I feel for you! My kids' high school did the same thing. My daughter was in all honors courses and graduated with a 3.6. The three valedictorians all had a 4.0 , but not one honors course between the three of them. In fact, one girl's mother worked at the school and made sure her daughter got all the easiest teachers. I wish grades didn't matter so much, but they do. It matters with scholarships, etc. If it makes you feel better, my daughter graduated from college summa cum laude, number one in her class. So I am glad she got a quality high school education to prepare her for college, but I still didn't think it was fair.

This is just really wrong on so many levels. Glad that she did great in college!!

 

[marcyinPA]

That's similar to my kids grading scale only anything below a 70 is an F

Same here (there is no D), but we have the traditional grading scale (ie: 90-100 is an A, etc.)

 

[nicki.momof3]

I should say we bought in our district BECAUSE the schools are excellent, and in many cases are in the top 5% nationally. There is no doubt my son is receiving a great education.QUOTE]

I say stop complaining - I pay huge taxes and my kids school is not in the top 5% in the nation. I would guess lots of poster pay as much if not more in taxes than you and don't get the same great quality. Be appreciative for what you have and relax. Colleges know what schools are the best and admit at a higher ration based on that info. Reward you child for doing well don't focus on the letter grade only.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

many. many schools are like this. Sorry to tell you that. That 7 point scale has been around a long, LONG time.

Trust me -- the scholarships are not only based on the letter grades. What about standardized tests? And then the SAT? ACT?

It all works out in the end. If you feel so strongly about it, when you apply for a scholarship, I'm sure there's a place to write or indicate additional notes about this.

 

[bookgirl]

I should say we bought in our district BECAUSE the schools are excellent, and in many cases are in the top 5% nationally. There is no doubt my son is receiving a great education. But...

The district I live uses a 7 point grading scale, which means:
93-100 A
85-92 B
77-84 C
69-76 D
0-68 F

Adding insult to injury, they do not award extra points to Honors courses, meaning an A in Honors English is weighted the same as an A in standard English. While they do recognize an A+ with an extra .3, and an A- is a less .3, it's mind boggling that as a district, they can tinker with the grade scale like this.

Other parents in the district are organizing to challenge this, since many scholarships are granted on a minimum GPA requirement. Well, my son may have less than a 4.0 but still have made all 92's in his courses. How is that fair? I am outraged and seemingly unable to do anything about it, other than move into a different district where the schools might not be as good but have a traditional grading school, opt for private school which we can't afford, or what? ARGGGGGHHH!

I'm in my early 40's, they used a .7 scale when I was in school, most of my college coursed then my graduate courses were also .7....nothing unfair about it. Higher standards are just that higer. As far as hounors courses they do get graded the same, the only reason to take them is the chance to clep out of college courses, not to up your grades.

 

[Schmeck]

From what I have learned just starting the college application process with DD, schools send a copy of their grading policy along with transcripts. Our HS has such a wonky way of grading honors and AP classes that right now my DD has a 5+ average - there's no way a college would know what that was all about unless the grading policy was included.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

My kids' school (elementary) uses the 93-100 scale for an A, and I had the same scale way back in the dark ages. When I was in high school, A's in AP classes were a 5 instead of a 4, but there was no distinction in GPA for plusses or minuses. At our fourth grade curriculum meeting this year, the teachers made a point of reminding the parents that a C is average - i.e. doing fourth grade level work.

I'm pretty sure my college used the same scale, but my graduate school might have used 90-100 - it doesn't seem as important now as I'm sure it was then!

 

[tripplanner]

I have two kids in High School with the same grading scale. It's the norm here. I remember having that scale when I was in high school. Now college was another story. It depended on the professor. Most were 10 point scale. Only a few used the 7 point scale.

I'm not sure that the 7 point scale students are being penalized against getting scholarship money. I believe that there are probably more on the 7 point scale than on the 10 point scale.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

No, I want my child to have the same grading system as every one else's child. How is that unfair? If your child is on a 7 pt grading system, s/he is already being penalized in GPA which determines scholarship eligibility. If your child is on a 10 pt system, s/he is going to have a higher GPA earning the same %'ile grades as my child. How is that fair?

My point is your child is NOT going to have the same grading system as everyone else's child!! All high schools are different.

You want him on a 10 point scale and yet you would think it fair if he goes up against kids who are on a 7 point scale?

I guess it is all about me, me, me, me.

 

[DalGal]

That's nothing. At my school, grades are as follows:

95-100 - A
88-94 - B
81-87 - C
75-80 - D
74 and below - F

This was the grading scale for a couple of my master's classes. At the undergraduate level it varied by professor.

In the district in which I teach they use one similar to the OP but anything below a 70 is failing. At a private school near my home failing is anything below 80!

 

[surfgirl]

Just a few points:

Colleges KNOW the harder/more competitive high schools. They take that into consideration, so be happier you are in a better school district.

If your HS doesn't have the courses getting credit for AP courses, there is a reason... they have to meet standards, file paperwork, etc. I don't know all the details, but if there wasn't a set of criteria, then every HS would claim their courses were AP. You should be talking to the HS to find out why they aren't getting college credit. (some of you can probably explain this better than I can since I don't have a HS'er yet, but I know our district offers 30+ AP courses and 50+ Honors courses).

When he goes to college, he may not get credit for those classes, but he will be better prepared. This has 2 scenarios:

1) he tests out of 'basic' classes... ie I tested out of French 1,2,3 and went straight into higher level classes. I never got credit for those, but I never had to take them and could take other classes instead.

2) His classes are incredibly easy and he does very well. He will ace things Freshman year at college and be able to deal with social aspect of college vs. struggling with social and academic.

be happy you are in such a good school district.

 

[mamacatnv]

My DS is a college freshman and with the majority of his scholarship applications and all his college applications we were required to enclose the schools grading scale. The Univ's threw out all the weighting from AP & Honors along with all the A's in the fluff classes - they purely looked at core subjects using the schools grading scale along with ACT and or SAT scores to determine eligibility.

 

[ksumn1]

I can see why OP is upset as well as the other posters comments. If your child attended a HS that graded on a 7 point system and made a B 92 and 10 miles across town a child with a 90 average A and both took the same classes there IS a difference. Especially if they applied to the same local college with similar SAT/ACT scores and extracirricular activities (marching band, volenteered at a local food kitchen) and your child with a 92 B didn't get in and you found out from a church friend that so and so's kid with a 90 A DID. I know it would bother me. I personally think that grading should be on the same scale at all schools. Make it a statewide standard which also makes the distinction between regular classes, AP classes and weigh them accordingly. But that's just not the way it is.

I'm going to college next January as a non traditional student (I'll be 31) and I don't have to have SAT scores, ACT scores or a GPA. However, I did have some coursework form a technical college that I attended and I was told by the admissions counselor that my 3.69 GPA from there was definately a +. It showed that I took my education seriously and helped "simplify" the decision for them. So I think that your GPA is a factor along with many other factors. If it's really that important to you, stay on top of your child's schoolwork. Make sure that if he needs help that he gets it before it affects his GPA.

 

[ajh88]

wait- that's nuts! I'm in college now, and virtually all my friends from across the country had scales that were:
A 90-100
B 80-89
C 73-79
D 70-72
F 69 and below

When a college sees a GPA, it's based on the letter, not the numerical grade. My high school switched to this system to even it out (it was something similar to the OP's until about 6 years ago). We don't have + or -, but we did have bonuses for AP and honors classes, so that when I graduated my GPA was 4.26.

I'm with you - when I applied to pharmacy school, they weren't asking what my "percentage" grades were in each course - they wanted my letter grade, regardless of the scale it was based on. And back in the day when I applied for undergrad, it was the same thing - GPA number, not broken down by class and not altered based on the grading scale.

I don't know that it is "unfair" - but its definitely different than the typical grading scale I've experienced. Maybe if the school or district could explain the reasoning behind the scale it would help.

 

[allison443]

Wow, I'm shocked at the number of school districts that have adopted this grading scale. I'm in Loudoun County in NoVA, and several other from NoVA have added to this thread.

First, in Virginia, I understand it's not commonplace to deviate from the traditional 10 pt scale. This makes it harder for our students to get into state universities because they aren't looking at % (ie, 92% in Math) but at a letter grade on the transcript (ie, B). Worse, the overall GPA for the year is a raw number based not on the % grades, but the letters which are then weighted (ie, 4.0 for an A, 3.0 for a B).

So, to answer the points raised in this thread, I'm outraged because my child should not be excluded from scholarship money because his school district chooses a 7 point system which penalizes him with a 3.0 for a 90, when a student in another part of the country got a 4.0 for that same work, same score.

And, he's getting a 4.0 average now pulling straight A's even though they're harder to earn in his district since they moved up the floor to a 93. So why shouldn't his A count for more then? And why would a school district NOT weight an honors class to count for more than a standard class - - because it IS harder and requires more out of the students. Other than PE, my son is carrying ALL honors courses and works his butt off to keep an A average. But heck, he could drop down to regular classes and not have to work so hard, and many of his friends do so to maintain an even higher A average (an A+ instead of his A)

He is a gifted student, and I have no doubt he'll score well in the SAT's and ACTs, but we will need financial help to pay for college. So my district is not only punishing and demotivating their students with this stringent grading scale, but also financially penalizing its families by reducing our scholarship opportunities as well. I guarantee you the admissions boards are not looking at a %'ile grade for each course, but a letter grade. That is, when they even bother to look at individual course letter grades, rather than the overall GPA which is printed right on the transcript.

My point is this, my son's 4.0 GPA from a 7 pt school was harder to earn than another student's 4.0 from a 10 pt school. That is not a level playing field.

I understand what you are saying. My daughter's high school uses the same scale as your child's school. The "transcript GPA" is based on the unweighted As, Bs, etc. for each class.

At her school, the weighting of classes is done to calculate class rank. At that point, an A in an honors, accelerated, or AP class is given more weight than an A in regulars class. So a student that gets straight As in honors/AP classes would rank ahead of a kid who gets straight As in regular classes.

Also, when the student's transcript is sent to colleges he is applying to, the high school is supposed to send a "school profile" or explanation of the grading scale used. So technically colleges are supposed to be informed what numbers an A is, a B, etc. Our report cards do not contain any number grades like 90, 92 etc. Just the letter grades.

 

[nessz79]

Our school went by that grading scale when I was there. That same school has gone to college grades, now, though. 90-100 = A and so on.

However, it would be nice if their GPA was affected by taking Honors classes. I think it's more fair for class standing.

It really wouldn't be accurate to have a kid that gets all A's in regular (who could move up to Honors, but wants easier classes) beating a kid that gets A's and B's in Honors (who is challenging themselves, which colleges want!). I totally agree on that point.

 

[Goofy4]

My kids are in a growing school system with a couple excellent large school systems in the area. At the high school orientation this year someone mentioned that they are always looking at ways to better position their students against others when it comes to college admissions and scholarship grants.

That's great, but a part of this is just a game that they shouldn't have to play. Just level the playing field for all by setting some state-wide standards.

 

[arminnie]

At my graduate university it was possible to get 99 on a test and NOT get an A. They were very, very strict about grade inflation and limited the number of As that could be awarded in each class.

I was in an honors math course with true math geniuses (one who is even mentioned in the book A Brilliant Mind - later made into a movie with Russell Crowe) so I was shocked when my 98 was not an A. And I'm pretty good in math (almost 800 on SAT).

On the other hand they strongly discouraged us releasing our transcripts because everyone was considered cream of the crop.

 

[bord1niowa]

That is almost the same grading scale I was raised on 40 years ago. I am more irked about the new scale at my youngest daughter's school which is much lower. Imagine 58% still being a passing grade!! Talk about dumbing down!!! I brought that up at a school board meeting or two and I got the cold shoulder and they claimed ignorance of that. They thought it was 60%, which is not much better. I said it's little more than a guess at that point. To top it off, teachers would roll a pair of dice to determine if and what the grades everyone would get on their homework. Roll a 7 and everyone gets an A, even if you didn't do it. Roll a 9 and they check one answer, if it's correct, you get an A for the whole assignment. That is defintely not the education I want my kids to have. I think a higher grading scale will actually makes the kids try to learn what it is they are supposed to, and not just the answers to all the questions on the upcoming test. To enlighten you, that's how many teachers teach in our "Fine" school here in Iowa. I'm afraid in our area, which is known for it's great schools, learning the material has taken a back seat to memorizing the answers on the tests so that the teachers will get praise for doing such a good job. All in all, I'd rather have the more stringent grading, but actually learning something. A good "real" education is the most important thing in your child's life. Do what you can to improve it. The U.S. is already far behind much of the world in education due to teaching methods such as described above. Now I step off my soapbox and thanks for listening.

 

[princessmom29]

Just a few points:

Colleges KNOW the harder/more competitive high schools. They take that into consideration, so be happier you are in a better school district.

If your HS doesn't have the courses getting credit for AP courses, there is a reason... they have to meet standards, file paperwork, etc. I don't know all the details, but if there wasn't a set of criteria, then every HS would claim their courses were AP. You should be talking to the HS to find out why they aren't getting college credit. (some of you can probably explain this better than I can since I don't have a HS'er yet, but I know our district offers 30+ AP courses and 50+ Honors courses).

When he goes to college, he may not get credit for those classes, but he will be better prepared. This has 2 scenarios:

1) he tests out of 'basic' classes... ie I tested out of French 1,2,3 and went straight into higher level classes. I never got credit for those, but I never had to take them and could take other classes instead.

2) His classes are incredibly easy and he does very well. He will ace things Freshman year at college and be able to deal with social aspect of college vs. struggling with social and academic.

be happy you are in such a good school district.

I teach AP so I can definitely speak to this. Getting college credit for an Ap course has nothing to do with how the school grades the course. The students must take and pass a national Ap exam in order to recieve credit from most universities. There are a select few who will give credit for a cedrtian score in the couse itself, but very few 4 year universities in the south do this. In order to call a coure Ap a teacher must be trained by the college board and submit a coure outline and have it approved. Testing out of a coures in called CLEP and does not get you credit for the course. You mist take a replacement course to meet the requirments.