Should this kid have been promoted to 9th grade with these grades?

[Jennasis]

Did he/she pass the state standardized testing? If so, that could be why they were passed on to 9th grade. That's how our district works. You could fail ALL your classes, but if you passed the state testing, you went on to the next grade. It think it's really stupid, but it's the way it is.

Way back when I was in Jr high, I passed the state exam (with a 73) but failed the class itself. I had to repeat the class the following year (math). Passed it the second time with the highest class average and state test score the school had ever had (A+ for the class and a 98 on the test, which meant only 1 out of 200 wrong).

I was steaming mad to have to repeat the class, but I needed to. I never "got" the material. The teacher I had the second time was a notorious ogre who I was terrified of, so I kept my head down and knuckled through it just to keep the teacher from biting my head off. My older sister had the same teacher 4 years prior and they HATED each other. Many parent/teacher meetings. The teacher adored me, and used to ask how I could possibly have been related to my sister! She was the best math teacher I'd ever had...still an ogre who terrified the class...but I GOT it!

 

[Thumper_Man]

Those are my DH's grades from 8th grade! We just found some of his old report cards and we are shocked at how bad he did.

Honestly, I never knew a D would be considered passing. I would not be pleased if my kids brought home those grades and I wouldn't want them to advance because my assumption would be they didn't learn the material.


DH went on to graduate college and has had a great career so those grades didn't seem to make a difference. I really want to find his report cards from high school but he says he doesn't think he did any better. He did great in college, though. Go figure.

Did your DH become a professional athlete seems he maintained an A in Phys. Ed?

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Those are my DH's grades from 8th grade! We just found some of his old report cards and we are shocked at how bad he did.

Honestly, I never knew a D would be considered passing. I would not be pleased if my kids brought home those grades and I wouldn't want them to advance because my assumption would be they didn't learn the material.


DH went on to graduate college and has had a great career so those grades didn't seem to make a difference. I really want to find his report cards from high school but he says he doesn't think he did any better. He did great in college, though. Go figure.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!

Those look like my DS's grades this year. He's in 8th grade. I worry for his future but maybe, just maybe, he'll turn himself around and buckle down in school. All is NOT lost!!

 

[LisaR]

Did your DH become a professional athlete seems he maintained an A in Phys. Ed?

The man doesn't have an athletic bone in his body! He said the gym teacher liked him and felt sorry for him because he was so uncoordinated.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!

Those look like my DS's grades this year. He's in 8th grade. I worry for his future but maybe, just maybe, he'll turn himself around and buckle down in school. All is NOT lost!!

Our son is also in 8th grade and this really made me feel better, too. I am hoping this is a "like father, like son" situation because our son does not put forth his best effort in school.

DH has gone on to have a highly successful career that is completely science and math oriented. He must have learned something somewhere along the way.

We are all enjoying teasing him today, though!

 

[SAHDad]

Funnily enough, the classes where I had the best grades were the ones where I did not understand the material as well. For the easy classes (which were mostly math and science in HS), I saw no point in doing much of the homework - it was a waste of time to prove that I knew the material by doing 15 or 20 versions of what was essentially the same problem, when I needed to use the time for another class.

That whole "you should have no more than 1 hour of homework per night, per subject" really doesn't work when you have six subjects. My HS experiences taught me how to budget time and effort, and gave me a lifelong disdain for "busy work".

 

[tmarquez]

Those could have been my grades from 7th or 8th grade, I forget which (blocked it out I guess). But I managed to get good grades in high school and college and haven't done bad for myself.

Did you show the report cards to your kids?!

Those are my DH's grades from 8th grade! We just found some of his old report cards and we are shocked at how bad he did.

Honestly, I never knew a D would be considered passing. I would not be pleased if my kids brought home those grades and I wouldn't want them to advance because my assumption would be they didn't learn the material.


DH went on to graduate college and has had a great career so those grades didn't seem to make a difference. I really want to find his report cards from high school but he says he doesn't think he did any better. He did great in college, though. Go figure.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My DH was a HS dropout with straight F's. He went on to graduate college.

Here in MO you go on even if your report card has F's.

 

[Minnesota!]

looks like my high school report card. I didn't "buckle down" until junior year.

 

[deegack]

We found my father's grades from senior year of college. He received a D is Christian Family Life. Strange thing is 4 months later he was married and he and my mom have been married for 38 happy years.

 

[Pigeon]

I think it would be enough to pass in the vast majority of public schools. The child passed all subjects. Retaining kids rarely has a positive outcome.

In addition, you have to keep in mind the amount of grade inflation that has gone on. Yesterday's C is certainly today's B.

When I was in high school (back when the earth was cooling) there was no extra credit, no do-overs for improved grades, and one was allowed to take make-up tests only in the case of illness or other serious reasons.

We also had to get up before we went to bed and walk to school 15 miles, up-hill both ways.

 

[Kimberly]

Not everyone can get an A... those are passing grades, in spite of how poor they are. That child should pass.

 

[LisaR]

I think it would be enough to pass in the vast majority of public schools. The child passed all subjects. Retaining kids rarely has a positive outcome.

In addition, you have to keep in mind the amount of grade inflation that has gone on. Yesterday's C is certainly today's B.

When I was in high school (back when the earth was cooling) there was no extra credit, no do-overs for improved grades, and one was allowed to take make-up tests only in the case of illness or other serious reasons.

We also had to get up before we went to bed and walk to school 15 miles, up-hill both ways.

DH attended a very strict Lutheran school so the grades surprised me even more. They did not have a high school so that was his last year there. We think they just wanted to get rid of him.

 

[southern_redhead]

Those are my DH's grades from 8th grade! We just found some of his old report cards and we are shocked at how bad he did.

Honestly, I never knew a D would be considered passing. I would not be pleased if my kids brought home those grades and I wouldn't want them to advance because my assumption would be they didn't learn the material.


DH went on to graduate college and has had a great career so those grades didn't seem to make a difference. I really want to find his report cards from high school but he says he doesn't think he did any better. He did great in college, though. Go figure.

Perhaps because college courses don't have time for "filler" so everything is (in my experience) pertinent to the course at hand. K-12 kids have sooo much time wasted on nonsense. Some of them just tune out.

Also, in college you tend to take a "track" toward the ultimate goal of a degree you have an interest in. K-12 takes everything, whether they need it or not. Not all kids do well with that. I was a "gifted" student in a "gifted" program but my daily class grades weren't always good. If it wasn't something I would "need to know" or "use" later on I didn't want to waste time on it. I did EXTREMELY well with college course work (didn't finish though because basically there wasn't a degree I wanted and I found "business" or "university studies" to be pointless) because everything was relevant to the course and I could clearly see why I needed to learn it to advance in the course.

My DS11 actually had a first grade teacher fail him on a make up assignment - a math sheet with a coloring picture on the back. Figuring the coloring was for busy work when he was done I didn't have him do it (he hated to color and had more than enough work to make up), she gave him a 50 because he didn't color the picture I told her I found that ridiculous. I don't NEED him to do busy work at home. And, no, it wasn't a picture where you colored in certain areas by finding the answers to problems, it was a coloring book picture that had nothing to do with any lesson they were working on.

OP - are these grades for one of your children? If not, why do you care? Promoting him could have been a joint decision between his school and his parents, if you are neither of those why would you even feel qualified to question it?

 

[marcyinPA]

Well, it's a far cry from the honor roll for sure, but all his grades are passing so, yes, he should be promoted.

Our district does not issue D's - anything below a C is failing. He would not be so lucky if he lived here.

same here

 

[LisaR]

Perhaps because college courses don't have time for "filler" so everything is (in my experience) pertinent to the course at hand. K-12 kids have sooo much time wasted on nonsense. Some of them just tune out.

Also, in college you tend to take a "track" toward the ultimate goal of a degree you have an interest in. K-12 takes everything, whether they need it or not. Not all kids do well with that. I was a "gifted" student in a "gifted" program but my daily class grades weren't always good. If it wasn't something I would "need to know" or "use" later on I didn't want to waste time on it. I did EXTREMELY well with college course work (didn't finish though because basically there wasn't a degree I wanted and I found "business" or "university studies" to be pointless) because everything was relevant to the course and I could clearly see why I needed to learn it to advance in the course.

My DS11 actually had a first grade teacher fail him on a make up assignment - a math sheet with a coloring picture on the back. Figuring the coloring was for busy work when he was done I didn't have him do it (he hated to color and had more than enough work to make up), she gave him a 50 because he didn't color the picture I told her I found that ridiculous. I don't NEED him to do busy work at home. And, no, it wasn't a picture where you colored in certain areas by finding the answers to problems, it was a coloring book picture that had nothing to do with any lesson they were working on.

OP - are these grades for one of your children? If not, why do you care? Promoting him could have been a joint decision between his school and his parents, if you are neither of those why would you even feel qualified to question it?

Lighten up. We are only having some fun. Sorry if you feel I am not qualified.

 

[Acklander]

OP - are these grades for one of your children? If not, why do you care? Promoting him could have been a joint decision between his school and his parents, if you are neither of those why would you even feel qualified to question it?

And this is the reason why I read through a thread before responding

 

[Magpie]

And this is the reason why I read through a thread before responding

Whoops, accidentally double posted.

 

[Magpie]

And this is the reason why I read through a thread before responding

And there's only three pages!

P.S. OP - that's what my grades looked like until my senior year, when I finally buckled down and earned the Gov. General's award for highest grade point average.

I got 51 percent in eighth grade math and used to joke that the teacher just didn't want to see my face back in her class next year. But today I'm tutoring an eighth grader in math! I guess I didn't miss too much content.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Funny.

Apparerly, my husband was a less than stellar student in middle school. I don't think it was that bad, but t wasn't good. He ended up graduating Valedictorian and then didn't do so hot freshman year of college. He experienced the highs and lows of academics.

 

[RitaZ.]

Those are my DH's grades from 8th grade! We just found some of his old report cards and we are shocked at how bad he did.

Honestly, I never knew a D would be considered passing. I would not be pleased if my kids brought home those grades and I wouldn't want them to advance because my assumption would be they didn't learn the material.


DH went on to graduate college and has had a great career so those grades didn't seem to make a difference. I really want to find his report cards from high school but he says he doesn't think he did any better. He did great in college, though. Go figure.

If anyone looked at DH's old report cards, they would think that he'd never amount to anything. He even had teachers tell him so. He was a mediocre student. Yet, he went on to college and later graduate school. He is quite successful and well respected in his profession. Good thing he didn't listen to the naysayers!

Grades don't determine future success. Some kids are exceptional students, but that's the extent of their success. Others may be mediocre or average students who do very well once they're studying what interests them.