HS grade trend: up, down or steady?

inthegarden
Mon, 06 Nov 2017 17:46:02 +0000

I often hear students on CC say that their grades were low early in high school due to immaturity and lack of seriousness, with an upward trend later. Others begin with solid grades but struggle to maintain their GPA as juniors and seniors when academic/ EC demands become steeper. Of course, there are a host of other factors in play as well (unforeseen emotional struggles, teacher conflicts, etc.)

Just curious…Did your children tend to have higher, lower or generally steady GPAs as they moved through high school? I know there’re probably no way to predict the future, but wondering if there are general trends. If a student has started with high grades, has a stable personality and is competent, conscientious, with no LDs (yet not brilliant or extremely driven), how difficult is it to maintain those grades in a high-average public high school? I know there are no absolute answers or a crystal ball, just wondering, generally, if trends tend to be upwards, downwards or steady.

Personal anecdotes and/or general observations are all welcome!