That is how it is in our district. I agree it is truly unfair to all those working hard in their AP courses but getting a slightly lower GPA unweighted.
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I don’t know but my impression is not, at least not in the higher level classes. Kids with B+/A- still get 5s in the AP exams.
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Not challenging your conclusion for your school which presumably is very fair or hard on grades. But in general I don’t think there’s a strong correlation between a school being a school being academically challenging and grades. It can be true that a school’s curriculum is hard and that they tend toward generous grading. Witness Harvard or most colleges these days compared to a few decades ago. Grading averages have soared, but not because the classes aren’t challenging. Some just have easier curves than they used to.
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Our district did give everyone As for the spring term of 2020, but those kids have since graduated.
Specific to Math, but what I have also seen happen quite a bit, especially since Covid, is the teachers meeting the students where they are. Kids are chugging along from Algebra 1 to Algebra 2 to Pre-calculus to Calc, but the teachers are covering and reviewing Algebra material in advanced math classes and then testing appropriately to what is being taught in the classroom. So the kids get As but have little understanding of actual calculus. That is a very real form of grade inflation.
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Definitely not happening at my kid’s school - apparently about a third of the precalc honors starting class this year has dropped down to on level.
I guess this kind of thing is one of the reasons many colleges compare applicants to others in the same school.
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It’s the same at ours (BS). Lots of dropping down level since Covid at all levels. For us at least, pre-calc honors is a different beast as it’s considered to be the hardest math class offered. It’s not unusual for 1/3 - 1/2 the kids on that track to drop or self select out.
Not just an 89.49. I know of a case where an 89.9 turned into a B.
This can be fixed by making the retake available to all and capping the amount that a student can improve. For instance, the retake can only improve one’s score by 50% so a C would be able to move to the B range but not to the A range. If the B student retakes the test, they can move to an A- range but an A+ wouldn’t happen. An A student can move into the A+ range but then I don’t think people would find this system as unfair as the one you describe.
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Yep, my S23 got an 89.9 B, and D26 got an 89.6 B last year. Our school doesn’t give +/- and it’s generally a hard cutoff at 90% for an A (and some classes set the bar higher than 90%).
Same thing at our school. I remember that more than 1/3 of S23’s peers in precalc honors dropped down one level after the semester started. That class is taught by the school’s head math teacher who has high expectations and is strict, but also teaches very well… D26 is loving her class this year!
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At one of my kids schools the kids have very high GPAs. They don’t publish ranks or deciles but I would guess median UW is about 3.6-3.7 or so based on naviance observations (which would be A-, we use + and -s in GPAs )… Many kids have a 4.0 UW (dozens), you can have a 4.3 if you had all A+s too… That has happened but rare.
That said, it is a pretty affluent area, which really values education and kids do try hard. To get “lake wobegan” on you “All the children are above average” (well not all, but most?) on a national level.
The median school-wide SATs are pretty high (1250ish I think and most kids take them). A small fraction get below a 3 on APs and probably 75% of seniors take some APs.
I am not sure what grading harder for sake of bell curve would accomplish besides harming their mental health…
one of my kids schools does this - You also can’t retake to get an A, ever. Retakes are only permitted if you get a quite low grade (when retakes are permitted and threshold vary by department). You also can only move up so much.
It basically make sure kids who do very poorly actually learn the material, which I think is honestly good pedagogy. the point of school is to learn the stuff after all:)
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No retakes at my D’s HS and a 92 was a B+.
This would be rewarding both the brilliant student and the one that perseveres (and I agree that both would be deserving of the 100 in your example). I persevered as an engineering student so maybe I have a bit of empathy for this student. As noted by NiceUnparticularMan above:
In your example, both students would be deserving of a recommendation and the teacher could provide nuance in each of the students’ recommendations and great, but different, things can be said about each.
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It is a mixed bag at my son’s high school. Some teachers do hand out As like candy, presumably to avoid confrontations with irate Tiger parents. Others have policies that appear unfair and designed to hurt students’ grades.
We do see widespread policies that allow engaged students to raise their grades which would have been unheard of when I was in school. The best example is students being allowed to re-take tests and the higher score is used to calculate the students’ grades.
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My kid is at a small, selective private prep school (admissions rate about 20%.) Their published middle 50% GPA is 3.65-3.95. No weighted classes, 4.0 is as high as it gets.
That’s nuts, right? The top 25% has 4.0 if I’m understanding correctly?
They don’t calculate/publish class rank.
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Almost. The top 25% has between a 3.951 and a 4.0. But yes, that is really, really inflated.
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There is an honest debate about what grades represent. Do they represent mastery of the subject, so that theoretically 100% of students can obtain “A’s” or is it a measure of relative rank where strict cutoffs/curves are maintained? I think schools try to do a little of both. The problem is when the curriculum and the tests/standards are so watered down that neither function is served.
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I’ve come to believe that my D26s grades may be slightly inflated based on her struggles with the ACT and SAT. She has gotten all As and A+s (mostly honors and APs), but her standardized testing leads me to believe there is a knowledge gap.
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AP scores are likely a better indicator of inflation. Kids with As should have no issue getting at least a 4, since SAT and ACT don’t exactly test content knowledge.
But personally I agree that if you have a 4.0 these tests should not be a struggle (barring needed accommodations).
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A high GPA may represent someone who is an incredibly hard worker. That might be your daughter.
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