@OneMoreToGo2021 Illinois’ decision only goes for the next three weeks. After that, they will re-evaluate. And each district is making its own decision. The state is saying that the schools “may allow” grades to count then it’s up to the schools to decide.
This is just a hedge on the timing, because certainly we are going to be out of school longer than the governor’s initial decree. I don’t see how grades won’t be able to be counted long term…unless pass/fail is mandated for the semester (and even then there has to be an underlying grade).
I’ve been trading emails with our superintendent today. I told her that she’d better be ready for a tsunami of upset parents if kids end up with grades that could have been higher had she counted these two weeks of grades. In AP Lang, D21 has an essay due that’s 30% of her entire grade and, right now, it won’t be counted? I gave the superintendent that example and said that’s not going to work. What if a student is between an A and a B in the class but gets an A on this essay but is given a B-plus in the class because the essay doesn’t now count? That’s a problem.
Got an email from Case Western yesterday, a college my S21 visited last Fall, that they will be test optional for this Fall’s applicants. I expect we’ll see more of this.
I hope public universities get on board with this too. I know our state’s whole university system requires a SAT or ACT score for admissions so it’s not a decision that’s up to the individual university.
What happens with merit if schools go test optional? We need merit and most I’ve seen have a test score requirement.
Good question that many schools have yet to work thru…definitely stay in contact with AOs/visit websites at each of your student’s schools.
IMO every student should try their best to get at least one ACT/SAT completed.
Wow. Case moved fast on that. Hope we see lots of schools follow suit.
This is really a mess, how can kids take the AP exams if they are missing so much of the curriculum at schools that are out for 3-4 weeks with no virtual learning? If our schools do not open, does TX use the GPA from last semester for class rank?
Oregon State went TO too this week (but they had signaled they were planning this before covid-19)…maybe CWRU was too
we are on of the few lucky ones that got a March test in. At this point, I think she’s done whether she got her math up enough or not!
I think at this point spring break is out. I was holding out hope that by late April we would be able to at least see the campuses on our own, but looking more and more like that’s not happening. Good news - she won’t fall in love with something we can’t afford! Bad news - she stays in love with something we probably can’t afford (Syracuse!)!!
With ACT’s already planned revamp of section testing via computer going live in September, my guess is that they are furiously at work planning ways to have their testing centers comply with CDC guidelines and/or find ways to securely test alone.
If high schools are handling grading even more different from each other than usual, I think GPA is a more problematic issue than test scores, making it more difficult to compare students from different high schools.
There will be plenty of test dates unless covid cancels events all the way thru early fall. Aug and Oct dates will be quite full. Even if College Board finds that July is too soon to add a date, they could add one in Sept. I imagine colleges will be flexible, with even more going test-optional, and perhaps more accepting Nov scores for EA/ED, but at the moment there appears no reason rising seniors wouldn’t be able to test, and even test more than once if that’s what they want to do.
I expect subject tests to fall off the face of the earth.
@Aguadecoco Hm? We aren’t off school. D21’s AP classes are meeting online and she’s had a ton of work. Learning is still happening. If APs happen, I expect she will be prepared.
@homerdog not all schools have the capability to do virtual learning. There are many who were sent home with paper packets of work to do. If this extends beyond two weeks, there will be many scrambling. Another hurdle for low income students to overcome.
I hope the AP tests go forward as DS will be prepared. He goes to a competitive HS and most of the kids there probably wanted to take the SAT or ACT again but their scores are high enough that they should be fine at most schools. I hope these scores continue to be considered, when available.
My D is interested in OOS schools. I am watching a couple school’s updates to COVID-19 to see how well it is handled. My son’s college is in-state 3 hours away, first they extended spring break to prepare for online learning until the end of March, then later decided to go online to the end of the year. I think they were informed earlier this week that they needed to move out of dorms by Sunday…which was about 6 days notice. Throughout the entire time, it sounds like they are working with those with nowhere else to go so they can remain on campus and I am guessing even those with special circumstances that prevent them from gettin to campus within the timeframe. I feel like his college has done a decent job during this unexpected time. If we get to go on college visits to some of these schools later this summer/fall/next spring, what are some good questions (and ways to phrase these questions so as not to offend colleges) to ask during visits? I was thinking that I would just like to hear a response about what the policy was/will be for oos state students if a pandemic or similar event where school goes virtual/closes…do they need to vacate campus? Are they given special considerations? Any other thoughtful questions that anyone can think of asking?
@homerdog We are off school with no instruction until 4/6 and there is a possibility school may be closed longer. That’s 2 weeks of no instruction since one week is spring break.
@1Lotus I think hindsight will be 20/20 on colleges’ COVID responses. They were dealt a difficult hand. I would be reluctant to judge anything by that, as they’re all flying by the seat of their pants and each college has a slightly different situation, depending on location, percent living on campus, timing of their spring break, etc. It all happened so fast, within the space of about a week. But if I were going to judge, now would be the time to add a column to the spreadsheet, as you can easily find info about the sequence of their response on their website and twitter.
Colleges requiring students to move out of dorms typically have allowed for special situations. OOS students needed to figure it out, though fortunately airfares were really cheap and widely available. Getting stuff boxed and stored was the more challenging issue; a bit abrupt but as good a time as any for a young adult to learn the early ropes of moving annually.
@1lotus From what we have heard, many campuses have allowed students to petition to stay if they have nowhere to go or if they can’t go home because they are from a high risk country. Some campuses have provided reasonable timelines and others have rushed the process unreasonably. I think it’s appropriate to ask about or track these things.
While bringing courses on line in a hurry will yield mixed results, not all on line teaching is the same. Teaching a high-quality course remotely is extremely demanding in course design and execution and can be more time consuming than in person learning, for both teachers and students. Teachers who are very gifted face to face may not translate well to distance learning. The reverse might also be true - some faculty may really shine in how they implement remote methods.
It will be interesting to see which schools are going to adapt best to the new normal. While I hope this won’t extend into the fall, I am prepared for that possibility and I believe that more high-quality courses will be offered if teachers have a full summer to prepare. This will depend partly on the level of resources a given college or university and partly on the adaptability of the faculty in question.
@evergreen5 I’m not judging harshly as I realize that the COVID 19 was unexpected, but I am seeing how the colleges are reacting/responding compared to other colleges who also did not have any warning and especially the ones that my D is targeting and could attend in fall 2021. This site will probably be some of the best information to learn how flexible colleges were during this time…like getting information out to students/parents…answering questions and which ones were not. If anything, this may help colleges plan and be more prepared for a similar event in the future. I do feel like my son’s college has been doing the best it can and seems to have excellent response to the parents’ facebook page and when I called the housing department for a particular question. Thank you for your comments. I am hoping that all the colleges are working with the students as it appears my son’s college has, but I’d also be interested if other schools were not as accommodating.