It used to be. Now, it’s for first semester only. Spring semester of first year is graded.
Oh for sure there’s onboarding which is absolutely critical to the student’s success. Kids are coming in with very different backgrounds/schooling.
I thought Spring was ABC/NR - this was according to an info session last summer.
By ABC, they meant you earn actual grades. Where A = 5, B = 4, C = 3.
Right, realize that, but still pretty comfy to not have to worry about a possible D or F.
With the flexible PNR’s, they never have to “worry” about a possible D or F (until they have exhausted their 48 credits.) However, if you do need to NR a class, that does complicate scheduling going forward since you will not have earned that credit.
MIT’s website describes the pre-COVID policy differently. Specific quotes are below:
2018 -2019
“First-year students who enter MIT in Fall 2018 may designate up to three science core General Institute Requirements (GIRs) to be graded on a Pass/No Record (P/NR) basis after their first term as part of the CUP’s Experimental Grading Policy. This option applies only to the science core GIRs — 3.091, 5.111, 5.112, 7.01, 8.01, 8.02, 18.01, 18.02”
Earlier Years
“During your junior and senior years, you may register for a total of two elective subjects in which you choose to receive a P/D/F grade rather than standard letter grades. P (passing) indicates a C- or better.”
It’s not that I don’t believe that C’s, D’s, and F’s exist. My original post, stated “I doubt that a large portion of students are receiving C and F grades.” It’s not consistent with the available information about grade distribution, with vast majority receiving A grades. Grades typically have something resembling a bell curve distribution (or one sided bell if railed at A), rather than lots of kids get C’s/F’s, lots of kids get A’s, and few get anything in between. With such a bell curve shape, the mean grade wouldn’t be A-, if a large portion of class were getting C’s/F’s, even if that large portion was having their low grades hidden via PNR.
In my day it was
Pass/No record first semester
ABC/No record second semester (it may have been internally reported ABC though, and Pass on transcript)
So it has been around for a while, before my time it was even more generous and there was no credit limit so some first years loaded up on classes to a crazy amount
I think the bell of the curve is often centered on the B. So students do get bellow a C, but the goal is to not have many there. I do know some who did fail classes. But there was usually some underlying issue (mental health, distractions, etc), and they end up needing to take time off then come back.
Posting this here as well, UT Austin reinstating testing requirement for Class of 2025
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Re: UT Austin Reinstates Standardized Test Scores in Admissions - UT News
That page also says that UT Austin will start an early action program. That means prospective UT Austin applicants who are high school juniors now should get an SAT or ACT score soon, in order to be ready to apply by the EA deadline of 10/15, unless they are automatic admit and aiming for non-competitive majors. It would not be surprising if competitive majors fill up during EA, and the class fills up for non-automatic admits during EA.
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Exactly. Haven’t seen any TX based counselors post yet, but in many areas all test sites are full for the tests where registration is open. Adding EA makes sense for the school and students…and I agree that some popular/capped majors will likely fill up in EA.
What is with the 11th hour announcements. It’s as if university officials are completely blind to the fact that they aren’t leaving current juniors much time to get their testing done. Newsflash - since covid, fewer test sites are available and they fill up quickly. Our HS hasn’t hosted a single test date since my S22 was a junior (and I’m in MA).
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He didn’t post sources but I believe the data isn’t accurate for us. Jon is likely undercounting — I believe he’s using IPEDS data, which only allows includes students who checked “only one” box, and puts “one or more” in a separate category. I think I’ve given him this feedback before. I’m not confident in that because again he didn’t post sources anywhere I saw, just counts.
It’s admittedly confusing, but if you go to Diversity Dashboard — MIT Institutional Research and select “students more than 1” you will see aggregated proportions, which shows URM percentages at MIT increasing as graduation rates also increase and we bring the test scores up.
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Good point on IPEDS only allowing one checked box…and confirming that he used IPEDS data, he said that on one of the counselor/AO FB pages.
Yeah and this is a major problem for this kind of counting, particularly as American demography changes. We’re working on an updated version of our IR website for this reason, because journalists always get this wrong too.
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August is not open yet and I imagine they will accept October tests.
As long as decisions come out before Jan 1st.
Perhaps of interest, but rarely seen the way IPEDS lumps all multiracial students into one category, is that on the “students more than 1” tab, selecting breakout “both” in the lower right corner of the graph shows how many of whichever race/ethnicity self-identified as that race/ethnicity only and how many self-identified as that race/ethnicity and some other. For example, in academic year 2023, 25.5% self-identified as White, and 11.6% self-identified as White and some other race/ethnicity.
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The market reached the right outcome. TO and Test-Blind created a stampede of grade inflation in wealthy suburbs and preps, and the result was rewarding privilege. Now, Principals and Superintendents look ridiculous if their 3.9 students are consistently getting 1150 SAT scores, so they can return to policies that reward good students and give the less exceptional students grades more commensurate with their effort and aptitude.
Colleges can scale their SAT targets based on students’ backgrounds to get a well-rounded student body, rather than try to discern differences between TO applicants when everyone has a 3.9 or 4.0. And if a college wants to load up on undeserving legacies and the children of wealthy that can pay full freight, they will have to live with the consequences when they report test scores.
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About 80% of four year colleges are still test optional/test blind.
I don’t disagree that grade inflation is an issue, but it’s not only happening at relatively affluent schools.
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Do you show test scores by group anywhere?