"The Whole System Failed Us"

Parents Forum
341

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<p>Again, depending on how well the school is in a position to, and does monitor, the programs of the students capable of taking on more and doing exceedingly well in those, there is no reason to “cap” arbitrarily. My D’s school would never think of doing that, because there are a handful (3-5 students) in every class that have the true ability and craving for challenge and for whom the CP classes do not satisfy.</p>

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<p>calmom:</p>

<p>I disagree. Over the past few years, UC has quietly been changing its tune regarding honors/AP courses. Yes, UC caps the weighted gpa for the purposes of admissions eligibility, but it’s only eligibility. Just like in the old days when Frosh grades truly did not count (they weren’t even reported), Frosh grades are now included on the UC app for the reader to see (and internalize). Moreover, the big UC computer in Oakland prints ALL gpa’s on the application for review: uw, w-capped, and weighted uncapped (“ELC” rank). Finally, (as noted in the Moore report), Cal does a final review of admissions by HS and looks to see if any top kids (by uncapped gpa?) were not admitted others with the same gpa were. (Santa Barbara used to rank by HS as part of their Comprehensive Review, but unsure if they still do.) Thus, class rank even comes into play when in fact it’s officially NOT an admissions criteria.</p>

<p>Obviously, I have no idea what goes on the minds of the app readers, but if the UC did not want to use uncapped and Frosh grades, they would not print them out. </p>

<p>UC app readers also have the complete report of EVERY CB test taken, regardless of policy that says they only look at two. (Of course this may change with Score Choice.) And, the applicant’s score report is sorted by last date first, so if the applicant’s best test score was the first one s/he took… But, psychologically, can a reader really ignore the <500 ST in Math or Lit in lieu of two somewhat higher scores? And, UC now asks for AP scores even though, those too, are not part of the official criteria. hmmmmmmmm</p>