<p>My son’s had only one SAT I score, although he had retaken and scored higher. When I talked to the principal about it she randomly pulled 3 other students and theirs were wrong too. This taught us a good lesson.</p>
<p>Another reason to check the transcript: Make sure the course name jibes with what is actually being taught. S took a post-AP class last year that was labeled as “AP XXXX” on the transcript. The reason the guidance office had it labeled as such is that the course is offered nowhere else, and the AP label enabled them to offer this high-level course without jumping through curriculum hoops with the school system.</p>
<p>We made sure that the GC included this info in her letter, and S1 included it in an Additional Information section with his applications.</p>
<p>Our transcripts always have errors. I always advise checking every year of HS. And the test score thing bit us in the behind. I didn’t know our school included them on a second page of the transcript. S1 took the SATs cold, and did very badly on the writing section. (funny aside: he did badly because he LOVED the essay topic and wrote a ton of his apparently strong opinions about it. However, apparently, writing convention went out the window as passion flew in). Anyway, he did very well on the ACT, including the writing section, and that’s the score WE had sent. He also took a college-level writing course, and was one of only 3 students to get an A. HOWEVER, his college saw his SAT writing score on the transcript and, ignoring his other writing scores, mandated he pass writing proficiency. They couldn’t be disuaded by his other scores OR the school superintendent, who called on his behalf, so he took the class last year with some senior football players and got an A. </p>
<p>sigh.</p>
<p>S2s scores will NOT be sent with his transcript. We’ve taken control of them!!!</p>
<p>S had joined the Jazz band after school, and I forgot that it was actually considered a 1 credit course with a grade. At the end of first semester, he left the band (after the winter concert) because the rehearsal schedule conflicted with his other EC’s. The band director entered his 3rd quarter grade as an F, when it should have been a W. S’s attempts to get this fixed resulted in his being bounced back and forth between the band director and Guidance. Twice we were told it was fixed, but the F showed up again on the next report card. Then at the end of the year, the Band Director was fired. The next fall, the main office had a new secretary. Between S’s Guidance Counselor and the NEW secretary, the transcript was fixed. But you’d better believe I looked at a copy of it a few weeks before it would need to be sent out!</p>
<p>OP, where does your son go to school? I’m curious since my transcript reported the same abbreviation for my computer science class! I was so upset that the school uses these types of “state of texas” abbreviations since my transcript is full of obscure abbreviations for other courses. </p>
<p>I made sure to request a copy of my transcript on the first day of school to check for errors. Biggest error:</p>
<p>My school runs on a semester block schedule. AP Macroecon & AP US Govt were offered as full semester courses. To allow for this, the school reported AP Macroecon as a nine week course and AP Microecon for the other nine weeks. Same with gov: Comparative gov and US gov were reported on my transcript. The school neither taught micro or comp gov material nor is it approved to teach these courses approved by CB. I got my school, after more than a month, to remove the micro and comp gov lines. My transcript still shows 0.5 credit for Macro and US Gov, but it’s a compromise over having AP classes I never took appear on my transcript.</p>
<p>Our high school just had a big problem with the transcripts reporting interim grades that were incorrect since the teachers thought that these interim grades would not appear anywhere. The district implemented a new system of grade reporting and it has many bugs. So seniors sent out transcripts with interim grades that were sometimes Fs becasue the new system was messed up. Some had these grades incorporated in gpas. It is further testimony for checking transcripts each time you have them sent out. You never know when an error gets inserted, even after you have seen the transcript and it appeared correct. So I had my son request 10 transcripts at the same time, so he will have enough for all his college applications and we could check one in the batch.</p>
<p>I just checked D’s transcript (you know the “offical” transcript) that went out to 10 colleges last week? Well, there’s a course missing and the GC told D that it would take weeks to be listed again. Whatever. I told D to go in there on Tuesday and tell the GC she needs to write letters to each of the schools with an explanation why she only has 31 credits and not 36 listed. The course is Graphic Arts II not a “core” course. The GC just blew it off but I was concerned when I found out and it was too late to contact the GC Thursday before school let out for the long holiday weekend. Should I be concerned?</p>
<p>It probably won’t be a problem unless your D is planning on majoring in that or a related field, but it <em>IS</em> the GC’s job to send letters if there are errors. I would not hestitate to hold the GC accountable for that task. </p>
<p>I would also have your D include the issue in an Additrional Information section on her apps and specifically mention that the GC will provide verification of the error on the transcript.</p>
<p>We had a situation last year where a class was listed one way when in fact, it was a much more difficult and pre-requisite laden class. The school did this to avoid the hoops one must jump through to get such specialized courses approved in this school system, but several parents went to the GC and said that her letter needed to include specific language about the course description, topics and level. She did this, gladly, and S mentioned it in his Add’l Info scection.</p>
<p>I would suggest that anyone who has couse descriptions on transcripts that do not correspond or make obvious sense to include a brief Add’l Info section. S did it as a .pdf and attached it either to the Common App or as a hard copy with whatever print materials he sent in. There is another poster on CC who went as far as to include course descriptions for post-AP courses; we didn’t do that, because the schools where S was applying knew his program well, but we did give it serious thought.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I’m glad or sad that many schools in addition to ours seem to have these problems. What highly annoys me is when the school is aware of these issues, yet doesn’t take steps to correct them or prevent their occurrence in the future.</p>
<p>Our school GPA is computed on a 12.0 scale. Some colleges and scholarships want the GPA listed on a 4.0 scale. School GC computed this manually and entered it on application. The were using an incorrect formula. They had been doing it this way for years. These type of errors are frustrating because if they had double-checked the math on just ONE transcript, the problem would have come to light. How many years of seniors applied for colleges/scholarships with incorrect GPAs?</p>
<p>The school also changed which subjects are weighted. My older S was part of the older weighting schedule; my younger S the newer schedule. School never made any attempt to correct the computer GPA calculation for those on the newer schedule. Double-check computer calculated GPAs with the same degree you check other things on the transcript!! Please don’t assume it is correct. This one took 3 years of my complaining to GC, HS principal, and superintendent. Finally a new superintendent made them fix it. Younger S is a sr. now; I began notifying them fall of his freshman year. It is fixed THIS grading period!</p>
<p>yes, since S transferred to a new school junior year I did get an official copy and took it to his new school—yes, one grade was wrong. Last semester also a grade was wrong. Mistakes happen but was so glad that we checked and only did so because I read about it on CC!</p>
<p>Our school uses an online gradebook system so you can see the homework/quiz/test scores during the semester. We catch an error at least once a month…a score of 96 entered as a 69, items listed as missing that have actually been graded and returned, etc. My daughter has learned to keep everything and check the online gradebook weekly.</p>
<p>We had a similar problem – twice; once with an AP class junior year and the other with a required class a week before graduation(!). </p>
<p>S turned in work, teachers graded same and returned it to S (with comments, so it was clear the teachers had actually seen the assignments), but the teachers never recorded them in their online gradebooks. What were a D and a C on the 9-week report cards were in fact a B and an A. </p>
<p>Thank goodness my S never cleans out his backpack – he had the graded assignments buried in the bottom. We were able to compare the assignments returned to the online grade sheet, he took the evidence in to the teachers and the grades were corrected.</p>
<p>I have wondered ever since if some of those Bs due to missing HW were in fact turned in and just never recorded. Live and learn. New rule at our house: SAVE EVERYTHING.</p>
<p>I hate to micromanage - but I do agree with the save everything rule!!! We also have the helicopter parent gradebook, otherwise known as Aeries - and I freely admit checking it on a regular basis… and the errors are simply amazing… I would say that Aeries has saved my DSat least .25 on his overall GPAs over the course of the 4 years - and my DD is not far behind.</p>
<p>Our school also has an online gradebook system - and I second (or fourth, I guess) the fact that it has made it easy to find - not so much grading errors, but recording-the-grade - errors. Like others have mentioned, my d’s gpa would be different if she hadn’t checked the recorded grades as she went along.</p>
<p>As a parent, I have to add, I think it keeps teachers accountable. My oldest d was at a different school and it seemed that some teachers just never got around to grading a paper or the method of grading in a class was obscure - she never knew where she stood. Youngest d is able to see in black and white the part completed homework, participation, projects, quizzes and tests play in the overall grade. Teachers realize that students and parents check the grades on a regular basis so record them in a timely fashion - and fully expect the student to not only let them know if an error has been made but to watch for the corrected version in the gradebook.</p>
<p>Our principal desperately wants an online grading system and Naviance…</p>
<p>But last year our budget was cut so severely that 10% of our teachers were laid off, despite our enrollment actually increasing. So buying software that would actually make life easier for students and parents became a luxury… no online grading for us, yet. No Naviance, no scattergrams…</p>
<p>I just love living in the 19th century while the rest of the world is in the 21st century.</p>
<p>Just last week S had a “missing test” listed on his online grade. I texted him as I thought it was due to a doctor’s appt. and wanted to make sure he checked. Turned out he had taken the test and but it had been misplaced by the proctor and the teacher never received it. S would not have known without online grading and by the time the grade came out that test would have been long gone. (and I was so proud of “texting”–starting to get the hand of it!) I use to feel that the online information was too much as I saw some grades before he did–but now I am grateful as it keeps everyone on the same page.</p>
<p>wow..I have never looked at either son’s transcript..better get on this. And no…we don’t have Naviance either…stats are now a 49% graduation rate in four years in my son’s school…</p>
<p>Ok. This is turning out to be a thread I wish I had followed. I got DS final transcript in the mail today. </p>
<p>There were major, major errors (2 AP classes not listed as such from Junior year, and not weighted), one honors class not weighted, one half credit class listed as a full credit class, and one grade error a B+ listed as a B-. GPA from Junior year listed as a 2.9 when the correct GPA with weighted grades was a 3.9 !!! All these errors were from his Junior year…</p>
<p>I am just beside myself.</p>
<p>I saw this thread last year and so looked at my sons’ transcripts with an eagle eye. S1 was fine. S2 was missing a PE credit given for sports participation in soph year (needed in order to graduate). I asked that it be fixed, which required approval from the athletic director. No problem, however the sport/PE credit now shows up on the transcript as having been taken spring of junior year. Problem: he already had a sport/PE credit for spring of junior year. So his current transcript shows that he participated in 2 (different) spring sports as a junior. This might raise some eyebrows. I’ll deal with it in the fall (S2 will be a senior this fall).</p>
<p>Thanks for bumping this thread up. We never did get S’s transcript but I’ve check an other grade reporting sheet the GC gave us. One class doesn’t have the AP code and they have him on the wrong graduation track. Hopefully, that’s easily fixed.</p>
<p>The online grades are a godsend. We didn’t get on it until middle of freshman year. Sadly, the first semester a teacher was being a witch and didn’t enter his major grades and he didn’t keep his papers. We didn’t know anything about the zeroes until report card time and she wouldn’t change them. That has been a huge hit to his GPA and rank. There’s also been times he’s gotten someone else’s grade but I hope we’ve caught most of those.</p>