Does she know the GC is advising she leaves? Maybe she needs a come to jesus moment? Is she in the 99th percentile of the psat just for freshman, or 99th of all scores? Also the Cambridge system would have her doing O levels/GCSE at the end of soph year, no? The A levels as junior/senior? IB/A levels are just jr/sr year. Fresh and soph are pre IBD or O level/GCSE)? Why is this a thing in the US BTW, teh beauty of UK O and A levels is that there is no GPA or ongoing grades really, the proof is in the pudding on test day.
@Sybylla, because most American colleges would care about the GPA and not at all about the A-level results (other than for giving credit, which many do for a C or even E) even though this program is A-levels prep.
Yes. Just like an IB high school in the US will give a regular GPA out of 4.0 because American colleges are going to care more about that than the final IB score…
I would also agree with looking into learning disability or ADHD. My 99th percentile testing kid whi was getting lower grades was diagnosed her sophomore year of high school. However I did pull her from IB. It was not a good fit for a kid with those issues.
99th percentile for all PSAT takers. Math/reading scores are within 20 points of each other.
She was screened for ADHD and they said she did not have it, but we have never been 100% sure. She says she feels she does not have it. Teachers who were polled when we had her screened said they did not think she had it. Definitely no other LDs.
Yes, currently her courses are technically “pre-Cambridge.” She will take A levels later.
How long ago was that ADD screening?
With really smart, capable kids, executive function issues can be easily overlooked. If in your observation she could use some help better organizing her time and her homework, it might make sense to have her re-evaluated so that she can access resources at her school and learn the organizational skills that will help her get through high school and college.
How thoroughly was she screened? I suggested a possible learning disability because my son also tests super high and also struggled with school. It is a disaster for those kids to have a “come to jesus” moment because they are trying as hard as they can and often are extremely stressed (though – show it in different ways, my son had a lot of migraines and stomach aches which we only recognized as stress related with hindsight). I know my son’s pediatrician has a (ridiculous imho) short questionnaire that she uses to diagnose ADHD. My son went through comprehensive neuropsych testing ($3000) which is the gold standard. We were incredibly lucky that our insurance paid for most of it.
How does she do in class tests as opposed to homework? If she tests really well and could get top grades in her A levels then you could consider college in the UK (or maybe Canada) where the A level results are the only factor and the GPA is irrelevant. The US system is terrible for kids with EF challenges, but an A level program (which is very different to IB) can be much better, especially as it allows specialization (e.g. avoiding essay based subjects if that’s a weakness).