<p>Is it just me or has the expectation for grades changed?</p>
<p>Technically, "C" (2.0) is supposed to be average. And at some schools, that's still the case. But more often, I see school averages in the mid to high 2.0 range, or even in the low 3.0 range. </p>
<p>My parents have always suggested that C's were common when they were in school, and that 2.0 really was taken as a norm. But they also like to give me the "walked to school barefoot, uphill both ways...in the snow..." story, so hey.</p>
<p>Anyway, with weighting and the accepted students' averages at some schools being ABOVE 4.0, I'd say yes. My assumption (and that's really all it is) is that students more often (than in the past) expect high grades, and that many teachers expect less (than in the past) when they grant them.</p>
<p>I agree! wayyy too much stress are pushed onto our (the students) shoulders! Oh well. What can ya do?</p>
<p>At our school, I would say 90% of the kids in the gifted "high honors" classes, and APs think of Bs as Cs and Cs as failing. The more crazy ones think of A-s as horrible, even though we still get 4.0 for A-s. The rest don't really care, and I'm sure the average is probably 2.0-3.0</p>
<p>But like I said, I think it works two ways, swim2daend...at least at many schools. High grades are given out much more frequently and easily than they probably should be, because a "C" is seen as poor, and not as average. And I think that this is true with teachers as well as with students...there's an "everybody's doing it" mentality: "other schools are grade-inflated, so if I give an above-average kid a B, it'll ruin his transcript." How many posts on this board say something like "My teacher is SO hard...the average on our first test was a 75! I want to go to an Ivy League school! I can't have this on my transcript! How can I drop the class???" </p>
<p>So while today's students seem to have higher expectations placed on their shoulders, I think that those expectations are more obtainable than they really should be. That certainly isn't to say that it's easy to get great grades, but some students on this board claim to have above 5.0s. Really?! That this is even possible strikes me as problematic! After a certain point, and this is probably just personal bias, a high GPA tells me "easy school" more strongly than "amazing student."</p>
<p>I had an honors English class where the teacher started the year with the assumption that we were all C-students, and our early grades reflected this. Kids freaked out as she explained that she was sure we had the potential to do better (there was no curve), but that she wasn't going to give away the grades. I think a lot of kids feel a sense of grade entitlement, where if they're good students and they do the work (and do a halfway decent job on it), they assume that they automatically deserve a high grade. There seems to be a feeling that "I start out as an A and unless I mess up, I'll keep it" rather than the more appropriate "I start out as a C and unless I work my way up, I'll keep it." At many schools, there seems to be less of a sense of really needing to earn the grades.</p>
<p>The flip-side to this is that I think the excitement of good grades has gone down for many students, because they're so often seen as the norm. Granted, CC is certainly not a representative sample of high schoolers, but my head hits the desk everytime I read "My weighted GPA is only a 4.2, I'll never get in anywheeeeere!"</p>
<p>I also think that grade-inflated high schools can really hurt kids down the line. I went to college with a girl who had been #1 in her class and she widely publicized the fact that she'd never had to work for any of her grades in HS, she really never did much homework, everything came easily to her, her teacher's just loved her, and so forth. She got to college with virtually zero study-skills and little sense of what it meant to work for a grade, so she was pretty distraught to find herself in the middle-of-the-pack. Interestingly, she used to relay a story about one of her best friends in high school (#2 in the class), where the girl had gotten a B on an essay and had thrown a hissy fit to the teacher (as in, she slammed her umbrella on a desk so hard that she broke it). I've met this girl and helped her with her schoolwork. Bright girl, but certainly not so bright that a B would be cause for such anger. Obviously, this individual had a pretty extreme personality, but this is what I mean by "sense of entitlement."</p>
<p>To be clear, I don't think that extreme inflation holds true everywhere. And judging from the high school I went to, my GPA, and the colleges I was accepted to, I think that colleges are aware of that fact! The highest GPA obtained in the history of my high school is lower than most CC students seem to be achieving, and our students certainly didn't seem punished for that. So hey. </p>
<p>Also, juuust for the record, I don't think that this "coasting" mindset only affects high-achieving students. I have a cousin who's been flunking school since kindergarten (literally), but he's made it to 10th grade because in his state, it's illegal to force a kid to repeat a grade. Even if the kid gets straight F's, he can move up. Different situation, I realize, but it still seems like today's younger generations are coasting more than our parents were able to. But maybe my parents lie :p</p>
<hr>
<p>(I'd love if a parent could weigh in on this thread.)</p>
<p>A- is the new Asian-failing, so yes, A- is the new B.</p>
<p>Haha, My school doesn't do A-, only whole grades. So a B is still a B!!</p>
<p>Average GPA in my class is something like 3.3 (no weighted grades), about 88% or so.</p>
<p>I agree with somebody who said B's are C's and C's are failing. </p>
<p>I accidently thought I had an E because my teacher misentered grades. I told my parents and you know they gave me the lecture and the grounding or whatever. Turns out I only had a D+, still horrible, I know, but I called to tell my dad and he goes "That's no better than an E." Even though with the D+ I can still get a B in the class and with the E I Could only get a C. </p>
<p>Moral: Parents think of Bs as Cs and Cs as failing</p>
<p>^AHA! I knew there were some crazy schools that use E's instead of F's. I'd just never heard of them concretely before.</p>
<p>My school's 50th percentile (not sure about average) is a 3.3, which translates to about a 93%. Craziness! Grades have become a little too inflated.</p>
<p>^ I actually don't know of any public high school in my area who uses Fs.</p>
<p>3.3 = 93%? Really? It's normally more like an 83%.</p>
<p>But still crazy.</p>
<p>At my school, the perception of what a good grade is varies dramatically. There are some people who are happy to get a B. Others who would be absolutely devastated. Personally, I hold myself to my own standards according to my strengths. When I got a near-perfect score on a Chinese test, I was angry with myself for missing that one question simply because I know I know it, so there is no good reason for me to have answered it incorrectly. On the other hand, I recently recieved a calc exam with a grade of 84 written at the top and that was a very pleasant surprise. I studied the material, I worked hard, and I came out with a grade that fits my ability. It all depends on the standards you hold to yourself.</p>
<p>GRADE INFLATION.
At our school...average grade... 3.3 UW.
Honors, Gifted, IB/AP are weighted the same.
It's ridiculous, because everyone is automatically enrolled into "Honors." So basically all academic classes are weighted the same while colleges are fooled into thinking our ranks are weighted.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A- is the new Asian-failing, so yes, A- is the new B.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>so very true. but my school uses numerical, so it would be sub-90 is the new failing</p>
<p>the average weighted at my school is 3.5 but then the school unweights them and is like oh this is what colleges will see.. average drops to 2.6 and the kid that thought they had a 4.5 suddenly has only a 3.5.
hah sorry just bitter</p>
<p>
[quote]
3.3 = 93%? Really? It's normally more like an 83%.</p>
<p>But still crazy.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>My school's grading scale is a little harsher than usual. 93% might be a little off; I think it's actually closer to 90%. They have a harsher grading scale to try to curb grade inflation, but it really hasn't helped. People still get A's even though they need a 95 to do so.</p>
<p>It really comes down to this: schools have been using similar curricula for about the last decade. Obviously, as elementary school curricula have improved in that time, students entering high school find it easier than they would have ten years ago. Therefore, to curb grade inflation, the curricula would have to be a adjusted to accommodate contemporary students.</p>
<p>Most people don't have such high grades, it's just that the people that have the high GPAs make the most noise about it. Most people at my school don't take AP or Honors or anything like that and a lot of them don't see As on their report card, but you don't hear those kids talking about grades. They don't care enough to discuss it. </p>
<p>It's the kids who have 4.0+ that talk about their grades often. My friends and I discuss who's in the top ten daily. It's like being from two planets. I never know what the people from regular classes talk about and they never understand top ten or Calcululs. In fact, I'd say 80% of the people in my school don't know our school is ranking them.</p>
<p>I agree that A- is the new Asian-failing. Last year, I wouldn't have considered A- as "awful." This year, I am just repulsed by the thought of my one A- ruining my A/A+ trend. B's have become incomprehensible, and C's are...well...</p>
<p>8th grade (yes i know middle school) i received 5 A+'s and 1 A- (in history).
i was furious.
because it messed up my trend :(
and if i get straight a's my mother pats me on the back, but if my sister even GRADUATES shes getting a brand new car.</p>