I have a junior at eden prairie and 8th grader at mme. my junior has taken many ap courses and the exams and been successful in class but not always exam. Final exams are not the sole grade one receives in college courses and should not be the only determining factor for a grade in these classes. I’d rather not see weighted grades at all since colleges do not recognized them anyway
S
Sara Heim
2 years ago
Parent
D
Daniel Katzenberger
2 years ago
AP courses should count for up to 5 points in the GPA scale regardless of whether or not a student takes the AP exam. I support “extra credit” points for students that choose to take the AP exam and additional extra credit points for students scoring well on the AP exam. Consideration should be given to students that want to but cannot afford to pay for the AP exam.
A
Alissa Aske
2 years ago
HS parent
A
Anonymous
2 years ago
Featured
Alumni & Parent - weighted grades put our children at a disadvantage & discourage them from taking these classes. Grade them just like every other class. The external one day test score should not impact their classroom grade.
J
Jon DeVries
2 years ago
Parent
G
George Mathews IV
2 years ago
9th grade AP parent
N
Niki Danou
2 years ago
9th grade AP student parent and district teacher
A
Anonymous
2 years ago
Come o. Minnetonka. It’s time to conform!
A
Anonymous
2 years ago
It doesn’t make sense for Minnetonka to be the only school in the top 30 districts in Minnesota to have this policy. It not only disadvantages Minnetonka students relative to students in other districts when they are applying to colleges, but it also makes the school district itself look less favorable relative to other districts on measures like student academic success and college acceptances. It is also unfair to students who master the material and perform well in the class but who do not test well on standardized tests or who are sick or experiencing other temporary issues on the day of the AP/IB exam. Lastly, if Minnetonka relies on an outside evaluation to determine the grade weight, it implies that Minnetonka does not believe that its own teachers and tests are adequately challenging and evaluating students.
A
Anonymous
2 years ago
I am the parent of a student taking an AP class. My student has an IEP, and generally does very well in the classroom, but not always on standardized tests. I also work in special education and realize that not all students show their best work on a standardized test. It seems unfair that if students perform well during the semester/year that their grades would be unweighted due to a poor performance on a one-day test.
C
Camellia Ramos
2 years ago
9th grader parent. A single day test results may not necessarily agree with a class grade that is obtained through several months of lessons, and numerous tests.
S
Sara Bevis
2 years ago
As a parent of two high schoolers, I can personally attest to two of the complaints in this petition…
1) we recently had the need to pay for 6 different AB/IB courses and it is expensive for our family and yet we do not qualify for financial aid. I tried to see if there might be a partial scholarship available but we did not qualify.
2) the courses themselves are great options for students that want to take a challenging course, without the need to put so much weight on the single exam. Our oldest admitted last year as a sophomore she was a good test taker, but she has friends that get very overwhelmed with the exam. Is the additional pressure necessary?
A
Angela Finn
2 years ago
Minnetonka Parent- I have a child in both AP and IB courses.
T
Tim Ketel
2 years ago
Featured
(Parent of two Minnetonka students)
This policy seems to disadvantage those who, for various reasons (learning disabilities, anxiety, illness, etc.) are not able to take or to do well on the externally-administered and scored exam. If a student does well in a hard class they deserve the credit.
B
Becky lindahl
2 years ago
I am a parent and agree with the points of this petition.
L
Lauren Mihajlov
2 years ago
This is a particularly unfair policy for kids with learning disabilities who struggle with excelling at standardized tests. To discount the dedication and work - very hard work given their challenges - in class all year with college level curriculum in favor of a one day test is uncaring, unfair and not inclusive.
I
Isaac
2 years ago
4 kids in the district.
G
Gaby Sarcia
2 years ago
Featured
As a former IB teacher I can attest that achievement of simply making it through one of these courses is rigorous and worthy of weighted grading. The final external exam is not required of the course and should not be tied to classroom grades.
I agree with all reasons listed in the petition.
I have a junior at eden prairie and 8th grader at mme. my junior has taken many ap courses and the exams and been successful in class but not always exam. Final exams are not the sole grade one receives in college courses and should not be the only determining factor for a grade in these classes. I’d rather not see weighted grades at all since colleges do not recognized them anyway
Parent
AP courses should count for up to 5 points in the GPA scale regardless of whether or not a student takes the AP exam. I support “extra credit” points for students that choose to take the AP exam and additional extra credit points for students scoring well on the AP exam. Consideration should be given to students that want to but cannot afford to pay for the AP exam.
HS parent
Alumni & Parent - weighted grades put our children at a disadvantage & discourage them from taking these classes. Grade them just like every other class. The external one day test score should not impact their classroom grade.
Parent
9th grade AP parent
9th grade AP student parent and district teacher
Come o. Minnetonka. It’s time to conform!
It doesn’t make sense for Minnetonka to be the only school in the top 30 districts in Minnesota to have this policy. It not only disadvantages Minnetonka students relative to students in other districts when they are applying to colleges, but it also makes the school district itself look less favorable relative to other districts on measures like student academic success and college acceptances. It is also unfair to students who master the material and perform well in the class but who do not test well on standardized tests or who are sick or experiencing other temporary issues on the day of the AP/IB exam. Lastly, if Minnetonka relies on an outside evaluation to determine the grade weight, it implies that Minnetonka does not believe that its own teachers and tests are adequately challenging and evaluating students.
I am the parent of a student taking an AP class. My student has an IEP, and generally does very well in the classroom, but not always on standardized tests. I also work in special education and realize that not all students show their best work on a standardized test. It seems unfair that if students perform well during the semester/year that their grades would be unweighted due to a poor performance on a one-day test.
9th grader parent. A single day test results may not necessarily agree with a class grade that is obtained through several months of lessons, and numerous tests.
As a parent of two high schoolers, I can personally attest to two of the complaints in this petition… 1) we recently had the need to pay for 6 different AB/IB courses and it is expensive for our family and yet we do not qualify for financial aid. I tried to see if there might be a partial scholarship available but we did not qualify. 2) the courses themselves are great options for students that want to take a challenging course, without the need to put so much weight on the single exam. Our oldest admitted last year as a sophomore she was a good test taker, but she has friends that get very overwhelmed with the exam. Is the additional pressure necessary?
Minnetonka Parent- I have a child in both AP and IB courses.
(Parent of two Minnetonka students) This policy seems to disadvantage those who, for various reasons (learning disabilities, anxiety, illness, etc.) are not able to take or to do well on the externally-administered and scored exam. If a student does well in a hard class they deserve the credit.
I am a parent and agree with the points of this petition.
This is a particularly unfair policy for kids with learning disabilities who struggle with excelling at standardized tests. To discount the dedication and work - very hard work given their challenges - in class all year with college level curriculum in favor of a one day test is uncaring, unfair and not inclusive.
4 kids in the district.
As a former IB teacher I can attest that achievement of simply making it through one of these courses is rigorous and worthy of weighted grading. The final external exam is not required of the course and should not be tied to classroom grades.