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Students, Parents, and Teachers concerned about inflated grades and Equitable Grading may be interested to read this report.

Many may have noticed:
- schools abolishing class rank,
- policies which prohibit grade retention (failing or flunking or being held back, when a student remains illiterate and/or has not learned the material for the grade level),
- lowered academic standards, and
- other indications of the lack or rigor and accomplishment.

These practices, policies, and procedures tend to create a ceiling, thwarting the progress and development of gifted pupils.

Links - Equitable Grading - Fordham Institute Study
1) https://fordhaminstitute.org/nation...g-through-eyes-teachers#about-this-study
2) https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/equitable-grading-through-eyes-teachers
3) https://fordhaminstitute.org/sites/...grading-through-eyes-teachers-final3.pdf


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I will save these two titles, thank you!

Thank you, this is good advice!

No experience with MCAT. In Aus, we have UCAT (previously UMAT) and GAMSAT for undergrad and postgrad entry pathways and my eldest sat the UMAT deliberately without preparation other than the example questions given by the organising body (she did study English, maths, biology, chemistry, physics and economics in high school) because she used the test to decide if she really had the aptitude for medicine (she scored 98 which made her confident to study med).

MCAT applicants who haven’t studied biology or chemistry could prepare by getting human biology and organic chemistry textbooks and reading the relevant chapters for Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems and Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.

Hi Lydia! Sorry for the late response. A lot going on over here recently. Anyway, yes, this is essentially an expansion of the NNAT, in an attempt to respond to some of the criticisms of that test with regard especially to overlooking verbally-strong learners. Not much of a track record yet in that respect, but the original nonverbal section should be pretty much equivalent to what it has been historically.

Hopefully you will get advice from people with more recent knowledge, but I figured I'd chime in anyway.

I prepared for the MCAT way back in the day (1991) by working through the Flowers prep book. With regard to timing, a thing to think about is developing intellectual maturity in the subjects being tested. This allows the student to think about the questions with more flexibility than if they just learned the material. So if it were me, I'd take it as late as possible. This is assuming that what is tested is in line with the student's major so they've been working with chemistry, biology, etc the entire time.

Think about requesting flexible grouping, project-based learning, curriculum compacting, and access to Khan Academy and other enrichment resources from the school. Your daughter's reported strengths can support enrichment requests even if she hasn't undergone official testing.

AI Overview
The quote, "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts," originates from Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. It encapsulates a central tenet of Stoic philosophy, emphasizing that our internal world, particularly our thoughts, significantly shapes our experience of happiness and well-being. This quote suggests that by cultivating positive, rational, and virtuous thoughts, individuals can influence their own happiness, regardless of external circumstances.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Stoic Philosophy:
Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, wrote Meditations as a personal journal, reflecting on his own life and the principles of Stoicism. Stoicism teaches that virtue, reason, and living in accordance with nature are the keys to happiness and that external events have no inherent power to make us happy or unhappy. Our reactions to those events, shaped by our thoughts, are what truly matter.

The Power of Thought:
The quote highlights the idea that our thoughts are not passive observers of reality, but active shapers of our experience. Negative, pessimistic, or irrational thoughts can lead to suffering, while positive, rational, and virtuous thoughts can lead to a more fulfilling and happy life.

Control Over Internal World:
One of the core principles of Stoicism is that we have complete control over our internal world, our thoughts and judgments. External events are largely outside of our control, but we can choose how we respond to them. This quote emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for our thoughts and cultivating a healthy mental landscape.

Practical Application:
This quote serves as a guide for daily life. It encourages individuals to be mindful of their thoughts, to challenge negative thought patterns, and to cultivate positive and virtuous thinking habits. By focusing on the quality of our thoughts, we can improve our overall well-being and experience greater happiness.

Son is 15 and a rising sophomore at prestigious university (not an Ivy - by choice). He is a CS/math major and also pre-med (with an interest in an MD-PhD program), and has a couple of significant time commitments (volunteering, scouting, orchestra). I am starting to look at how (and when) he will be studying for the MCAT, and this is my question:

For those who have EG/PG kids who are also high achievers, is it a good strategy to prep for MCAT early (and start taking it early, like after sophomore year), even if you are still missing a big chunk of premed classes (such as organic chemistry and biochemistry)? I hesitate to wait until after the 3rd year, because then he will also be applying to med school, and it doesn't seem like a good idea to wait till the last minute.

I am not planning on spending $$$ on very expensive courses because this wasn't needed for the SAT. He just studied with prep books, but he had more time. I would consider it if the ROI made sense and we were desperate.

I would really love to hear from parents whose kids have gone down that road. Thanks!!

Many people here have gone down that bumpy road. If you have a specific question, feel free to ask. Many parents (not all) end up homeschooling, full or part-time, or cobble together various enrichment opportunities to help their child thrive, often despite school. It does get better!

I wish I knew some Danish to be able to find suitable puzzles in your son’s native language.

Thank you very much, Eagle Mum, for sharing your experiences. It’s encouraging to read about your son’s journey from early interests in games and puzzles towards academic and creative pursuits later on. It helps to be reminded that every child’s path can look quite different, and that there isn’t necessarily one “right” way to do things.

I agree that it can be challenging to find the right balance between providing structure and keeping creativity and motivation alive. Your examples of alternative approaches to maths, like exploring different number systems and using videos or puzzles, are very helpful.

Thank you also for previewing the math puzzle websites. I will look into them, although our son is not quite ready to work independently with English-language puzzles yet. I hope we can adapt some of the ideas to Danish for now, and that his confidence with English will grow as his interests develop.

I also wanted to mention that we have a fairly relaxed approach to tablets at home, and our son spends a couple of hours each day watching YouTube. This has actually inspired a lot of his play and creativity, and he’s learned a surprising amount of English from the content he chooses—mainly because it matches his interests. The contrast with English lessons at school, which focus on topics like family members or clothing, can be quite striking for an eight-year-old who is far more interested in Minecraft, Pokémon, and Fortnite.

I’m so sorry that your young son has experienced school trauma. I’m not sure my advice is going to be useful as we haven’t experienced the same, but I thought I’d at least reply and maybe something might be relevant. Please note that I am in Australia, so there may be differences in the education systems between countries.

In our experience, in the early years, the home is the primary source of learning, through informal chats about every and any thing, access to books and other learning resources (including in our household, unlimited access to the internet) and excursions.

I hope this won’t be discouraging, but we seldom found it useful to approach teachers to ask for our kids to be accelerated/extended. In our experience, teachers prefer to make their own assessments of the level of each child’s capabilities. To do so, some of them have said they gauge kids by raised hands when they ask questions, so even if seldom picked, encourage your child to raise their hands whenever they believe they have a correct answer. I was incredulous when my eldest’s eighth grade maths teacher, despite my daughter having been first in every single exam and test (with perfect or near perfect scores), commented that she never knew if my daughter understood the content taught in class because she never had her hand up.

Whilst we quickly learnt to stop making demands of teachers and the school, we also supported our kids not to have to do ‘busy work’ that provided no learning value or stimulation. I politely and firmly stated this at parent-teacher interviews. This resulted in positive negotiations whereby my kids were ostensibly engaged in the same activities as their classmates, but we were able to substitute the content - for example, my son who mastered the multiplication tables early in kindergarten, was given the same multiplication sheets as his classmates, but he completed his exercises in Roman numerals, binary and in different number bases. For spelling, he could choose his own twenty words each week to complete the same set of activities - master the spelling, learn the definition, use in a complete sentence. He chose the most obscure words from the dictionary. The teachers were happy with these arrangements since they did not need to put in any extra effort for lesson preps and the whole class was engaged in harmonised activities.

Best wishes for your son.