But My Kid Won't Get in to College!

One of the comments we often here from parents who are concerned about our switch to customized learning is that with a new grading system/report card/transcript, that America's best colleges somehow won't be able to figure out if they should accept their student. (Of course you should ignore that colleges don't look at middle school transcripts and that we are often talking about Ivy-league schools with some of the best and brightest admissions folks around.) Is there some truth to this?

First of all, let's focus on the positive: these parents care about their kids future. They want their students to have what's best, and I would take concerns over our new way of learning over parents who just don't care. I love talking with parents who are concerned about their kids futures.

With that being said, these concerns really are unfounded. First, take a look at the following transcripts:

Sample 1         Sample 2       Sample 3 

What you should notice here is that they are all different! Do most high schools use a similar system? Of course. But each one is nuanced to fit the needs of that particular community, and for over 100 years America's colleges and universities have been able to sort through them all. Additionally, a standards-based transcript would be full of  more data for them to make decisions with. Lastly, there are some college groups that even believe the transcript is the worst piece of data they get about students. 

You should also note that those in the cohort are not even the first schools in Maine to cross this bridge. Schools like Mountain Valley High School have been using a 1-4 grading system for a while now (about 10 years, if my memory serves me right), and you don't hear anything about it holding their students back in the college admissions process. This student certainly wasn't disadvantaged by the system.

Lastly, if you don't believe me, listen to the admissions counselors themselves. This report, created by the old MSAD 15 (now RSU 2) went straight to a number of college admissions offices to ask them about the change. What they found was that even though this transcript would be unique, all the schools would need to do is provide an explanation of how to read the transcript so that the admissions office can avoid equating the standards-based grades to a traditional GPA.

"You students will not be disadvantaged based on this system. The key is to define the system and the student on the transcript so that the critical information is clear." -Tufts University

1/14/14: Edited for a minor spelling error. Better late than never I suppose!