Should/Can most "typical" 3rd graders get straight A's?

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To me 3rd grade is still fairly easy and the teachers still give a lot of guidance and assistance to the students. I am thinking that most "typical" children in the 3rd grade are probably earning staright A's.

I am curious if other's believe this to be true or what your experience has been with your 3rd grade student.

My son has struggled since the beginning of 2nd quarter. His teachers have been wonderful and done what they can to help him, yet he is still getting all B's and C's.

Maybe this is normal. That is what I am trying to figure out. His issues have been careless mistake making, losing focus, not getting some concepts (but getting most of them), sloppy work, etc... These might all be normal 8/9 yr old characteristics. His teachers don't think testing is necessary, they feel they have already made modifications in the classroom for him and don't think he would qualify for an IEP or anything.

I am afraid he is in the murky gray area of not really having a Learning Disability or ADHD but not really having the ability to excel easily. So what is a parent to do in this situation?

I am pushing for testing, just to rule out anything we aren't seeing or are seeing slight signs of.

Back to my original question though. I am trying to figure out how normal my child is with his B's and C's all year!

Thanks!

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Parent Replies to "Should/Can most "typical" 3rd graders get straight A's?"

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There is no rule or anything 'normal' about grades. Much of it depends on the teacher's personal philosophy of grading. Some teachers will NOT give As as they say an A is a sign of perfection and no student is perfect. Some few teachers will not give Cs as they say a C makes a parent think their child is failing.
It is Not the intention of school to have all children earn As. As a teacher, I was discouraged by my principal from giving too many high grades.... Yet other principals tell their teachers to be generous when grading.
'Excelling easily' is something that is getting progressively harder - there's little that's easy about modern school. Schools and their teachers these days live with a tremendous amount of criticism and in response to it, they've 'ratcheted up' the curriculum - they've tried to make school a much more demanding and rigorous experience.
Some children are able to contend with that - each child like each person is different but remarkably some children are able to sit still and focus even as very young children. Neither I nor my own two children are like that but I taught children just like that - and children like that make your son and mine look even less focused than they are.
We all develop at different rates and some of us - like me - were not meant to sit still for long periods of time. That can make school a struggle.
Is that normal? Is it normal for 8-9 year old boys to struggle in school? There are certainly far more children struggling with school these days then in my day. And there are certainly some teachers who ratchet up their classroom to the point where many children struggle.
Is that the case with your son's teacher? Does this teacher enjoy the reputation of being hard and demanding and having her students struggle? Is she known as a hard grader?
I can't answer the question of 'is it normal to have Bs and Cs all year'? but as to what you can do - go in and observe your son in the classroom. See if there are others who seems to be rushing through work or distracted from their work. See if the teacher posts student papers around the room and you can compare your son's work to the other work.
But also see what next year's teachers are like - some teachers are better than others at working with children who make seemingly careless errors and who sometimes don't get concepts. If you find a teacher that you think will be a good match for your son, request that teacher. The right teacher can bring out the best qualities in your son.

UPDATE****

Thank you all for your responses. I have a meeting scheduled early next week with his teachers, the school counselor, the school psychologist and an administrator.

To be honest I am really nervous about it, because in a sense, I am the one calling the meeting. I didn't really call it but I definitely am the one who is pushing to figure out what is going on with my son. So, I worry that they all think I am crazy and think my son is just fine. My words, certainly not theirs!

That is where the whole title of this post comes in. If they can tell me that my son is absolutely typical and that the work he is doing is really no different than his peers, then fine. When my friend's children, all in the same district and in the same grade are receiving A's on all their work and report card, then I have to wonder if what he is doing is the norm. And why isn't he doing as well as them?

I spent last night reading some of the great informative articles on this website about special ed meetings, pre-referral teams, etc... Very helpful!

Man, being a parent is tough! Wish me luck at my meeting and I will post an update afterwards!

If you are concerned about himhaving a learning difficulty, you can always ask the school to give him an evaluation. Personally, I have had similar problems with my kids at all stages of school and have found that good communication with the teachers really helps to find out if the child needs special focus in certain areas. Try speaking to the teachers about your concerns and if this doesn't satisfy you, you can talk to the school counselor who can set up testing and evaluation for you to give you piece of mind.

What you need to do is to talk to the teacher and ask for specifics as to how your child measures up against the other kids. Oh, she'll tell you you shouldn't compare kids and so forth, but you defintiely need to know whether your kid is one of the bottome kids in the class, or in the middle, ow whatever.

Teachers hate to giv eyou this information as obviously half of the kids in the class are goign to be below average. But it is something parents need to know. If the teacher cites privacy reasons, tell her you don''t want to see names, just scores.

"Do I think his grades match what he knows or has learned?" That is a good question. I do think his grades match his work. That being said, I think he can do better work. He makes careless mistakes and seems to rush through his tests and work. He does not slow down or really double check his work. He once missed a whole front and back page on a math assessment, even after the teacher told him to make sure he has double checked his work.

I do think my child gets the concepts being taught to him (mostly). I think he has trouble expressing what he knows on his tests or assessments, which ultimately, I suppose, is what the grade for the class is based on.

Thanks for your responses. I appreciate seeing other people's perspectives on this.

Don't give up. Try to get him tested by all means. Catch
his level soon as possible, for his sake. Everyone is quick
to label a male child.

I think "typical" third graders do not not get straight A's from any great teacher. I believe straight A's is for a few number of students who put extra effort and work harder and smarter.

Do you think your child's grades match what he knows or learn.
Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for your response.

I have always heard, here in our district, 4th grade is where the rubber hits the road so to speak. The kids are expected to read to learn and so on and so forth. That is why I worry about my son next year. With his struggles this year I am scared he will be left behind.

I know that I should not put too much emphasis on grades. I need to be looking at the issues he has struggled with and I am.

Our counselor told me that he will not be eligible for testing unless it is shown that he is not making academic progress. I am not sure how they judge that. She has referred my questions on to our school psychologist who handles the testing. I am anxious to hear what she has to say.

Again, I am guessing my son is in a middle of the road area. I don't think he has a learning disability. ADHD inattentive type, maybe... I am just figuring out how to get the answers.

Thanks for the link!

I know that grade inflation is rampant in high schools and universities, but A is supposed to be superior. C is supposed to be ok and B is supposed to be good. So I would interpret your son's grades as just fine. But if everyone else is getting A's, then the standards must be different in your area.

I can't know how easy 3rd grade is in your local school, but in our area, 3rd grade is considered difficult. It's when kids are supposed to start reading to learn instead of learning to read. It's also when many kids are first flagged for testing for learning disabilities.

I wouldn't suspect your child has learning disabilities just because he's not earning As. But I would suspect it because you say he's been struggling. There are other moms here who can be more specific about the law, but I do know that you can write a letter to the principal requesting testing for disabilities, and they must do so. They can't just say that they don't think he'd qualify.

you can start reading up here:

www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/22

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Should/Can most "typical" 3rd graders get straight A's?

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