More than once in high school I was reminded that some misdeed would go on my “permanent record.” However, as an adult I have never once been made to account for something I did in high school. My offenses were not minor (suspended on more than one occasion), but they were not criminal either, so that might have made a difference. Nevertheless, I got accepted to every college I applied to, managed to graduate, and have had a decent career, my high school pecadillos notwithstanding.
Do schools in the US maintain “permanent records” of their students’ actions, or is this just an empty threat made by teachers to keep kids in line? And if so, do these records actually mean anything, or are they just pages in a file cabinet?
Did you really think your permanent record would have an effect on your life post-school?
In cases where the student is college-bound, yes, it could have an effect on college admissions. And, when you’re very young, you might think there would be repercussions later in that unknown territory of high school. It could in some rare cases where honors or election to societies was involved. For example, when a student was up for National Honor Society when I was in school, a single faculty member could black-ball him/her. So, yes, if you had something nasty in your record, I could see that being relevant. Other than us high-achievers, though … no one I knew had any great fear of “the permanent record” after about the 6th grade.
Doesn’t the Book of Revelations have a permenent record of sort? It might be another book, but God has written down all your bad and good deeds and then looks them over?
I’m picturing a Far Side-esque scene at the pearly gates, where St. Peter has HeyHomie’s permanent record in hand and is saying, “Now, about this stuff you did in high school…”
Does an individual high school retain “permanent records” from it’s students that graduated 30-40 years ago? If they did, are they even authorized to release them?
We have files on every student who has ever attended the school at which I teach. They can be released only under very specific conditions, to very specific people/agencies.
I was evaluating document scanners a few years ago. The company I was speaking with sold scanners as well as providing scanning services. They were scanning records from St. Louis University High School that were from the late 1800’s. So in a way, there is a permanent record.
What’s in them? My parents got transcripts from their high school for some reason when I was a teenager (at least 30 years after they had graduated from high school). I just remember them being transcripts, though, not anything about behavior. I remember my dad’s had a space for IQ, but nobody had written his down in it.
Do you really keep records of students getting into trouble for behaving badly (as I always assumed you did when I was in school), and are those saved after a student graduates?
If you do keep records like that, how serious does the infraction have to be to get into that record? I imagine there isn’t a record of every time a teacher told a student to be quiet in class, but do you have a record of, say, every time a kid has been sent to the principal’s office?
Most colleges, as far as I can tell, request a transcript from the high school, and most high schools send a transcript listing the courses you took and what grades you got in them, along with officially sanctioned extracurricular activities, and possibly prizes, awards, and placement test scores. Disciplinary records are not generally part of the transcript, although policies differ on suspension/expulsion. In some states it’s illegal to report these things; some colleges ask directly whether an applicant has ever been expelled or suspended.
I read not too long ago about my old school district’s policy: it all goes away after a surprisingly short period of time. Something on the order of 5 years. After that, all they have is if you attended/graduated. Such records are considered a potential liability if they get copied or are found incorrect.
I was left alone in a guidance counselor’s office while a I was a senior and had a chance to peruse my file. It had notes on behavior issues back to elementary school.
I did the same thing. It had copies of report cards from elementary school, (same school district), copies of mazes I drew in Kindergarten where I had to stay in the middle of the maze lines (still don’t know what that was about) and a copy of my Mr. Peanut award certificate from the 2nd grade <!>
Had you been in the same school district all that time? I moved from one county to another between fourth and fifth grade (both in Maryland, if it makes a difference). Would my new school district in fifth grade likely have gotten records from the old one?
I had, yes. I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t follow you from one school to another, though. Those folks have a pretty keen interest in knowing if a student has always been well-behaved until now or if they’ve always been a problem.
So could one request a copy of their own record? I got in a lot of trouble in middle school and high school and it would be pretty amusing having documentation to show for it.