Grade inflation doesn’t help anyone

To the Times:

If I were a parent of a child in 11th or 12th grade today who is being educated mainly electronically, I would have every legitimate reason to lose some sleep at night. My concern would be mainly their preparation in these two critical years in their school life to make the transition from high school life to a much more rigorous and robust college existence. Even before this pandemic, As were being given out like candy on Halloween. Colleges are giving a student’s GPA careful appraisal today when it comes to accepting them, especially in tough career programs like pre-med, engineering, law, and business. They are not fools. All too often they see students with outstanding GPAs who seek acceptance but whose SATs or ACTs are mediocre.

I’m in the prep business; I see all too many such cases which means to me that GPAs may lack legitimacy. One student of mine gladly reports how so many of her “generous” instructors in high school allow extra credit activities to puff up final grades. Artificial inflating is taking the worth out of GPAs. Also, I am seeing more and more cases of students who are attending notso-challenging colleges and who are having trouble making a go of it, especially when it comes to college English and math. Parents must be warned to do whatever they can to make sure that the money they have broken their necks over to save for college will provide the college education which will make the difference in one’s life.

Don’t be afraid to contact a guidance counselor for insights into where your son or daughter stands when it comes to being truly fit for college as the next step in their lives. Make-shift 11th and 12th approaches are better than no school at all, but the legitimate question still remains about their efficacy. Only a small minority of students, ranging from kindergarten to college, are truly benefiting from this educational approach. Concerned parents, especially parents of students nearing college acceptance, have every right make their concerns known to school administrators.