Little Darlin's

Comb's Ridge Hwy 95 in Utah. Photo by Sam Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. Diogenes Laertius

I have known a friend for over 40 years who after scoring 1600 on the SAT's, majored in physics at a top level institution and later received a masters degree in meteorology. While serving in the Air Force, he worked in satellite communications and later led a successful career in the aerospace industry in Silicon Valley. Ten years ago he decided to enter the teaching profession with aspirations of becoming a high school physics teacher. With his apparent qualifications and the shortage of science teachers at this level, one would think the transition would be seamless. This was not the case, for education classes, student teaching, and credentialing stood in the way. Today he is the first to contend these requirements were generally a waste of time and with his impressive resume only postponed his entry into the classroom.

In the eyes of his students he is a superb teacher. However, as tireless, dedicated, and innovative as he may be, he is unwilling to comply with many of the illogical pronouncements of the school administration. One of which is the policy to award an abundance of “A's and B's” to students at the expense of course content. If it were not for his financial independence and the support of parents who insist he teach their children physics, he would have lost his position long ago.

At the beginning of each academic year during “back to school night,” he addresses the visiting parents, “This is probably the first class in which your child will not receive an “A” grade. I am here to teach your children to understand the principles of physics and not regurgitate information from memory. This would be a disservice and not prepare them for the universities you wish them to attend.” Yet despite the probability of a tarnished straight “A” transcript, there is a waiting list to enroll in his class.

For school administrators eager to show encouraging results, grade inflation serves useful purposes:

• Poor teachers may not impart meaningful knowledge to students, but an “A” grade on the transcript goes a long way to mollify otherwise discontented parents.

• Less than perfect grades harm fragile egos. High marks give the impression of superior performance, although this sense of security may be undermined when the student is exposed to an academic environment where different priorities are the rule.

• High GPA's and their inherent subjectivity allow low performing schools to compare favorably on a superficial level with high achieving competitors.

• Inflated grades allow schools to promote marginal students to the next grade where there is no reasonable chance to succeed.

I often hear parents declare how much smarter high school students are nowadays compared to their generation. From the number of high school valedictorians this is indisputable. My graduating class of 400 in 1968 had three valedictorians; thirty to forty years later my children's cohort of 600 students per graduating class garnered a 10% valedictory rate. Judging by grades alone, this is a thirteen fold improvement in intellectual performance in a single generation – a truly remarkable achievement, as if homo sapiens evolved from Neanderthals in a forty year period.

Our company annually awards a four year scholarship to an aspiring physician from a local high school in an impacted area of our city. Selection is based on GPA, SAT scores, and an essay written about a medical dilemma. The entrants are hard working, ambitious teenagers with excellent GPA's, but only a hand full score average on the SAT and with few exceptions the quality of the essays are not consistent with the high grades of the writers.

I attended an awards ceremony at the high school this spring, and by chance sat by a member of the school board. During the presentation she leaned my way and stated, “This school has more valedictorians than School X and School Y which most people think are the two best high schools in the district.”

“By what criteria? GPA?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied, “It's the highest in the city. This clearly demonstrates the excellent education we are providing here.”

Some of these graduating seniors will succeed under any circumstance, but a large number are set up to fail. Having been told they are straight “A” students and labeled with the adjective “gifted”, the odds are high they will be subjected to an unpleasant experience when it is time to attend college. Grade inflation boosts the ego and satisfies administrators, but without a substantiative education to complement it, the recipients are apt to have a false perception of their ability to perform at a commensurate level in college.

My friend has the right idea. He demands a lot from his students but is stingy with awarding good grades. When a student earns an “A,” it means something. Students who receive average grades in his class probably learn more physics and score higher on the SAT Achievement Test than most students from classes where superior grades are dispensed merely for taking the course. If it were otherwise, why would conscientious, competitive parents insist their children attend the class?