Nearly half of all US high schoolers graduate with an "A" average

[n2doc]

To graduate from high school with a grade-point average (GPA) of A, the top range of academic marks, used to be a crowning achievement and every parent’s dream come true (literally, every parent’s). Now, it’s basically the norm.

Nearly half of American high school students—47%, to be exact—are graduating with grades ranging from A+ to A-, according to a study released this week. The report, coauthored by a member of the SAT-administering College Board and a doctoral student of higher education, found that while high-school students’ average GPAs have soared, SAT scores have slipped noticeably over the past decade.

Taken together, those trends suggest that American teenagers are not necessarily getting smarter; high-school teachers are just being more lenient with grading, and perhaps rewarding students more for the same amount of effort.

That’s not a problem in and of itself—but it is troublesome when it comes to college and, later down the line, employment. Grade inflation makes it difficult for students to honestly self-assess their accomplishments, and it often discourages them from working harder and striving for more. When half of every school is getting the “top” grade, students have few ways of knowing where they really stand, in comparison to their peers.

more
https://qz.com/1032183/no-wonder-young-americans-feel-so-important-when-half-of-them-finish-high-school-as-a-students/

Explains why the incoming GPA of admitted College students is so crazy high. University of Georgia, for example, has an average incoming GPA of over 4. It's a different world than the one I grew up in.

[exboyfil]

1. It gets lambasted but that is the reason for the ACT and SAT

Higher weighting for AP and Honors courses to try to normalize on GPA. If class rank and GPA are totally dependent on courses without weighting, then the smart thing, if college admissions and scholarships are based on these things, is to take the "easier" classes.

[n2doc]

4. There is also a much higher emphasis on extracurriculars

Sports, volunteering, etc. Kids are expected to do these things in order to make their applications stand out. Some are legit, many are 'resume padding'. But the game has changed.

[Not Ruth]

2. Am betting that there is a huge racial divide

The whites get 5s and persons of color get 3s

[fleabiscuit]

3. Kodachrome

[PoliticAverse]

5. Ok, but are all above average? n/t

Last edited Wed Jul 19, 2017, 11:28 AM - Edit history (1)

[BigmanPigman]

6. I taught for 15+ years before I got sick and this happens all the time.

The pressure comes from the parents and all of my co-workers agree. Believe me it begins in FIRST grade! I knew teachers who gave higher grades, rewards, etc that weren't earned since the parents harassed them constantly and when they wouldn't cave the parents went to the principal who would have to decide whether it was worthy of future pressure and irritation. Often the parents would threaten to pull their child out of our school thus causing the school to lose much needed enrollment revenue.

I would agonize over grades for 6 year old kids and dreaded report card/conference time. Fortunately I kept EVERYTHING to back up the grades I gave (all of their tests, journals...) with evidence. I never sent anything home since it would get "lost". I rarely ever had to change grades. Once a 6th grader's parents went to the vice principal since I gave their daughter a D in PE because she would just stand there and not even try. You would think that she was going into the Olympics and her PE grade was the deciding factor. They did go to my V P and she stuck to the grade when I explained why. It turned out many months later that the girl was being sexually abused by a relative and that is what effected her so much. No one ever apologized for insulting me and my VP. All in a days work.

[TexasTowelie]

7. Unfortunately it happens at the college level also.

After I received my bachelors degree I went to another college to obtain a teacher certification. I took a job as a paper grader for a college algebra class and the instructor had to talk with me because I was too tough on the students while I was grading. Nearly the entire class should have been failing since they couldn't solve more than half of the problems on any particular assignment. From a personal standpoint, I went from having a slightly over a 3.0 GPA in my classes as an undergrad to having a 4.0 GPA as a post-grad--it was a combination of attending an easier university and taking easier classes. However, I wonder how some of those students actually met the requirements to obtain an undergrad degree.

[Stuart G]

8. I taught high school for a number of years..............and.......

as often happens,,,,This is faulty research....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least in the 3 high schools that I taught in....no..........not so.......and to say 47 percent of graduates have an over all average of at least.....A minus...........no......

and I don't care who did this research ........

[George II]

10. I was telling someone just yesterday, I graduated from High School with an average of 82.5%...

...considered a B+. I was in the bottom 20% of my graduating class.

But I went to a special high school in New York City, considered one of the top public high schools in the United States.