I’ve wondered about this question as it applies to my own offspring. There are a few schools in this country that admit on merit without consideration of any other factors. They use holistic admission criteria but there are no legacies and no provisions for lower admit scores/grades for athletes. The courses are all taught at high levels. And, despite the fact that they attract students who have usually gotten the very top grades in high school, the course grades are as dispersed as they would be at any university. The difference is that it isn’t the slackers or the goofballs or the athletes that are filling the bottom half of the curve. The courses are tough by any standard and there is no bowing to pleads for better grades. In the end, anyone who passes a class, even with a “D”, knows the material and can solve very complex questions. Wow, just like what you’d expect of a university (but rarely see any more; A country filled with universities where A’s can mean “Barely knows anything”).
So will the rigor of the classes keep students from medical or other professional schools? Maybe. Some will still get in but many who would have straight A’s in other schools will probably be excluded. I’ve heard that the most difficult part of education at some schools is getting in. What does that mean about the graduates when they are getting out? Frankly, if my life depended on it, I’d hire someone from one of those schools that makes sure that any student who makes it through a class knows the material cold, even if they get a lousy grade. And if I had to trust the world to the next generation, I’d want the world filled with the students who graduate from the schools that ensure competency-not A’s.
I’ve also noticed that the level of mastery in classes that give A’s easily is lower than in classes that maintain rigor. If you take a group of students with high aptitude and insist that they work their butts off still, it appears to make a difference in what they learn and what they achieve. I’m not saying that those in the schools that give out A’s like candy don’t achieve. I’m sure they achieve enough to earn themselves A’s. They just don’t have to do as much to get those A’s. What does that mean when they fill the ranks at professional schools? Who knows.