High School Grade Inflation: I AM SO SICK OF IT.

<p>Life is not fair. Get used to it. You want 4.0, work for it.
Cannot get it? Maybe you are not as intelligent as you think. Sorry, nothing personal, just 20 years of experience
in teaching physics.</p>

<p>"Why not criticize the many parents who preach about their choice to send their kids to public school, then buy them a Mercedes for their 16th birthday?"</p>

<p>Um...the only public school I've <em>seen</em> that at is Highland Park in Dallas, and those kids are probably better off there than they would be at most private schools. I would think that would be the case in the overwhelming majority of those situations.</p>

<p>As for all the advantages you speak of, maybe you should think more about them instead of whining about GPAs kids get at other schools, no? </p>

<p>Don't you think I would have loved to have an education which would have enabled me to get National Merit Finalist instead of missing it by one flippin' point and get a 34 (or even higher) on the ACT because I'd have actually had good math courses? I'd trade the 4.0 GPA (and my graduation speech) for a slightly lower one to have had those advantages any day.</p>

<p>The only things people are reading on here are the few bits of posts that they can pick apart. God forbid someone post something logical.</p>

<p>From an outside perspective, do you realize how many people are buying into the sterotype that would best fit them? On one hand, we have the private school kids who, no matter WHAT they try to say, come off sounding pretentious and arrogant. And then on the other, we have the resentful public school kids. That's exactly what this entire thread boils down to.</p>

<p>I am way too lazy to involve myself in this argument, although it DOES look tempting... although I agree with eckie..</p>

<p>I'm from a public school and grade inflation is RIDICULOUSLY GENEROUS. Yeah, I'll gladly admit that. You know what the sad part is?</p>

<p>A lot of the kids STILL do bad.</p>

<p>Fsu-uf: "So I find it nice that private schools baby there kids but I don't see how thats really very helpful"</p>

<p>"pay atleast 20k a year to send you to a private school( what a waste of money)."</p>

<p>wow...sounds like somebody is really jealous of private schools. </p>

<p>As someone who went to a private prep school (which was way less than 20k/yr btw), you are anything but babbied. Yes, the teachers are better at private school, but not by much (up tell h.s. i went to public schools and had some teachers far superior to anybody teaching at my high school). i don't know where you get the impression that prep schools baby you, because it terms of academics, the competition is much much more fierce. public schools don't prepare you half as well as private schools for college and the rest of your life (generalization .. i know, no need to post stories to the contrary... but generally true)</p>

<p>as for the cost, it is pretty simple...</p>

<p>YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR</p>

<p>and if you pay nothing for high school, well....</p>

<p>i remember perfectly well in public school all the times we wouldn't get papers because of "budget cuts". </p>

<p>and if your parents can afford it, why the hell not ..</p>

<p>not having to deal with gangs or drugs in high school aint a bad thing</p>

<p>what's 10 grand a year, a drop in the bucket for some, and a quality education you can't put a price on</p>

<p>Don't criticize the OP for being elitist or complaining about tough grading; neither of these criticisms apply to the post. The OP was just venting about the fact that there are different standards used in different schools (which is pretty undeniable, and probably occurs within schools too) and that this is unfair.</p>

<p>I go to a very tough public magnet school.</p>

<p>In a public school you read learn just as much about the same subjects as you do in a private school, except in public schools you learn oen additional expertise: how to function in society.</p>

<p>Intense sheltering causes private school kids to become social retards.</p>

<p>Btw, property and income taxes recieved by public school >> than fool's money given to private school.</p>

<p>My entire godamn suburb pays for my school. And there are also TONS of generous donors. Not to mention our football team can kick your team's @ss. Hell, our mathletes can kick your football team's @ss!</p>

<p>My school is a total joke and the administrators are all greedy bastards out to leech money out of the school. </p>

<p>Lynbrook is called a California "Distinguished" School, but I would call it a piece of ****. All the good teachers seem to be leaving. The AP science teachers are decent, but some of the others are too generous with their grading.</p>

<p>So it boils down to...:</p>

<p>Public school kid pays LESS, studies LESS, but earns better grades, and subsequently let's say he gets into the better college.</p>

<p>Private school kid wastes money, studies more, earns worse grades, b*tches and moans, and let's say gets into a worse college.</p>

<p>If public school kid graduates with a degree from the better school, he is in fact farther ahead (and has more money, I might add) than the private schooler. So what is the point of private school again? </p>

<p>High school should NOT dominate a kid's life in my opinion. I just graduated, went to one of the smartest true public schools in the state, and I got a 3.6, 2110. It didn't dominate my life, it didn't **** me off or stress me out, and believe it or not, I got into the college of my dreams. So where is the problem? Doing the minimum isn't good for higher education, but in high school, I am all for it. Who cares what your GPA is, it doesn't matter. Who cares how many hours you studied, it doesn't matter. One goes to high school not to learn, but to get into college and then subsequently learn. Those be the brakes, people. Live with it.</p>

<p>man oh man, Oracle. I think that it's people like you that make me glad to be going to a public school. I do, however, appreciate that you realize and admit that there are some great public school teachers out there. That, unfortunately, is the only aspect of your post with which I find myself in agreement. </p>

<p>"and if you pay nothing for high school, well...."</p>

<p>haha. As with many things in life, you can get what you want out of your high school education. This holds true at pretty much all high schools-public or private. If your goal is to learn as much as possible, hard work and determination will get it for you. If you want a high GPA, hard work, good memorization skills, and knowledge of how to "work the system" will normally get it for you. If you want to combine the two (which I think would be most desireable before heading off to college), that is where the difficulty lies if you attend an extremely difficult school. In this case, learning as much as you want with a course load designed to help you do that may land you with a lower GPA than if you were at a shcool with grade inflation or were taking easier but less fulilling classes.
Extensive budget cuts are a downside, though not all public schools are affected by them. But hey, companies lose funding, have lay-offs, and other buget troubles too. </p>

<p>"public schools don't prepare you half as well as private schools for college and the rest of your life (generalization .. i know, no need to post stories to the contrary... but generally true)"</p>

<p>-Why make such a statement, such a generalization, and then say that there's no need to refute it? If you believe that what you said is, "generally true," that's enough to make me argue it. Being prepared for life involves so much more than what any high school curriculum will teach you. It is for that reason I am glad to be going to a public high school. It is that reason which is the answer to your question, "and if your parents can afford it, why the hell not .." In my opinion, from my experiences, in my town, a public high school fills in more of the gap between "the real world" and school than does private school (home-life however may be the most important factor). </p>

<p>Overall, there is such varience among public schools and among private schools that comparing the two in a general private vs. public debate is rather useless. There will always be some poorly performing public schools with minimal funding, public schools whos students readily succed there and throughout life, and student at each who defy their particular stereotype. There will always be private schools where what you're paying for is nothing more than a sheltered environment with a bunch of pretentious teenagers, and there will always be those that provide superior education to those who seek it. When it comes down to it, there are so many other factors in adolescence that will affect us throughout life that it's pointless to pinpoint everything on a certain high school.
The same holds true for colleges, which is why however frustrating GPA inflation may be to those who don't have it, it can be overcome-score high on standardized tests, write a phenomenal essay, have great ECs and recs. If you really want to get into a certain college, a lower GPA yet a high class rank at a tough school will not be the deciding factor. And if it is, unlucky, you might lose the presige of going to an Ivy, but as I said before, you can get what you want out of most things in life, and college is definetly not excluded. </p>

<p>This is not to say that grading differences and GPA inflation should not be addressed. They are just a couple of the many problems with the precollege life. Are they frustrating and might they mean that you have to work a little harder? Yea. Will they hold you back from all your goals? By no means.</p>

<p>TestudotheTurtle:
I didn't read your post until after I submitted my own, but well said (and much more concise than mine :P )</p>

<p>this thread has gotten a bit out of hand, in my opinion.</p>

<p>it seems what the OP was trying to accomplish was to make people recognize her GPA as excellent. It's vanity. I'm not trying to be a complete JA--Lord knows we all want others to view us in the best possible light-- but it's vanity. The OP has been challenged and that preparation will get her in and get her through a good college. Others who have gotten an easy 4.00 will struggle (that is, IF they apply to more competitive colleges... in my experience, the people who don't care to work for their grades in HS, no matter how high they turn out to be, normally don't apply to the super competitive colleges). Besides, it has been pointed out that colleges are aware of certain schools' reputations and have ways of figuring out their grade inflation/deflation. </p>

<p>So really, this is a case of appearances. Is it worth getting worked up over?</p>

<p>They might but hotter but it's probably only because they have more money and thus are able to be more fake. But hey, if you think fake is hot, then have fun in a drama-ridden typical teenage relationship. It's people like that who make me glad I'm at a public school, even though we have our share too. </p>

<p>Oh and, I bet you just ****ed because none of the attractive girls at your school want you :)</p>

<p>I think ceecee is correct in saying that this whole thing was over vanity. CityGirl, or whatever your name was, you tried to mask your whining under the guise of some arguement or complaint. The fact that you somehow relate inflated GPAs to receiving a comprehensive education doesn't make any sense. GPAs and quality of education aren't related at all; a person that has no motivation or drive can still learn a lot, but, because he/she doesn't do homework, he/she may have a 2.0 GPA. With the same token, someone can work tremendously hard and learn everything in the world and have a 4.0 GPA. Your arguement makes no sense.</p>

<p>Stop trying to defend yourself. You have nothing to defend; it's blatant that there's no arguement, and it's blatant that you're just complaining because of the unfairness of the school system. Guess what: harsh reality, life's not fair. You don't always get what you want, and when you don't get it, complaining doesn't help. If you were so worried about your GPA, then you should've gone to a public school, because, apparently, public schools only give out good GPAs.</p>

<p>Please, just stop posting and save your dignity.</p>

<p>I am late weighing in. My son who graduated had a 4.3 weighted, don't know the unweighted. I don't believe his school has grade inflation, but I could be wrong. Only 140 out of 475 had over a 3.0. Doesn't sound inflated to me.</p>

<p>Other nations (like Japan) produce more successful students because:</p>

<h1>1 there is a national standardized curriculum (everyone studies the exact same stuff)</h1>

<h1>2 academic ability is valued more than sports. the community gets behind the academic teams just like the people support "football" here in the US.</h1>

<h1>3 if you don't preform well, you will be stuck with an occupation in the lower levels of society, so there is greater incentives to succeed.</h1>

<p>and another interesting note: Japans education system is free - even at university level, so the best prepared (not those with the most money) attend. </p>

<p>Personally, I find "weighted" grades annoying. Who ever heard of a 4.3 average on a 0 - 4 scale (obviously some of you younger students have grown up with this, but I find it ridiculous). Not all schools use the weighted format, making the GPAs unfair even at the AP level. The real solution is a national standardized curriculum. But, of course, that will take away individual freedom, something we prize highly in the US (or we did in the past).</p>

<p>Pearl,</p>

<p>We didn't have weighted in my day (late 70's), and I graduated 10th with a 3.7. Some of the people ahead of me were graduates of the votech program. So I think weighting of some sort is needed. Why should you get 4 points for an A in gym or band, and also get 4 points for an A in BC calculus? Do you still think weighting is annoying?</p>

<p>I agree that things should be nationally standardized.</p>

<p>I think that if they were in the Voc Tech track and they had a 4.0 then they were at the top for the Voc Tech track students...
and colleges and universities would recognize that their diploma was such as it was. A college prep diploma would be viewed differently. And, students that take a lot of AP classes are also viewed differently. </p>

<p>The real problem is that different schools have different grading scales. Two college prep/ap students from separate schools could both have perfect scores, but one could have a 4.0 and the other a 4.5. That's not fair.</p>

<p>alannancp </p>

<p>like i said...there are good public schools (like the ones i have gone to all my life)</p>

<p>perhaps i could of gone to a public school for hs, get the same 4.0 with trying less, and get into the same college. but.... as much as everyone from public schools dont want to believe, colleges know a lot about each school. counselors send reports of student testing school wide as well as everything else that distinguishes a good school. even if the school is across the country, regional adcom members spend the majority of their time learning about high schools....it's not like they see your h.s. the first time you apply to a school...people from your school have been applying there for years...and they weren't accepted/rejected because the adcoms liked how the name of your school sounds</p>

<p>as for the money, true, you will end up poorer when you leave...maybe 40k. but if money doesn't matter, as is the case for most private high schoolers, and you get to go to school with a campus filled with trees and grass instead of asphalt and gangs, what makes the most sense?(no need to post that your public school has grass, i'm sure many of them do, but you get my point)</p>

<p>"Other nations (like Japan) produce more successful students because"
successful students, not necessarily successful people</p>

<p>"as for the money, true, you will end up poorer when you leave...maybe 40k. but if money doesn't matter, as is the case for most private high schoolers, and you get to go to school with a campus filled with trees and grass instead of asphalt and gangs, what makes the most sense?(no need to post that your public school has grass, i'm sure many of them do, but you get my point)"
...save 40k</p>