<p>References to both Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, ranked as the most elite public school in the country by Jay Matthews of the Washington Post*, and Princeton University appear in this Washington Post article about grade inflation and pressure on students at elite public schools.</p>
<p>A is supposed to be for exceptional, and B is supposed to be for above average. If everybody at a school were required to maintain "above average" grades, then that by defination would be an incorrect grading scale. </p>
<p>I guess they could argue that grading is not relative but absolute...</p>
<p>I went to Stanton College Prep, and they're not ridiculous enough to kick you out for having below a 3.0. I did have a fair share of Cs and Ds, though. People usually leave because they'll get straight A's elsewhere.</p>
<p>It's not nearly as selective as those schools mentioned but it's always ranked top ten in the nation for Newsweek. It might not be so elite on average, but you still won't make top 25% with a 4.0 weighted.</p>
<p>I agree with what sevitagen said... Having a B here is good, because our averages turn around mid-60's in most classes. Actually, about 10% of students in a course earn an A, so that makes about 4 people in 30-35 students. When I see students whose classes have 40% of A's, I wonder what happened there....</p>
<p>Bell curves aren't good enough for anyone any more. Even though that is how it is supposed to be.</p>
<p>I've had about one class that had 'correct' grading. Sometimes it was even more harsh- at one point in the last quarter the average was a D, which is completely nuts. Probably the averages in the rest of my classes are some type of B.</p>
<p>Yeah. I don't see what grade inflation has to do with this at all.</p>
<p>TJ is a public magnet, as most of these schools on Jay Matthew's list are. If students fail to achieve the standards set forth, then I can't see why it'd be "ridiculous" for them to be kicked out.</p>
<p>It's not like any student has a "right" to go to Thomas Jefferson by virtue of living in the county alone. There is their home school that they would be going to if they did not make it into TJ. Basically, students have to apply and be accepted to go to this school, and it is intense.</p>
<p>I heard they got ~30 people into Duke or something this year. This is not an average school.</p>
<p>Anyway, I am unfamiliar with the exact practice of the school, but I know High Tech has a similar written policy where students who fail to maintain a GPA above 70something (I think?) will be sent back to their home schools.</p>
<p>^ agreed, I don't think it's grade inflation when like half the students in the school do all those huge international science, math competitions.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Yeah. I don't see what grade inflation has to do with this at all.
[/quote]
Well. Consider this: Every kid who gets below a B gets kicked out. Then the rest of the students get Bs and As. What if those students are always A students? I mean, they'll always try hard enough/be smart enough/whatever enough to get an A. Do they leave the grades as is so that the remaining students continue getting As and Bs? So nobody else gets kicked out? If so, you're right, inflation doesn't have much to do with it. BUT. I'd say they probably adjust the grades at least slightly because what school wants every [remaining] student to get an A or a B? Therefore, some of those students end up getting below a B for an A-effort, and they get kicked out. Vicious cycle.</p>
<p>What I don't like here is how a B is considered failing. F is failing, not B. I think this may be a secret ploy by the school, though. If all of its students have A's or B's, then the GPAs are higher, and as a result, its students get into better schools, thus improving its reputation.</p>
<p>The point is that the school itself is more rigorous than average schools. Therefore, a so-called average student (rank, say, 25) at Thomas Jefferson probably could have made top 5 in his home school, where the classes are easier than in TJ.</p>
<p>I just graduated from High Technology High School (#4 on the list).</p>
<p>Its admissions process is this:</p>
<p>During 8th grade, you may apply for High Tech provided that you are a resident of Monmouth County.</p>
<p>Every township is guaranteed to have 1 student accepted -- the top applicant, namely, from that township (based on grades, standardized test scores, an essay, and results from a test administered by High Tech).</p>
<p>The rest of the applicants are thrown in a pool and something like the top 10% are taken.</p>
<p>And thus is formed a 70-member class.</p>
<p>Now, I have no doubt that TJ's process is more rigorous, but based on my school's process alone, I would say that these kids would've probably been at the top of their class had they gone to their home schools.</p>
<p>Hence why I would not be surprised if these students' grades were, in the majority, high up there.</p>
<p>Okay, think. Everyone getting lower than a B kicked out?</p>
<p>If grades weren't inflated and C was the median (which, technically, it is supposed to be), then half of the grades should fall below a C. By what a bell curve looks like. If it doesn't work like that, then standards should be different. Higher. </p>
<p>Yes, it's harder to get an A at these top schools than other schools, but if everyone is getting As and Bs, that defeats the point of having grades C, D, and F. There's supposed to be a greater range than just A and B so that students can be compared more easily.</p>
<p>Saying everyone should always get As and Bs is like saying "Okay, this year a lot of really really really smart kids took the AP English test, and they all did pretty well, so that means that they should all get 4s and 5s." It defeats the purpose.</p>
<p>I don't mind them sending kids home after having low grades, but having that grade as a B- shows that their scale is waaaay off (like the article says).</p>
<p>The problem today is AP and Honors course aren't weighted enough....
I mean in a 'prep" class you can do little work, and smoke and drink every night and get an A. Or 4.0</p>
<p>If you are in a AP class and write essays every night and get a B it is terrible. It is a 3.3.</p>
<p>And sure AP classes look better, but GPA and Rank is the 1st thing colleges look at.</p>