Don't Ask and They Don't Have To Tell

Given all the weight/ importance of standardized tests, like SAT scores and GPA in high school/ college, should powerful people such as political officials and CEOs, be required to disclose their grades?


A Teacher's Perspective:

Throughout my adult life as a teacher, I have watched high school students panic over grades. They have sweated out AP courses, SAT exams, and a myriad of hurdles in their quest to get into the college of their dreams. For them, it is all about “the numbers.” Should we hold everyone to these same standards?

When president George W. Bush proclaimed himself a “C” student in college, it was clear that perhaps he was one of those “other” students, the ones who are admitted to elite schools because his father was influential and not because of his high school grades. To be fair, can the same be said of Barrach Obama? I know he graduated from Harvard, but how well did he do and is this something we should know? Would having this information change how people might have voted?

I know some will argue that college is not about just grades and it is what you do after school finishes that counts. If that is true, why have grades then? We all know that the competition for admission to elite schools is stiff. It is assumed that if one graduates from such a school, they received an excellent education. But what if the student graduated with a “C” average? Does that still hold true? As it stands, if you graduated from Harvard that’s all you have to say. The name speaks for itself but should it?

A person’s high school and college career is just the beginning of their education. Learning is a lifelong process. I know from personal experience that many of life’s important lessons are taught outside the classroom. Still, it would be nice to know that the guy operating on your brain, or running the country, was not a mediocre student in school.

CRios, Teacher-Blogger