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Sydney Sheridan

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 4

4 Oct. 2018

An Abundance of “A’s”: The Value of Education Has Been Diminished

“Think back to when you were in high school and the courses you loved most. You

probably loved them because the teacher was engaging and knew enough about the subject to

make it interesting,” said Bernard A. Harris Jr. (“Education”). The same goes for today, but in

many ways, education has drastically lost its sense of purpose. What has been forgotten is that

the whole purpose of education is to gain knowledge that one didn’t have before, to help one

grow and learn who he/she is as a person. However, an emphasis on grades, grade inflation, and

a simplified curriculum have led to a decrease in educational quality.

To start with, educational quality has decreased due to the emphasis students put on their

grades. Students tend to put the value of letter grades over actual learning (Krick). For example,

students sit through lessons in class, and as soon as they hear anything about an assignment, all

they begin to worry about is completing it for a good grade. Students should, instead, be focusing

on retaining the information to gather a better understanding on the topic, which will have a

more long-term benefit. On the other hand, the emphasis students put on grades also reduces

their quality of thinking (Krick). If the students’ first concern is to earn an “A,” they will do the

easiest tasks to get it without putting in the effort to think and learn. Even more importantly, a

lack of focus on actual learning causes them to miss out on and forget highlighting moments in

their lives from which they should be learning in high school and college (Krick). When students

take classes in high school and college, they are supposed to figure out which subjects that they
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are truly interested in focusing on the rest of their lives, but by concentrating on grades rather

than learning, students are missing out on this opportunity.

Another key factor causing the decrease in educational quality is grade inflation. The

number of “A’s” earned in school has increased from 16% to 34% (Gray). This shows an

increase of grade inflation, which does not benefit students; it just makes them believe that they

know more than they do. This can have a negative effect when students go to take upper level

courses in the same topics. According to research, grade inflation is often done so that teachers

or professors can avoid conflict (Gray). Teachers and professors are afraid that giving students

bad grades will crush their self-esteem. Although bad grades can tend to disappoint students, it is

better to give them the grade they earn, so that they know their weak areas that need more help.

Also, if grades weren’t inflated, there would be more students who get grades other than “A’s,”

which would teach them that it is okay to not get perfect scores on everything. Our society has

made it unacceptable even to get a “B,” and a “B” is not a bad grade; it is just not the highest one

can achieve. Overall, grade inflation has negative impacts on the educational system and can

easily be stopped, simply by giving students grades that they earn.

Connecting to both of those previous reasons, a simplified curriculum is also a cause of

the diminishing of educational quality. There are multiple pieces of evidence that show school

curriculum not being rigorous enough, one of the largest being test scores. Test scores such as

those from the American College Testing (ACT), demonstrate the need for a less simplified

curriculum. The ACT is said to indicate how well a student will perform in college. Thirty-one

percent of students tested did not meet any of the college benchmarks on the ACT, indicating

that they will not even get a “C” in college courses (DeNisco). This demonstrates that the

curriculum taught in high school classes is not rigorous enough to prepare students for college.
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This also shows that because students’ classes aren’t challenging, they aren’t ready for the

challenges they will have to overcome in colleges. One solution to this problem are Common

Core State Standards, which require a tougher curriculum, but if they are not followed, classes

are easy enough that students are constantly earning “A’s.” This causes students to think they

know more about the material than they do, and then get to college and struggle to even maintain

a “C” average (DeNisco). Although some schools are lacking a rigorous curriculum, many

schools are beginning to offer courses that have been proven to provide the right amount of

challenge needed to prepare students for college. Classes, such as Advanced Placement (AP) and

STEM courses, provide a rigorous and fast-paced curriculum, similar to a college class. These

classes have been proven to improve students’ success in college (“Education”). There is

currently a grant by the National Math and Science Industry (NIMSI), that teaches educators

how to properly deliver AP courses to students (“Education”). The increase in AP classes being

brought in by this grant is helping to improve the readiness of students for college. It gives

students a chance to learn what it is like to take a college level course and it helps them

understand that they will not always receive “A’s.” A more rigorous curriculum also challenges

students and requires them to think more deeply. Another form of higher-level courses, called

STEM courses, are math, science, and technology courses that also prepare students for post high

school life. Most well-paying jobs require STEM skills (“Education”). Taking a challenging

variety of STEM courses prepares students for life after high school, even if they don’t plan on

going to college. If both AP and STEM courses continue to be incorporated in high schools, then

the value of education should start increasing.

Given these points, overvalued grades, the constant inflation of grades, and the lack of

rigorous coursework in schools have led to a decrease in educational quality. Students aren’t
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focusing on learning in school; what is important to them is earning a “good” grade. Grade

inflation has caused students to think that the only “good” grade that can be earned is an “A” and

they are ashamed of anything less. The simplified curriculum is causing students to earn grades

too easily, and then get discouraged when they receive anything less than an “A.” Schools’

educational quality has been drastically decreasing, but it is starting to turn back around due to

courses such as AP and STEM. Learning needs to become the focus of education again, to the

point where students are excited to learn and have a challenge in the subjects that they enjoy.
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Works Cited

DeNisco, Alisan. "Schools Need More Rigor to Prep Students for Post-high-school

Life." District Administration, Oct. 2013, p. 26. Academic OneFile,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A348645818/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=AONE&xid=2d

634ef7. Accessed 18 Sept. 2018.

"Education Empowers Opportunity: Educators Need to Embrace STEM, AP and Professional

Learning to Help Students Succeed." District Administration, Sept. 2018, p.

43. Academic OneFile,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A552969127/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=AONE&xid=38

f8f195. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

Gray, H. Joey. "'I'm present, 'A' please': a Case Study Examining Grading Issues in a Recreation

Curriculum." Schole: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education, vol. 23,

2008, p. 43+. Academic OneFile,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A191646484/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=AONE&xid=ca

3f79a7. Accessed 19 Sept. 2018.

Krick, Heidi. "Value of Education Forgotten, More Focus on Grades." The Blue Banner, 20 Feb.

2013, thebluebanner.net/value-of-education-forgotten-more-focus-on-grades/.Accessed

25 Sept. 2018.