For me school is hardly ever enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong I love learning new things and solving fancy equations because it gives me a sense of accomplishment, but the harsh G.P.A and testing system has most everyone finding it harder and harder to focus on learning and more about memorizing correct answers.
In an article written by David Brooks of the New York Times calls the grade point system on the most ‘destructive elements’ in American Education and goes on to explain that the G.P.A. system tends to award those who can work hard and grind away at the boring questions in an attempt to keep their grades up.
In a desperate attempt to reach the G.P.A. and test scores that many colleges and universities desire students find themselves cramming their schedule full of AP and Honors courses, as wells as SAT and ACT prep classes outside of school. Although the G.P.A. and testing system don’t really show how well students really do in school we still stick to this system, so the question remains why; why do we still use this education system if it doesn’t really show how well we do in school.
Many people would argue that the G.P.A. system does its job by showing how well students do overall all in school, and that argument is correct in some terms. However, if someone does better academically in the science and math area and that student knows that they want to go into that department for college why should that student not be able to go into a good school due to a lower G.P.A. or test score. Unfortunately colleges will mostly look at your G.P.A. and look for anything 3.3 or higher, which means it’s okay to get a B ort two. Here’s the good news, for those students who achieve good grades in a few AP or honors class. Arguably colleges value rigor of the classes you take and grade trends throughout high school so AP achievers should be safe.
All in all colleges should focus more on the major or minor of the students choice and how well they did in that area instead looking at students GPA and testing schools. I’m not saying colleges should disregard those factors but maybe not rely so heavily on them to decide whether or not to accept them.