A few weeks back, a request came in for thoughts on grade inflation – basically lowered academic expectations. Grade inflation is easiest observed in the Spring – high school graduation time. The more students that share valedictorian status, the greater the statistical improbability. It is possible to have the Lake Wobegon situation, where everyone is above average – but that is not the way to bet.
We can glance at the ACT scores – Schooldigger ranks Montana high schools based on their students ACT performance. It’s worth a glance – Whitefish is rated third in state. Troy was 99th in 2018, and rose to 88th in 2019. Lincoln County High School in Eureka was rated 78th in 2018 and went to 96th for 2019. Libby was 58th in 2018 and 103 in 2019. 119 high schools were ranked.
The ACT was a test to evaluate a student’s potential for college – now, with all Montana high school students taking it during their junior year, it has morphed beyond the individual student application into a tool for evaluating each school. The ratings were an unpleasant surprise when I looked at our high school. This link shows the ranking data over the decade. In 2013, LCHS was in the top half. Follow the link. Look at the data. I started writing this, and the data led me into a spot I didn’t want to see.
I recall taking placement tests in the fieldhouse at MSU back in 1967. Sitting on a folding chair, with a chunk of particleboard there was a single memorable statistic shared: “42.8 percent of you will be here next Fall.” George Bush had definitely not sold the concept of “No Child Left Behind.” A lot rides on class rank and test scores for college selection . . . yet as I write this, I remember 2 academic full rides that I dismissed because travel costs were too high. My freshman year travel was carpooling in Grant’s Mercury, with high school classmates, back from the cow college.
I was pretty shocked in 2010 when I saw that 71.8% of South Dakota high school graduates were going directly to college. Some of those new freshmen had to be below average. Still, there are spots where kids learn a lot more in today’s high schools. Now, high school algebra is often an 8th grade class – I had classmates back in 1967 who had taken algebra as their final math class as sophomores. Today the kids in 8th grade learn about electron orbital configurations – that was my Junior year.
We have to look at online education. I can’t say I hated teaching online, but even large lecture halls gave me a chance to catch students who were having problems – I remember the girl who showed up regularly, took notes, and was flunking the class . . . and a few minutes visiting showed that she was a first-semester freshman from a small rural school and didn’t realize that ANTH 412/512 meant the class was intended for seniors and grad students. As a teacher, I liked the opportunity to save a student who was off-course. Online, my best students looked at the grade rubric, finished their work by mid-term, and were gone. The advice I got to improve the class was to add busywork to keep them through the semester. Online is a great option for the self-motivated learner who doesn’t need a teacher.
I haven’t kept on topic well. The moment of reading the LCHS state rankings stays in my mind as I write.
Trego's Mountain Ear 