School Expels Kids for Less Than a 3.0 GPA
Matthew Nuti is a top debater on his school's Model United Nations team, a starting player in junior varsity football, and a spirited member of the yearbook staff. He also has a 2.8 GPA, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology—which tops our list for America's Best High Schools—has called for his expulsion.
Nuti, who just finished 10th grade, was just one of five students expelled under the school's new policy, according to the Washington Post. It was last year that "TJ," a highly selective public magnet school in suburban Washington, D.C., first decided to require that all students have a 3.0 GPA—a B average—to continue at the school. But implementation is a different thing.
"I thought they wouldn't actually try to remove me from the school," Nuti told the Post. The school's verdict was particularly surprising since Nuti earned top marks on the Virginia state Standards of Learning exams, and his middle school GPA, when TJ admitted him in 2006, was nothing other than a 2.8! (The school is purportedly moving to require a 3.0 GPA for admission, too.)
It's a peculiar policy for a public high school, though TJ is by no means an ordinary place (for instance, its class of 2007 has an average SAT score of 2155, on a 2400 scale). Still a number of instructors, including the teacher who gave Nuti his worst mark—a D—say they're troubled by the new rule. And the implications for grade inflation are clear. It also raises the question: When is a student's GPA too low? And is it really an accurate reflection of a student's educational experience?
Tags: high school | public schools | students
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Reader Comments
Could it be the teachers?
I believe as a student some teachers are more qualified than others. Some teachers have their own way of learning and teaching. For example, the kind of questions listed on tests can have nothing to do with what is given to us to study. In one of my classes, I worked really hard in that class, read everything, studied everything and I didn't even pass the class, whereas another class of mine, the same quarter, it was a lot more difficult of a class, only listened in class, never read one thing and passed the class.(Because the teachers and the lectures were people with experience). I was very upset with the teacher and the quizzes that she gave and would have liked to see what the others got on their quizzes; as I felt they had nothing to do with what was being taught. So who is making these tests? Who verifies the tests, who says that these quizzes are helping us? Because I asked questions and never got answers. I am paying a lot of money for this? So, when it brings down my GPA when I previously had a 4.0, I do wonder what teachers are responsible for not doing their jobs? But, I agree that there are too many books and not enough experiences to follow. In my opinion a GPA is not only how smart the student is but also how great their education was through others' teachings. (My point is i took two culture classes, same movies, same assignments, first time around got an A in the class, second time around I failed, which proves something?!!)
Rules
I agree with foofrau. More time is spent on giving tests, than actual time working. I know a lot of book smart nurses, and I know clinical excellent nurses. Which nurse would you choose, the nurse that can tell you what the book said,or the nurse that can perform the care you need, by experience and knowledge?
I AGREE
A good GPA of 3.0 or better to stay is not acceptable. A GPA is just a number, and very unfair. Many teachers teach in different ways which can reflect on the grade you get in that class. If you are below a 2.0 though I would highly recommend you to fix that.
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