海角大神

Why argue with a rise in good grades?

We learned this week that nearly half of US high-schoolers are graduating with not just an A here or there, but A averages. A new study finds that in 1998, some 38.9 percent of graduates . In 2016, the figure rose to 47 percent.

But over the same period, SAT scores slipped. While not a perfect counterpoint, it suggests that something more than improved study habits is going on.

We鈥檝e long known about grade inflation and its suggested culprits: the self-esteem movement, helicopter parents, entitled kids, lenient teachers, college pressures, even the Vietnam War (think draft deferments).

What may be less apparent are the costs. You鈥檒l find a lot more of those A's in communities that are affluent and whiter, according to the study. Since GPAs still matter, that means low-income students and students of color may be at a disadvantage 鈥� widening the inequality divide.

But there鈥檚 another issue: When the brass ring becomes a quotidian credential, it diminishes genuine achievement and the requisite hard work. And as Gilbert and Sullivan put it in 鈥淭he Gondoliers鈥�: 鈥�When everyone is somebody, then no one鈥檚 anybody!鈥�