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Higher Grades Challenge College Application Process

Josh Zalasky should be the kind of college applicant with little to worry about. The high school senior is taking three Advanced Placement courses. Outside the classroom, he's involved in mock trial, two Jewish youth groups and has a job with a restaurant chain. He's a National Merit semifinalist and scored in the top 3 percent of all students who take the ACT.

But in the increasingly frenzied world of college admissions, even Zalasky is nervous about his prospects. He doubts he'll get into the University of Wisconsin, a top choice. The reason: his grades.

It's not that they're bad. It's that so many of his classmates are so good. Zalasky's GPA is nearly an A minus, and yet he ranks only about in the middle of his senior class of 543 at Edina High School outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. That means he will have to find other ways to stand out.

“It's extremely difficult,” he said. “I spent all summer writing my essay. We even hired a private tutor to make sure that essay was the best it can be. But even with that, it's like I'm just kind of leveling the playing field.” Last year, he even considered transferring out of his highly competitive public school, to some place where his grades would look better.

Grade Inflation

Some call the phenomenon that Zalasky's fighting “grade inflation”—implying the boost is undeserved. Others say students are truly earning their better marks. Regardless, it's a trend that's been building for years and may only be accelerating: many students are getting very good grades. So many, in fact, it is getting harder and harder for colleges to use grades as a measuring stick for applicants.

Extra credit for AP courses, parental lobbying and genuine hard work by the most competitive students have combined to shatter any semblance of a Bell curve, one in which A's are reserved only for the very best. For example, of the 47,317 applications the University of California, Los Angeles, received for this fall's freshman class, nearly 21,000 had GPAs of 4.0 or above.

That's also making it harder for the most selective colleges—who often call grades the single most important factor in admissions—to join in a growing movement to lessen the influence of standardized tests.

“We're seeing 30, 40 valedictorians at a high school because they don't want to create these distinctions between students,” said Jess Lord, dean of admission and financial aid at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. “If we don't have enough information, there's a chance we'll become more heavily reliant on test scores, and that's a real negative to me.”

Standardized tests have endured a heap of bad publicity lately, with the SAT raising anger about its expanded length and recent scoring problems. A number of schools have stopped requiring test scores, to much fanfare.

But lost in the developments is the fact that none of the most selective colleges have dropped the tests. In fact, a national survey shows overall reliance on test scores is higher in admissions than it was a decade ago.

“It's the only thing we have to evaluate students that will help us tell how they compare to each other,” said Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania.

Misleading Statistics?

Grade inflation is hard to measure, and experts' caution numbers are often misleading because standards and scales vary so widely. Different practices of “weighting” GPAs for AP work also play havoc. Still, the trend seems to be showing itself in a variety of ways.

The average high school GPA increased from 2.68 to 2.94 between 1990 and 2000, according to a federal study. Almost 23 percent of college freshmen in 2005 reported their average grade in high school was an A or better, according to a national survey by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. In 1975, the percentage was about half that.

GPAs reported by students on surveys when they take the SAT and ACT exams have also risen—and faster than their scores on those tests. That suggests their classroom grades aren't rising just because students are getting smarter. Not surprisingly, the test-owners say grade inflation shows why testing should be kept: it gives all students an equal chance to shine.

The problems associated with grade inflation aren't limited to elite college applicants.

More than 70 percent of schools and districts analyzed by an education audit company called SchoolMatch had average GPAs significantly higher than they should have been based on their standardized test scores—including the school systems in Chicago, Illinois, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Denver, Colorado, San Bernardino, California, and Columbus, Ohio. That raises concerns about students graduating from those schools unprepared for college.

“They get mixed in with students from more rigorous schools and they just get blown away,” said SchoolMatch CEO William Bainbridge.

In Georgia, high school grades rose after the state began awarding HOPE scholarships to students with a 3.0 high school GPA. But the scholarship requires students to keep a 3.0 GPA in college, too, and more than half who received the HOPE in the fall of 1998 and entered the University of Georgia system lost eligibility before earning 30 credits. Next year, Georgia is taking a range of steps to tighten eligibility, including calculating GPA itself rather than relying on schools, and no longer giving extra GPA weight to vaguely labeled “honors” classes.

Among those who work with students gunning for the more selective colleges, opinions differ as to why there seem to be so many straight-A students.

“I think there are more pressures now than there used to be, because 20 or 30 years ago kids with a B plus average got into some of the best colleges in the country,” said William Shain, dean of admissions and financial aid at Bowdoin College in Maine. “It didn't matter if you had a 3.9 instead of a 3.95. I don't know if it matters now either, but people are more likely to think it does.”

Lord, the Haverford dean, sees grade inflation as the outcome of an irrational fear among students to show any slip up—in grades or discipline. In fact, colleges like his are often more interested in students who have overcome failure and challenge than robots who have never been anything less than perfect.

“There's a protection and encouragement of self-esteem that I don't agree with, but I think it's a lot of what's going on here,” he said. “And the college admissions process feeds into that.”

Expectations Set High

Back in Minnesota, Edina may join a growing number of schools that no longer officially rank students—a move that could help students like Zalasky, who says he was told by Wisconsin his class rank makes him a longshot.

“They feel they're being left behind or not getting into the schools that they're applying to because of a particular class rank,” says Edina counselor Bill Hicks. “And there is some validity with respect to some certain schools that use certain formulas.”

But the colleges most popular with Edina students already know how strong the school is: students' median verbal and math SAT scores are 1170 out of 1600.

Hicks isn't willing to blame the concentration of grades at the top on spineless teachers, or on grade-grubbing by parents and students. Expectations are high, and grades are based on student mastery of the material, not a curve. Wherever teachers place the bar for an A, the students clear it.

“Everyone here is like, ‘if I can get a 98 why would I get a 93?’” said Lavanya Srinivasan, who was ranked third in her Edina class last year. Far from being pushovers, she says, Edina teachers are tougher than those in a course she took at Harvard last summer.

Zalasky agrees the students work hard for their high grades.

“The mentality of this school is, if you're not getting straight A's you're not doing well,” he said. “There's just so much pressure on us day in and day out to get straight A's that everybody does.”

Hicks compares the atmosphere at Edina to the World Series expectations that always surround the superstar lineup of the New York Yankees. “If they don't win it,” he said, “then it's failure.”

1. According to the passage what kind of college applicant should Josh Zalasky be?

A. Josh Zalasky should be the kind of college applicant with no more effort.

B. Josh Zalasky should be the kind of college applicant with little effort.

C. Josh Zalasky should be the kind of college applicant with nothing to worry about.

D. Josh Zalasky should be the kind of college applicant with little to worry about.

2. Why is Zalasky nervous about his prospects?

A. Because his grades are too bad.

B. Because many of his classmates are so good.

C. Because his GPA is only a B.

D. Because it's extremely difficult for him to make a choice.

3. It is getting harder and harder for colleges to use grades as a/ an _____.

A. measuring stick for applicants

B. evaluating of students

C. awarding of scholarship

D. better academic achievement

4. The University of California, Los Angeles, received _____ applications that had GPAs of 4.0 or above.

A. nearly 2/3

B. nearly 1/4

C. nearly 1/2

D. nearly 3/4

5. A national survey shows overall reliance on test scores is _____.

A. lower in admissions than it was a year ago

B. lower in admissions than it was a decade ago

C. higher in admissions than it was a year ago

D. higher in admissions than it was a decade ago

6. According to a federal study, what has increased from 2.68 to 2.94 between 1990 and 2000?

A. The classroom grades.

B. The average high school GPA.

C. The SAT and ACT exams.

D. The SAT and ACT scores.

7. Georgia is taking a range of steps to tighten eligibility, including _____.

A. giving extra GPA weight to vaguely labeled “honors” classes

B. calculating GPA itself rather than relying on schools

C. gunning for the more selective colleges

D. requiring students to keep a 3.0 GPA in college

8. Some colleges would like to admit students who have overcome failure and challenge rather than those who have never been _____.

9. Students may try their best to master the material they learn to clear _____ placed by teachers for an A.

10. In Zalasky's opinion, students are put under great pressure to work hard to get straight A's or they will be regarded as _____.

文章精要：

文章指出，目前美国大学在录取新生时，仍然比较看重分数。在一些学校里由于奖学金政策的执行，学生的分数迅速攀升。考试的拥护者指出，考试有必要存在，因为它给学生提供了展示自我的平台，而这也无疑会给学生带来巨大的压力。

答案解析：

1. D　根据题干中的信息Josh Zalasky定位到原文第一段首句，可知Zalasky应该是那种几乎不必担心申请上大学的学生，故本题选D。

2. B　根据题干中的信息词Zalasky、nervous about和his prospects定位到原文第二段，可知Zalasky担心自己的前途，原因在于他的分数；下一段首句提到，他的成绩并不差，只是他的许多同学成绩太好了，故本题选B。

3. A　根据题干中的信息词getting harder and harder和for colleges to use grades定位到第一个小标题下的第一段，可知用分数作为申请者的衡量标准对大学来说越来越难了，故本题选A。

4. C　根据题干中的信息词University of California, Los Angeles和had GPAs of 4.0 or above定位到原文第一个小标题下的第二段末句，根据计算可知大约1/2的新生年级平均成绩在4学分以上，故本题选C。

5. D　根据题干中的信息词A national survey和reliance on test scores定位到原文第一个小标题下的倒数第二段末句，可知一份国家调查显示，在录取新生时对考试分数的整体依赖性要高于10年前，故本题选D。

6. B　根据题干中的信息词According to a federal study和from 2.68 to 2.94 between 1990 and 2000定位到原文第二个小标题下的第二段首句，可知一项联邦调查显示：中学的年级平均成绩在1990年到2000年间从2.68涨到了2.94，故本题选B。

7. B　根据题干中的信息词Georgia和taking a range of steps to tighten eligibility定位到原文第二个小标题下第七段的末句，可知在乔治亚州开始为高中平均成绩点数为3.0的学生提供希望奖学金后，高中学生的成绩就开始提高，但该奖学金要求学生在大学期间也要保持3.0的平均成绩点数，次年，乔治亚州又采取了一些措施，包括自己计算年级平均成绩而不是依赖学校，对荣誉班级不再给额外的年级平均成绩，故本题选B。

8. anything less than perfect。根据题干中的信息词overcome failure and challenge定位到原文第二个小标题下的倒数第二段，可知相比那些完美得像机器人一样的学生，与哈弗福德大学相似的大学通常对那些克服失败并迎接过挑战的学生更感兴趣，由此可得答案。

9. the bar。根据题干中的信息词master the material和clear定位到原文第三个小标题下的第四段，可知无论教师怎样为学生在考试中得到A而设置障碍，学生都能将障碍清除，由此可知，学生为了在考试中得到A，就会尽力掌握学习的资料来清除教师设置的障碍。

10. failures。根据题干中的信息词pressure和get straight A's定位到原文倒数第二段，Zalasky表示，学校的想法是，如果你没得到全A的成绩，你就没有做好，他们每天都承受着巨大的压力去得到全A的成绩，就像所有学生都做的那样；原文最后提到，Hicks将Zalasky所在学校的情况和纽约洋基队的情况做了比较，如果他们不能胜利，那么他们就失败了，即，对于学生来说，不能得到A就等于失败，由此可得答案。