There is no such thing as "academically equal."
If two students score exactly equal over a high school career, that indicates inadequacy of the rating system, not exactly equal performance.
Grades are not intended to rank a person's worth or value. They're supposed to be rankings of academic performance. Nothing more but nothing less.
I am in complete agreement that GPA should reflect only academic performance. When I say “academically equal,” I mean a 4.0 for taking the same classes. Say, AP History, AP English, Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics.
So, two students — straight A’s in all those classes. How do you choose between them? Look at something else. One student plays softball. The other student — probably foreign-born or the child of foreign-born parents — takes a couple of college classes and gets A’s. Now that student’s average is something ridiculous, higher than a 4.0. Better than perfect.
Those extra college classes simply should not factor into high school GPAs or college admissions, because they penalize the other student for expressing her talent in a different area — sports is a form of talent, too —after she did everything right academically.
The 10.0 student in the article is not academically more ready for college or demonstrably smarter than the 4.0 high school kid not taking college classes. She’s just running more laps. Who cares? The mere 4.0 student has played the game on the field to perfection, and does other things as well. I would argue she’s more talented than the 10.0 weirdo grinder.
I would also argue Americans gain nothing when we move the goalpost marking what constitutes perfect academic performance to accommodate foreign cultures, who are happy to sacrifice their kids’ childhoods if they can beat out your kid for that slot at UCLA.
The academic curriculum that made possible these silly 10.0 GPAs started in China and has only recently been imported to America. With devastating results for American kids.