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I agree with your points.

Would appreciate your reaction on the following.

State sets up an Academy of Science, Math & Computing for high school juniors and seniors to live on college campus. The students apply and through a process of evaluation of test scores, grades, interviews, and recommendations are selected. (Approximately 70)

School districts are given a choice of presenting high school diploma, if they elect to maintain student on the roles, the school district would receives a % of the money allocated for each student. District receives money also for high test scores from that student.

Student who attends academy takes college courses and is not ranked at the academy. GPA is what it is.

The high school offers limited honors classes (taught by high school teachers) that gain students college credits and these classes are weighted at .05% for each 1/2 credit hour.

The high school that elected to keep the academy student on the roles for the money, will not weight all the college classes taken at the academy, only those similar to ones offered at high school. Example, school does not offer calculus II, so this class would be given the same weight as normal high school math class.

Reason stated that it was not fair to the high school students, because if all college classes were weighted then that academy student's ranking would be # 1 and GPA would be above 5.0.

So to be fair to the rest of the high school students they would rank the academy student #36 and GPA 3.9, and these are the numbers that would be placed on permanent transcript. However, the high school would attach a letter to the transcript explaining why they had ranked the student #36 and GPA of 3.9. Further stating if student were ranked based upon college credits student would be ranked # 1 with gpa above 5.0.

The facts of your situation are beyond my ability to analyze thoroughly.

But I would say they illustrate the increasingly complicated, multi-tiered grading systems that have sprung up. This seems to have to do with the fierce competition among students for top grades, and ultimately for admission to top colleges.

The same phenomenon is also reflected in the drive for extra-curricular distinctions, with students participating in a mind-boggling array of clubs, honor societies, volunteer and charitable organizations, etc.

While all that is fine in a way, and while competition drives people to achieve, my concern is that students and their families have lost sight of what education, and those other activities, should really be about.

Instead, there is a shallow and materialistic focus on the grades and the activities as vehicles to something else, rather than life experiences that should be intrinsically enriching and enjoyable.