ACTs Getting easier?

[R0B]

I disagree about the math personality thing. But, I think it is wierd that (Warren) your school give %. Most schools I know of give an A+ (-) F type scale, and the more intelligent ones, you have A,B,C,D,F. No pluses or minuses. I feel as though + or - segragate students where the naturaly intelligent gets A's without trying (Me) and the stupid people who have no life and only study (those are the people without personalities) get A+ or B+. I've never seen that type get a regular grade or a minus.

[randall]

So you are saying the dumbasses who are dedicated and work very hard to achieve their goal shouldn't be able to obtain a higher grade (or be recoginised).

Simply because you are uber-intelligent and A's stream from your butthole, this is designated as segregation? Damn them.

[Village_Ideot]

Rofl Warren!!! This year my band director actually grades, but last year EVERYONE in the WHOLE band got a 94%!!!

[R0B]

Exactly. But here is my reasoning (I should have mentioned this before). By promoting a +/- system, the school reduces social aspects, in a way that, some will strive their entire time to get straight A+'s and do nothing else. This stunts their social growth, and really injuries them in the long run, since they will be unable to comunicate, demonstrait, cooperate with others. All of these are key skills to success. If an A was an A, however, then these people could put in a little less work, still achieve their goal, and also become much more rounded.

[Paul]

you're saying a 'clever' kid gets an A for his work and the same quality work from a 'stupid' kid gets an A+?

[R0B]

[T¹]

I disagree. If an employer is looking to hire somebody for a seriously important job, the + could make all the difference. They may not be looking for just a normal, intelligent person (i.e who normally gets an A), but a very hardworking, extremely dedicated person who gives 110% in order to get the job done (i.e the person who normally gets an A+). It might make no difference to you whether you get an A or an A+, but it might make a difference to others.

[Paul]

i'd prefer someone who worked hard than someone who considered themselves 'naturally intelligent' and got sloppy.

[T¹]

Exactly!

[RICoder]

Yes, this is why there are grades in the world.

But, alas, some would prefer that we not live in a meritocracy, but instead give everyone an A so there egos go undamaged...and then give both teams a trophy because winning isn't the point.

What they fail to realize is that this bears ABSOLUTELY NO RESEMBLANCE to the real world. I feel for the kids with untainted egos that get squashed like bugs their first day off campus...but it will be my pleasure to do the squashing.

[Paul]

*paul furrows his brow in a vain attempt to understand*

[Moose_Master]

I really don't get why +/- scales are so bad. It doesn't matter the scale you use, a student will either work really hard to do good and not "blossom socially" or not. It's a type of person, not a type of scale. I'm perfectly in the middle, I have that 'natural intelligence' so the Calc II tests that take everyone 1:30 hours takes me 15. I get the 105% and I have so much time left over to socialize it's not funny.
I don't work hard, so using that + to distinguish me between someone that works hard and someone that's naturally talented is wrong. I don't have to work hard at the level I'm at. That doesn't mean I don't work hard when the time comes. When something knew comes along that demands accuracy I work hard to get up to that level and then I can stride along quite easily.

But let's not start comparing grades and SAT scores. I'm surprised you people haven't posted inches and compare each other's masculinity. Let's just leave it at "we're all the top of our classes and have amazing talents all around."

[R0B]

You misunderstand my point. First of all, I due work hard, when the time requires it. For instance, I have to write a lot of research papers in my history class, I spend a damn good amount of time on them, and don't stop untill I think the quality is worthy of me. But, back to my point. I am refering to highschools taking this method, not colleges (which I have a different idea for). And, I don't know too many highschoolers who are being considered for important jobs. Also, I don't know any place that hires highschool kids, and bases their decision on whether or not that + is there. If you notice, the schools with the smartest kids, do not revolve around grades (this is a fact, and I can name several. Please do the research before you flame next time). I can even think of a college that uses a similar system for freshman to help them get used to college and also not burn themselves out (which is what some people do). This college is MIT, where the freshman grade is pass or fail (no letters at all). And, I know many people who work at very large businesses, and was talking to them (at different times), and they said that, if they are looking for a top notch person to fill a highly ranked job (i.e. 6 figures) then they look at class rank, the difficulty of the school, and, if needed for that type of job, samples of their work.

I also think that you are stereotyping the naturally intelligent. Just because I can walk into a class, let's say latin, and Ace a test without studying, that doesn't mean that I am any less capable of knowing the material as someone who isn't intelligent at all, but studied for 50 hours for that test. We both know the same material just as thuroly (sp) and performed close to the same grade wise. Really, you can tell a naturally intelligent sloppy person, and that person does not get A's. That person gets B's and C's, and claims that he/she is really smart, but a bad test taker.

Ponder those points, I am interested to hear your responces.


BTW, the one thing that I am not gifted in is spelling. In 4th grade, we took a standerdised test that had spelling, math, reading, science, and social studies. I get betwenn a 97 and a 99% on everything excecpt spelling. I got a 14% on that. They actually regraded it by hand to make sure that was correct. Since then I have improved, but I really due suck at spelling.

[Paul]

[R0B]