Trustees Get an A, Students a Lesson

Taking the tougher course, whether in school or life, sometimes means waiting for the reward. In fact, in the short run we may even pay a penalty for choosing the more challenging route.

Such was the lesson learned recently by the San Diego Unified School District and some of its high school students.

The school district wants to encourage students to take more difficult, advanced courses, which many shy away from because they can earn higher grades in less demanding classes. The district offered an extra grade point for the tougher courses, so that an A in advanced chemistry, say, would be worth five points instead of the usual four, and so on.

The problems this caused, it seems, overshadowed the advantages. Students who had taken tough courses earlier felt the new rules were unfair. Eligibility for valedictorian status was clouded. Counselors feared extra work explaining the system to colleges, even though some universities already use a similar system to evaluate high school grades.

When school board trustees halted the program, wisely opting to phase it in more slowly, the students who had signed up for the more difficult classes felt cheated.

That students even need to be coaxed into taking more challenging courses is unfortunate. Further, what they are overlooking are the merits of learning, which have been lost in the quest for grades. Whether a student earns an A or a C, he is likely to learn more in an advanced class.

In spite of the initial snafus, the school board and the district deserve a five-point A for attempting the tougher route. The students who lost their extra grade point will have to settle for the intrinsic reward of learning, which in the long run is worth more than a high grade-point average.