School board inadvertently nails it

[Hawkmoon]

Vancouver (BC) school board is eliminating honors classes in the name of ... well, something. Whatever they call it, it amounts to dragging everyone down to the lowest common denominator.

How could this happen? Here's what the school board had to say on the issue:

In an emailed statement to CBC News, a school board spokesperson said honours courses create inequities for students.

"By phasing out these courses, all students will have access to an inclusive model of education, and all students will be able to participate in the curriculum fulsomely," the statement reads.

How unwittingly appropriate. Here's the definition of "fulsomely":

Fully; abundantly.
In a fulsome manner; rankly; grossly; nauseously; obscenely.

[griz]

They're trying to be more inclusive with their failures.

[Fly320s]

All animals are equal (ly) dumbed down.

[K Frame]

Fairfax County, Virginia, has been squawking about that.

[Hawkmoon]

One of the articles I read on this mentioned something about how students in the honors classes are "unfairly penalized" because overall class rank is based purely on grade point average. I suppose this is supposed to justify dumbing down the curriculum.

However, I respectfully submit that this is a potential problem with honors classes. I graduated from high school in 1962. My school had an honors (or advanced placement) program at the time, such that students in the advanced placement program were taking all college-level courses in the senior year. One of the girls in that program was exceptionally smart, and had a really good average. However, she only got to be Salutatarian at our graduation. Who made Valedictorian? A girl who spent all four years taking typing, shorthand, and home economics.

That didn't stop Hilda from getting into a good college, but I have always thought it was unfair. But I have never come up with a weighting system to correct for it.

[K Frame]

"but I have always thought it was unfair. But I have never come up with a weighting system to correct for it."

Some schools are doing away with honors and recognitions entirely and just going with the lowest common denominator, basically turning everyone's diploma into something less than a participation trophy.

[Boomhauer]

If they don’t like honors classes and students doing well they should move to Baltimore where a 0.13 GPA means you are at the top of the class

The public education system is one of the greatest cancers in the nation.

[Pb]

Dear People of Color,

The Left thinks your children are to stupid to take Honors Classes.

Are you going to take that from them?

Come join us on the Right.

Lots of love,

Pb

[AZRedhawk44]

That didn't stop Hilda from getting into a good college, but I have always thought it was unfair. But I have never come up with a weighting system to correct for it.

There's been high school evaluation disparities for a good while now.

Some schools run on a 4.0 GPA scale no matter what the course is.  An A in Home Economics or Pottery is a 4.0, the same as an A in Calculus or Physics or AP English Literature.  Other schools will run on a 5.0 GPA scale, inflate AP classes by 25% and keep the "normie" classes scored on a 4.0 scale.  This is how you hear of kids coming out of high school with a 4.7 GPA or something like that, I think.  I never really figured it out and wasn't a fan of it.  It makes it possible for a sub-par student with access to AP courses to have a "4.0" GPA (on a 5.0 scale) and that can sound good, when compared against a kid with a 3.9 GPA on a 4.0 scale. 

All the universities I applied to out of high school looked at GPA, extracurricular involvement, and the actual list of courses taken (giving weight to honors/AP coursework over GPA padding subjects).