This case exemplifies the unintended divisive cause and effect dynamic that can occur as a direct result of a seemingly innocuous school board policy modification. A change in school board policy at a local school district in Laredo, Texas, was designed to facilitate the fulfillment of a foreign language requirement for high school students. A by-product of this policy was that a “loophole” was created, which ultimately led to a strategic manipulation of the grade point average calculation procedure by a savvy, high-achieving student. This allowed said student to attain a class rank of Valedictorian as opposed to Salutatorian.
GodfreyK. E. G. (2011). Investigating grade inflation and non-equivalence. New York, NY: College Board.
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NordC.RoeyS.PerkinsR.LyonsM.LemanskiN.BrownJ.SchuknechtJ. (2011). The nation’s report card: America’s high school graduates. Results of the 2009 NAEP High School Transcript Study. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics.
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OwingsJ. (1995). Making the cut: Who meets highly selective college entrance criteria? Statistics in Brief. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics.
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RutledgeB. (1991). An alternative to ranking high school students. Journal of College Admissions, 133, 5-6.
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WalserN. (2009). The essential school board book: Better governance in the age of accountability. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
