2009 22 Nov

20 For 20 Test Points

Corruption has reached a new high at a North Carolina middle school. Ever since the chocolate fund raising failed to produce last year, the parent advisory committee came up with a new plan. The new fundraiser offers parents and students the option to purchase their way to improved grades.

The school will be selling 20 test points for $20 dollars.. Students can add 10 extra points to each of two tests of their choice. The points will help students shift their scores from a “B” to an “A” or from a flunking to a passing grade. The principal went along with the fundraiser and remarked that “it’s not enough of an impact to change a student’s overall grades.”

Education officials are not pleased about the cash-for-grades exchange. They believe that this teaches students the wrong lesson; that money can buy everything. This devalues education and is undermining the hard work and dedication that these students need to learn in order to be successful in college. Authorities also worry about what will happen to students when they try this act later on in their life. They could be dismissed completely from school. So why are these parents encouraging it?

Although this school thinks this is a good way to raise money, the fact of the matter is that it’s wrong and corrupt. Public schools are already failing and kids are graduating without even knowing how to read or write. This just sends students the wrong answer that knowledge isn’t important and money can fix anything.

This puts kids on the wrong path. They don’t learn the value of hard work and determination. Instead they learn that there’s an easy way out. This not only affects those students that didn’t do well on their tests, but also those that did their homework, studied, and worked hard.

For students that studied and did well on the test they might lose enthusiasm because other students that didn’t study can now get similar grade to theirs. It affects all of the students and I’m astounded there aren’t more parents and even the school board members squabbling about the morals of the fundraiser.

School should be one of the places where children learn and develop character. It can’t only be at home since children exhaust most of their days in the class. They must be taught at school as well. So the fact that they are allowing this to happen is going to actually mix up these kids.

I just can’t comprehend what these parents were and still are thinking. They most likely have children in this school that aren’t very bright or are not applying themselves and as a result have poor grades. They must have concluded that if their children’s grades were low then others must be as well. This must be the train of thought that they followed because I can’t picture them coming up with this idea unless their child had poor grades. It seems to be the conclusion of self-interest in my judgment.

But ultimately the conclusion they came to was selling better grades to parents and students was the best option. Yeah that’s a magnificent solution! This is something that is fundamentally immoral and should be stopped at once. Fellow parents and the school district need to stop this because it is putting these students on a path to failure.

About the Author Info

Diane Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Utah and enjoys writing about current events, politics, college degrees, online education, and the office. Diane Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Utah. She likes to write about the news, politics, college degrees, online schools, and the college experience.