ok so in light of my need to debate today (;)) i'm sparking another one:

do you think that there needs to be a standard of education from state to state or nationwide?

like in tx there is something called the top 10% rule. which is basically that if you are in the top 10% of your high school REGARDLESS of GPA or grades you get automatic admission to any public university in TX as long as you filled out the application on time.

i went to a school that had a GPA on a 4.0 scale and our top 10% had no lower than a 4.2; our valedictorian had a 4.67 GPA. i had a 3.5 GPA and i was in the 3rd quarter. however, had i gone to an inner city school and did the same amount of work i would've probably be in the top 10%. i know that sounds like a blanket statement but...based on my experience it is how i feel. my grandparents moved to a good school district so i could get a good education (not saying that inner city schools don't have good educators but statistically they have lower GPAs overall) but then i'm penalized because i couldn't get into UT-austin because they only take the top 15% of the graduating class.

so basically my question is: do you think that a rule like our top 10% rule in texas should be abolished and it should be based on what grades you get?

i think it should be based on what grades you get. that way it'd be fair across the state. it would cause some of the inner-city schools and other school districts that are "under-performing" to step-up and quit doing "just" enough to pass to stay accredited.

i think we just need one standard across the US. It is so hard for those that move around a lot to adjust a lot of times!!! that way a child going from one state to another, or district to another, there isnt such a HUGE gap!

ok so in light of my need to debate today (;)) i'm sparking another one:

do you think that there needs to be a standard of education from state to state or nationwide?

like in tx there is something called the top 10% rule. which is basically that if you are in the top 10% of your high school REGARDLESS of GPA or grades you get automatic admission to any public university in TX as long as you filled out the application on time.

i went to a school that had a GPA on a 4.0 scale and our top 10% had no lower than a 4.2; our valedictorian had a 4.67 GPA. i had a 3.5 GPA and i was in the 3rd quarter. however, had i gone to an inner city school and did the same amount of work i would've probably be in the top 10%. i know that sounds like a blanket statement but...based on my experience it is how i feel. my grandparents moved to a good school district so i could get a good education (not saying that inner city schools don't have good educators but statistically they have lower GPAs overall) but then i'm penalized because i couldn't get into UT-austin because they only take the top 15% of the graduating class.

so basically my question is: do you think that a rule like our top 10% rule in texas should be abolished and it should be based on what grades you get?

i think it should be based on what grades you get. that way it'd be fair across the state. it would cause some of the inner-city schools and other school districts that are "under-performing" to step-up and quit doing "just" enough to pass to stay accredited.

Wow, you're really on a roll today! :lol

OK, first, I'd like to comment on why inner city schools have such low GPA's: You have to think about the way some of these kids live....I mean, some of them are extremely poor. Having come from a poverty-stricken life at an early age, some of the kids are so hungry for not eating for days on end, are are too busy thinking about the fact that they had to sleep with no heat in the dead of winter to be concerned with studying and school.
Now with that being said, other inner city schools can't get qualified teachers to teach the students who are there.....a lot of teachers are afraid to teach in an inner city school, so the schools can't get good accreditation because they're aren't enough qualitfied teachers. I think I would be too afraid to teach at an inner city school, based on what I know.

OK, with that out of the way....I think that a rule like the 10% rule should be abolished....I mean, what if the whole class' GPA was, on average, low? Would that make it fair to a student from another school who worked their ass off to get in the top 10%?
Would the student who made it into the top 10% based on luck become a burden on the college?
I don't think it does....I think it should be based on grades. I mean, maybe this was a way for your city or state to be able to help more students get into schools....

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm on the fence....it'd be difficult for me to say yes or no without knowing all the facts.

i think we just need one standard across the US. It is so hard for those that move around a lot to adjust a lot of times!!! that way a child going from one state to another, or district to another, there isnt such a HUGE gap!

I couldn't have said it better my self!!!!

in tx at least if you go into college as an education (interdisciplinary studies is what they actually call it) major and sign a contract saying that you will complete the major and work in an inner city school for the first 5 years that you are out of school they will pay for you to either 1. get a masters or 2. pay for part of your tuition. that's damn good incentive plus school districts give huge ass bonuses to teachers who teach in the inner city schools.

i'm not trying to take away anything from the students that can't help not doing well, i.e. living so far below the poverty line, living in shelters, etc etc i'm talking about the students who simply don't care because they know if they do the minimum they can get into college.

I think the top 10% isn't as good of an idea as those with a 3.5 or higher. In Florida they have bright futures scholarships, and what you get is based on your GPA and community service. I do think that having automatic admission to at least one state school is important though, seeing as how your parents have been funding that school by living in the state, and people tend to stay around for while after they graduate due to internships etc, so it helps the economy. Florida has something in regards to the GPA where if it's a certain GPA you're guaranteed admission to at least one state university...It might not be the one of your choice, but you will get into a school.