Letter: Academic standards are a Grade-A mess

Sunday, Dec. 11, 2005 | 8:35 a.m.

American education is in a crisis of major proportions and of great national concern. Too many children are being given the false notion that grades, and grades alone, are the most important goal in their education. Mastery of subject matter content has become of secondary importance.

In addition, our students are being misled to believe that athletic prowess without a sound education can lead them to great financial rewards in adulthood. Many parents give more attention to their child's social and athletic development than attainment of a solid education.

Parents become resolved their child will be one of the fortunate few out of millions who will catch the athletic brass ring of success that leads to a great career with fame and fortune. Time, money and effort are expended to advance a student's athletic career with little solid attention being paid to academic achievement.

In their quest to have their student achieve athletic success, parents offer little emphasis on the importance of academic skills, knowledge and mastery of academic subjects. Students complain about demanding teachers, difficult and time-consuming homework, projects and exams; parents pressure teachers to lower grade expectations, goals and achievement levels; an easy grade is all that is desired and becomes the superficial goal.

Parents complain to administrators and apply pressure to accommodate the academic shortcomings of their children. As a consequence, course standards set by teachers are lowered and academic achievement becomes a mirage of inflated grades.

We graduate athletically skilled but illiterate and academically disadvantaged students.

Virgil A. Sestini

Las Vegas

The writer is retired from the Clark County School District, where he taught science for 30 years.