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Andrew ClementsA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Grades and test scores serve as motifs that emphasize the importance of grades. Students learn from a young age that good grades are the ultimate objective, and much of their future education hinges on grades earned way back in elementary school: “Fifth-grade grades would be used to see which kids got into the higher math classes at the junior high. [… And] which kids got into the advanced English classes and the foreign language program and the accelerated science classes” (28). These grades only evaluate a small range of intelligence types, relying on worksheets and memorization to assess a student’s ability. If a student doesn’t exhibit these specific strengths as an 11-year-old, then the highest quality education becomes unattainable to them: They can’t take higher-level classes, where teachers might give them the creative liberties that help many students of all abilities thrive. The only way to guarantee success is by becoming a “grim little A-making machine” at an early age, like Nora’s sister Ann (28). Report cards, then, are the final authority determining whether a student has, by this system’s definition, achieved.
Similarly, Dr. Trindler’s certificates and diplomas are like adult report cards, and they don’t necessarily represent as much as students expect.
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