Good Grades or No Sports

Good Intentions
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The state Under Armour Performance Polos of Iowa has decided that only "good" students can play
sports. While this may seem like a logical thought, some unexpected results popped up. Iowa has a
"no pass, no play" rule. How is it working? Three times the athletes, musicians and speech students
are ineligible to participate in extracurricular sports or the arts. How can Iowa, a state that
traditionally ranks in the top three states http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics for ACT scores in the
nation, have so many students ineligible?
The Eligibility Statistics
While the typical student in Iowa has a grade point average of 2.87, the average athlete has a g.p.a.
of 3.11. So, what is going on? Why are so many athletes ineligible? Answer. One class can make you
ineligible even if you are doing quite well in all the other classes.
Many principles and athletic directors in
Iowa would like the law changed from
"no F's" to "maintain a 2.0 g.p.a."
How http://www.ua.edu/athletics.html
do this year's ineligibility statistics
compare to last year? Last year, 560
students were ineligible. This year the
count is at 1,497. This is nearly triple
the count. It is doubtful that students in
Iowa are performing three times worse
this school year. [Lynn Campbell, The
Des Moines Register, desmoinesregister.com, April 15, 2007]
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Is It Fair?
Many are asking if this new mandate is fair. Students with a 3.2 g.p.a. can possibly be ineligible.
We've all had that "one teacher" that demands college level work in high school. The teacher may
even be more demanding than a college professor. Iowa has decided that it is reasonable to keep a
student out of activities because of one grade.
Students Play It Safe with Classes
We all want students to take on challenges. Push the envelope. Try something a little beyond their
reach. For example, a student decides to try Physics. It would look good on the high school
transcript. The student decides to go for it. But, they just can't grasp the concept. All the other
classes are doing well but this one is just beyond their reach. Probably a mistake, but they tried.
Because of this class, the student is ineligible. So, are students going to play it "safe" so they can
play sports, be in speech, drama and music? Are advanced classes going to be seen as too risky to
try?
How Many Students Are Ineligible?
Iowa has
125,000 student-athletes
64,000 in band, orchestra and Performance T-Shirts chorus
40,000 in speech and drama
These students must sit out 20 consecutive school
days if in sports and 30 days if in music because of
"one" grade.
Different Eligibility Standards from School to
School
Some schools give students an "A" based on 90-
100% while other schools have a scale of 94-100%
for an "A". One student may be taking eight classes
while another one is taking five. Grade check
periods also vary. Schools can check grades
weekly
every two weeks
every month
mid-term
every quarter
every semester
It is obvious that a student in a weekly grade check school could be ineligible in one week while
another student could play all semester with an "F" and remain eligible. Some teachers will give a
student very close to being eligible a break but many will not.
One school may consider a "D" ineligible but another school may consider an "F" as ineligible. An "F"
in one school could be 50% but another school could set it at 69%. The standard for eligibility is not
uniform from school to school. The variables are endless.
Let's Rethink This?
Does it seem unreasonable to have a student with a g.p.a. of 2.9 be ineligible while taking eight
subjects in a school that has set 94-100% an "A"? Obviously, this student is doing quite well in all
other classes. While the intent was good, the reality is that many students may take less challenging
classes in the future so they can participate in activities. That was not the intent.
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Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
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