Two Black Students Won School Honors. Then Came the Calls for a Recount.
After two white families claimed a grade calculation error, a Mississippi school added their children as co-valedictorian and co-salutatorian, reviving questions about race and equity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/us/west-point-high-school-valedictorian.amp.html
“At issue was just how to calculate who the top two students were. Ikeria and Layla won based on a calculation of quality point average or Q.P.A., a system of calculating grades that gave extra weight to advanced placement and dual credit courses. But, it turned out, Dominic and Emma were the top two finishers based on unweighted grade point average.”
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“Some cited, at least in perception, family influence as a potential factor in the naming of co-honorees. Emma Berry is a descendant of the co-founder of Bryan Foods, once West Point’s largest employer. Even though the local Bryan pork processing factory shut down in 2007, the extended Bryan family remains among the town’s most influential. Several local institutions bear the family name, including the public library.”
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“The Washington and Temple families are considering a lawsuit, and they have enlisted the advice of Ms. Ross, the lawyer from Jackson. She questions the methodology used to determine class rank in West Point — saying it makes no sense — and why weighted scores are not used.
“Anybody in education knows that a weighted G.P.A. signifies that a student has taken more rigorous courses than a student with a 4.0 G.P.A.,” Ms. Ross said.”
Ridiculous. This is what happens when white families so desperately need to believe in white supremacy. This is exactly why schools need to teach actual history and a critical evaluation of the past and present of our society.
