Should High GPA Averages Determine Access to Student Loans

Should students be required to maintain a high grade point average in order to obtain or maintain student loans? There should be a minimum requirement, but not an average set at an impossible high standard. That would limit access to higher education for many high school students.

Do learning styles impact test performance?

Many things can impact how a person performs on a test. Memory, retrieval of information, concentration, and expression of ones thoughts, are just a few of the skills required to score well on any given test. Having a deficiency or learning disability in any one of these processes and the outcome of the test will be impacted. Haven’t we all experienced that? We know the information, but it just didn’t come through on the test. Passing a test is just one indicator of what a person has learned.

My friends who are engineers can not be the artist that I am. Our skills sets are completely different. The engineers could pass a test, and I have had much difficulty over the years passing any test. Does that make them more intelligent and me less?

The right class, school and professors also impact student test scores.

My first attempt to attend college ended in disaster. My psychology professor in a quandary said, “You are a smart person and that my in-class discussions and projects proved it, but he didn’t know how to grade me, because I couldn’t pass a test.” I understood as I had heard this many times before. Frustrated, I quit, convinced that I would never be able to get through school. Five years later I enrolled in an arts program. I did well in my art classes. I struggled in my gen-ed classes, but the instructors were aware of the difficulties of artistic students. They permitted students to use their talents to present what they had learned in class. I graduated with a grade point average of 3.4. If I had been required to keep a high GPA in my first attempt or in another more structured program I would have failed. Students need to concentrate on learning and teachers on helping students reach their potential. High GPA scores are nothing more then a false indication of academic success.

Students should have a minimum requirement to obtain or maintain student loans, but society must not discourage students from reaching their potential by setting unattainable GPA’s standards. I am a perfect example of this.

Sources:
Financial Aid Information http://www.finaid.org
Howard Gardner/Learning Styles http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm


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