This writer graduated from high school with a 3.8 GPA. It wasn't perfect, but she earned it, and she was proud of it. That was 25 years ago, when GPAs meant something, however. These days, it's often just a number that doesn't reflect a student's academic performance. Like in California, for example, where a lot of kids are graduating with perfect 4.0 GPAs only to get to college, where their professors learn these kids haven't learned a darn thing in 12-plus years of public schooling.
Because professors are warning that these students, with straight-A GPAs, can't do basic things like math.
California high school grads score 4.0 GPAs but can't do basic math, professors say https://t.co/IavBWkGRxz pic.twitter.com/xVzuv3TtFW
— New York Post (@nypost) September 14, 2026
The number of college applicants reporting flawless GPAs of 4.0 or higher has doubled over the past decade even as state testing shows a post-pandemic plunge in reading and math comprehension — revealing a grade-inflation crisis that’s sending students who can’t even do fractions into top universities.
Over the past decade, the number of students applying to the University of California system with straight A’s skyrocketed from 52,989 in 2015 to 103,138 for the class of 2025, with a notable jump during the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022, according to UC data reviewed by The Post.
...
Charles Cole, an education advocate who attended California high schools before graduating in 2001, told The Post that grade inflation has been brewing for decades and has grown worse in recent years.
Cole got top marks in his Oakland high school and ended up having to take remedial classes at California State University.
"Those classes were fairly easy for me," Cole said. "I'm happy and grateful for the grades because it helped me get into college. But the level of preparation was a huge letdown."
Glenn Sacks, who teaches social studies in the Los Angeles Unified School District, was told by an administrator not to fail too many students. Sacks said pressure on teachers — which started during COVID — pushed for the elimination of Ds and Fs to boost enrollment and attendance.
Everybody gets a worthless trophy. pic.twitter.com/F4siPfDbWJ
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) September 14, 2026
That's all this is.
Now they’re giving out participation 4.0’s.
— Kentucky Girl (@Kentuckygirl1) September 14, 2026
Kids that can’t even read or do math at grade-level are getting top scores.
The teachers and teacher unions obviously don’t care AT ALL about the kids they’re supposed to be teaching, and preparing for adulthood. https://t.co/xI5eJqY38o
Public schools, with some exceptions, are not about educating the next generation of Americans. They're left-wing indoctrination centers that want to turn out good little Democrat voters who are too ignorant to understand math and can't read. That means they're dependent on government for basic needs because they can't get a decent job and function in the real world.
Meanwhile, not too terribly long ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom was bragging about how California spends a lot of money on education. He called it an "investment," as Democrats always do.
But what are taxpayers getting in return for that investment? A generation of students with inflated grade points who can't do basic math or read full-length books (if they can read at all).
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.
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