It’s that time where all the honorable students proudly share on Facebook that they made the Dean’s List. Dean’s List is a compilation of students that have a certain GPA or higher (at Roger Williams University, the cut-off is 3.4). The List is a way to quantify the hard work a student put in throughout the semester, to determine academic excellence, and to assure parents that their kid is indeed doing work. I myself made Dean’s List. But… so what?
Hoping that the Dean’s List led to some sort of reward for your work ethic, my parents attempted to ask for the college to review my financial aid package, in consideration of merit. This basically means we assumed that there had to be some motivation to get a 3.4 or higher, otherwise we’d all just get along with C’s because C’s get the same diploma as A’s. However, the financial aid office was quick to decline our request, simply because you can’t ask for more money at this point. So why get Dean’s List? Why go through all that agony and work just to have your name on a list that’s floating around in Internet cyberspace or, if you’re lucky, in the school newspaper? My answer is indefinite. I can’t tell you why you should bother yourself with the List, and that’s why the List itself is meaningless.
Our schooling system uses numeric data to determine intelligence, which has always been a little flawed. Numbers are exact and stiff, while knowledge is much more dynamic. Then there’s that whole tiff with standardized testing and how not all students learn the same way. However, I think we can agree that we came to the conclusion of using numerical data and orthodox testing because it is much too difficult and tedious to teach to each individual student. It’s the most efficient way to assess a student’s progress. But Dean’s List is exactly where numbers fail us most.
Can we say with confidence that the kids with a 3.4 are any smarter or more successful than the kids with a 3.39? Should we praise those with the 3.4, all the while failing to acknowledge those who labored through the semester but just didn’t make that crucial decimal point? I recognize that there is no easy way to truly exemplify a student’s dedication and effort in school as we can’t just follow them around all semester, following up with video evidence of them taking extensive notes or spending long nights studying. But reducing a semester’s work and the students themselves to a number isn’t a trusted method, it’s just the easy way out.
So if you didn’t get Dean’s List this semester, don’t fret, because you didn’t miss out on much. In the end, if you busted your buns and did your best, your mom will still brag about you at her workplace, regardless.
