The State of Iowa has decided that if students receive an "F", they are ineligible to play sports. What is the fallout of this decision?

Good Intentions

The state 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 for ACT scores in the nation, have so many students ineligible?

The 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 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]

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.

Play It Safe

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?

Iowa has

• 125,000 student-athletes
• 64,000 in band, orchestra and 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 Standards

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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Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.