'Wisconsin Guarantee' only assures that high school students fixate on grades | Opinion

This story was updated because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy.

During my senior year at Nicolet High School in 2017, I applied to the University of Wisconsin-Madison alongside scores of my classmates. We scrambled to bolster our applications over a litany of metrics: grinding ACT prep courses, volunteering after school, and perfecting our “Why Madison?” essays. Less than half of us would be accepted. Yet with the "Wisconsin Guarantee" going into effect next fall, the university has unlocked their backdoor, and it will radically shift the mindset of every student hoping to be let in.

Signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers last February, the plan will offer direct admission for students placing in the top 5% of their Wisconsin high schools. These rankings are based solely on GPA, and allows students to sidestep Madison’s standard holistic admissions process. Come fall, Wisconsin will be joining a long list of other states that are offering guaranteed admission to their public universities based on varying compositions of academic metrics. Yet Wisconsin’s veneration of GPA will crowd other traditional yardsticks and cause students to focus solely on grades.

In light of this, the guarantee is a regressive policy that will incentivize GPA padding over academic exploration, risk taking, and building an interesting resumé. Despite touting that they are searching for students who demonstrate “course breadth,” it will eliminate students’ incentives to take any courses outside of the subjects they excel in. Instead, they will play it safe, scouring their course directories for the easiest As and the most lenient teachers.

Quest for high school GPAs could fuel rampant AI cheating

But more than this, the policy will also exacerbate the AI-fueled cheating epidemic currently infesting our nation’s high schools. A study from 2023 found that over 89% of students admitted to using ChatGPT to complete homework assignments, and nearly half admitted to using the platform on a take-home test or quiz. Since then, hundreds of new AI websites have emerged, many of them boasting their ability to pass the AI screening used by schools.

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This incentive will stress the importance of every exam, every assignment, and every point. Even stellar students who want to be immersed in their academic pursuits will be tempted to cheat. For those striving for the top 5%, there is an ingrained understanding that their competition will be taking advantage of this resource. With guaranteed admission to your dream school on the line, would you really risk a disadvantage by abstaining from its use?

High schools should push students to have diverse academic base

Healthy academic competition can be a strong motivator, yet fixation on a number can be suffocating and limiting to a student’s growth. While attending Nicolet, my advisor urged me to take an array of classes outside of my established skill set, loading my schedule with advanced courses in chemistry, literature, and music.

If I were competing for the top 5%, I would never have risked such a breadth of classes, focusing instead on my strengths in mathematics and the social sciences where I knew I could earn As. Looking back, I am extremely grateful for this diverse educational base, as it incubated new interests and heightened my ability for cross-disciplinary analytical thought.

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However, despite the GPA padding and AI-fueled cheating, it is still indisputable that achieving such a high class rank is exemplary and ought to be celebrated. Yet when designing these programs, our eagerness to celebrate excellent students needs to be tempered with caution, as the metrics we choose to extol will affect the mentality of the students pursuing them.

Universities like Madison understand that the brightest students will always find the optimal way to play the game, but it is because of this that we must consider the consequences when changing the rules.

Craig Freigang is a student at Columbia University studying financial economics. He is a graduate of Nicolet High School. Prior to returning to his education, Craig performed as a company artist with the Milwaukee Ballet for four seasons.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW Madison direct admission stunts student growth | Opinion