Failing Grades Jump at San Francisco’s Top High School After Merit-Based Admissions Replaced by Lottery

Failing Grades Jump at San Francisco’s Top High School After Merit-Based Admissions Replaced by Lottery
The Lowell High School campus in San Francisco, Calif., on Oct. 29, 2020. David Lam/The Epoch Times
Bill Pan
Updated:
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San Francisco’s Lowell High School, one of the top-performing public schools on the West Coast, has reported a spike in failing grades among students after replacing its academics-based admissions system with a lottery.

Lowell used to be the only school in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) where admissions were determined by a student’s grades and admission test scores, similar to how colleges evaluate their applicants.