Planet of the valedictorians.

• Position: Education - Brief Article

B's may soon qualify for the endangered grade list. According to the latest statistics, more students are earning A's in class, though they aren't doing any better on college-entrance tests. U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige is pointing to grade inflation, in which today's A's may equal yesterday's B's.

The average SAT score is stuck at 1020, barely higher than 25 years ago. Yet in just the past 10 years, the percent of students...