I'm making the broader point. If the concern is that middle-school kids don't self-select into harder classes, I get the concern a bit better. The implication,

I'm making the broader point. If the concern is that middle-school kids don't self-select into harder classes, I get the concern a bit better. The implication, which I leave unstated, is that everything becomes an arms race to see which middle school can give its students the most ludicrous GPA (e.g. 7.5/4.0). Any grade other than a perfect one becomes a disaster, but that isn't a concern for most students because they all get perfect grades. With no more meaningful feedback from assessments, in the long run such policies do about as much good as throwing out grades entirely. At least in a standardized testing-induced arms race, you have to learn something to succeed. Even the most cynical will concede testing strategies.