Grades vs. Test Scores.

I've just read How Much Do You Value Test Scores by Mr.Fisch. This article really hit home with me. It was about test scores, and their relevency. I am sortof split on this topic. I start defending one side, but end up switching to the other, and vice versa. I think that mostly I side with pro-tests. I usually do very well on tests, but I recive very bad grades. I don't think I get low grades because I'm not smart, I just don't do my homework and that's usually the biggest problem. I see myself as a pretty smart person usually and part of how I assess that is through major test scores like CSAP and MAP and basically the acronynm tests. I usually score a lot higher on those than I do in my classes. My question is do a persons grades in a class realy reflect their compency and understanding of the material?

College Prices Pose a Scare

I read an article about the prices of college called College Costs Outpace Inflation Rates. As you can probably guess, the acticle was abou tthe rising costs of college not matching that of inflation, which is the way prices go up and down with the ecomony. It says that the prices of college are rising more and more every year. I think that this is a little bit ridiculous. It's nearly inpossible for most kids to get a good job without college, but they make it harder and harder to get in.
I student assist for the post-grad center here at Arapahoe, so I hear statistics about these prices daily. Another hurdle colleges are making students jump over now is grades. It seems to me that they make it more difficult to attain the future you want. I don't understand why they do this. I don't see how some of these things are benificial. If anything, I see them scaring away kids. I know kids with awesome grades, that are refusing to look at certain collages almost completely becuase of the prices, even with scholarships. I want to know more about this topic, and how kids deal with this. I know that many kids who want to go to college do not come from waelthy families. I don't come from one either so this topic is extremely close to home. I worry constaly about how my future will turn out. It scares me to death thinking that I might not be able to have the life I want to have becuase of these issues.