Nerds and Freaks: A Theory of Student Culture and Norms

By a two-to-one margin (60 to 28 percent), American parents say that "if forced to choose, they would prefer their sons or daughters to make C grades and be active in extracurricular activities rather than make A grades and not be active." ¹ Why do parents think it so important for their children to participate in extracurricular activities? Certainly, they are not expecting their child to make it into the National Football League or the National Basketball Association. They probably believe extracurricular activities teach teamwork, time management, self-discipline, and other skills that are important in later life. Those students who participate in sports during high school do spend more time doing homework and less time watching TV, are less likely to drop out of high school, are more likely to attend college, and earn 3 to 11 percent more as an adult. Controversy exists, however, about whether the association between sports and earnings reflects a causal relationship or a selection effect. Deborah Anderson's analysis of the issue concluded that while sports had causal effects on schooling, effects on earnings were probably selection effects. ² Regardless, getting "A's" instead of "C's" has much larger effects on high school and college completion rates and labor market success than participating in extracurricular activities. Nearly 99 percent of students with "A" averages (and comparably higher test scores) in eighth grade complete high school; only 80 percent of the "C" students graduate. ³ For seniors who in 1982 planned on getting a bachelor of arts degree or higher, chances of achieving that goal during the next decade were four times greater for "A" students than "C" students. ⁴ Norton Grubb's analysis of High School and Beyond data found that, holding years of schooling constant, earnings at age thirty-one by males with an "A" average in high school were $5,549 (20 percent) more than those with a "C" average; for females, $2,906 (17.7 percent) more. ⁵

If parents knew these facts, one would think that they would choose "A" grades over participation in extracurricular activities. Probably, many are ignorant of just how important academic achievement is to future labor market success, but we think that is not the whole answer. We suggest the parents responding to the Gallup survey interpreted "makes A grades and not be active" as code for "nerd" or "dork." They remember how unpopular nerds were and perceive them as unhappy with their position in the high school social system. The parents chose the alternative that meant their child would not suffer what the nerds of their era had suffered.

What were the peer culture and norms of the 1960s and 1970s like? James Coleman was the first sociologist to examine adolescent status systems. In all ten of the Illinois high schools he studied in 1958, athletic achievement was the single most important criterion for high status. ⁶ Abraham J. Tannenbaum conducted a similar study at a predominantly Jewish high school in New York City in 1960. ⁷ He asked students to react to written descriptions of eight fictitious students. The ratings from most positive to most negative were as follows:

1. Athlete—Brilliant—Nonstudious
2. Athlete—Average—Nonstudious
3. Athlete—Average—Studious
4. Athlete—Brilliant—Studious
5. Nonathlete—Brilliant—Nonstudious
6. Nonathlete—Average—Nonstudious
7. Nonathlete—Average—Studious
8. Nonathlete—Brilliant—Studious

Being smart was OK, if it was not combined with studiousness. Getting good grades did not get one into trouble with one's peers, but trying to get good grades did.

In 1972 D. Stanley Eitzen replicated Coleman's study using nine high schools in Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas. ⁸ Students were asked, "If you could be remembered here at school for one of the three things below...