63 pages • 2 hours read
The Perfect Score
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Symbols & Motifs
The CSAs
The CSAs are the backbone of the novel’s internal and external conflicts, and they become a motif that represents The Pressure Inherent in Expectations. At the beginning of the text, the CSAs are little more than a distant trouble for the students and Mrs. Woods alike. They disrupt classes and lives minimally, though it is clear from the attitudes of the students that the tests are an unwanted distraction from more enjoyable parts of school, such as recess and read-aloud time. As the novel progresses and the significance of the tests increases, the children find the CSAs taking over more and more of their lives. This includes the art program and recess, and by the time the children decide to cheat, the CSAs have become a source of anxiety since failure carries far-reaching consequences for all of them. As a result, the pressure that the CSAs put on the children and teachers is far more than academic. The lengths that the children will go to so that the CSAs can’t take away the tiny amounts of control they have over their lives conveys the unnecessary and harmful pressure that the tests put on everyone.
More broadly, the CSAs represent the misguided importance put on academic achievement above all other forms of accomplishment. Students like Natalie and Scott, who excel in the classroom, are rewarded by tests like the CSAs because they do well on exams, thus showing their ability to comprehend what they are taught and, allegedly, that teachers are doing their jobs. However, for students like Gavin, Randi, and Trevor who struggle more with academics, the tests do nothing but put pressure on them to pass and on Mrs. Woods to ensure that they pass, lest the administration decide that their teacher and their school are lacking. The CSAs do not take into consideration the athletic, artistic, or social talents that Gavin, Randi, and Trevor possess, which sends the message that such talents are unimportant and should be discouraged in favor of academic achievement. As a result, the perceived importance of the CSAs increases the pressure put on Gavin, Randi, and Trevor. This cycle of fear creates the perfect circumstances for the children to feel that cheating is a good option, which is the ultimate demonstration of how damaging the pressure from the CSAs is for the students.
The Art Program
Mrs. Magenta’s after-school art program offers an avenue for the five point-of-view characters to become a team. This motif represents Being True to Oneself. Prior to the establishment of the art program, Gavin, Randi, Trevor, Scott, and Natalie know each other only because they attend the same school and are in the same class. While Gavin and Randi are friends and Scott wishes to be friends with everyone, these are exceptions to the relationship between the five, and the art program’s ability to bring them all together showcases the power of being allowed to express themselves in a safe environment.
Specifically, the yellow paint splotch that stains the rug in Chapter 34 symbolizes how a messy start doesn’t mean that something is doomed to fail. This aspect of the art program represents Finding Strength in Perceived Weaknesses. Though the paint is spilled because of the children not working as a team, it highlights the messy parts of the children’s lives that bring them together. By the end of the novel, the splotch represents where their team began; the group creates a mess but then cleans it up to the benefit of them all.
The art program also allows Buyea to explore Finding Strength in Perceived Weaknesses through the tension between Mrs. Magenta and Mrs. Woods. As a result of socializing with the people at the senior center, the children realize that Mrs. Woods is Mrs. Magenta’s mother, and healing their relationship becomes a focus of the group’s attention in the next installment of the series. In The Perfect Score, Mrs. Magenta and Mrs. Woods cross paths only a few times, one of which is at the senior center while Mrs. Woods reads to her husband and Mrs. Magenta’s father. This moment is made possible by the art program, and it allows Mrs. Woods to see how her daughter’s art and kindness extend to so many people. Seeing art as a teaching tool makes Mrs. Woods realize that there is more to it than she originally thought. She realizes how art has shaped Mrs. Magenta into the giving, caring person she is, as well as how art makes her a good teacher in her own right. In this way, the art program highlights how Mrs. Woods accepts Mrs. Magenta’s personal truth, as well as how things thought to be weaknesses can actually be strengths.
Books
Books symbolize both the importance of stories and the power of having one’s own story be heard. At the beginning of the novel, the only child who has a constructive relationship with reading is Scott. While Natalie reads at a high level, she is more interested in educational materials. Trevor and Randi face too much pressure at home to read, and Gavin’s struggle means that he avoids books altogether. This changes when Mrs. Woods begins reading aloud to the class. In doing so, Mrs. Woods brings the magic of a good book to all the children, making them all want to escape into the story. From here, the children come to see that books are more than compulsory school materials. Books offer lessons and a way to see themselves and their problems in a safe setting. Read-aloud time with Mrs. Woods is a time during which they can all feel protected. Thus, when CSA practice eliminates this time from their day, the children feel betrayed because they have lost something that brings them joy and helps them forget all their other pressures.
Books also represent Being True to Oneself. Specifically for Gavin, they symbolize being set free from his view of himself. Years ago, a teacher implied that he was unintelligent because he struggled to read, and ever since, he has equated books with failure. When Mrs. Woods and Mrs. Magenta introduce him to audiobooks, Gavin realizes that books and stories are not his enemy. Audiobooks offer Gavin a way to enjoy stories without struggling to comprehend them, and with the additional help offered by Mrs. Woods, Gavin starts to see all the possibilities that reading can open up. Gavin wanting to read to his little sister is a critical moment in his character arc. Once Gavin realizes what a well-told story can do, he wants to share this experience, conveying the communal nature of storytelling. This foreshadows how Gavin and the others eventually tell their own stories because they realize that sharing their truths, instead of bottling them up, will give them power.
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