Despite Stanley Kubrick's ability in photography, at Taft his overall grades remained poor. In the spring of 1945 he was reported to the attendance bureau for excessive absences... The school criticized Stanley's behavior and social skills. He received low ratings in Courtesy, Dependability, and Cooperation–skills he later mastered and served him well in his professional life. Later, as a film director, Kubrick would demonstrate his strength of character by commanding respect from those who worked with him, and he was recognized as a leader, but without the motivation of his art, Stanley Kubrick was perceived by Taft High School as an underachiever with less than acceptable socialization with his peers and teachers. The conventional education system was unable to bring Stanley Kubrick, like so many individuals in the arts, into the mainstream or to recognize and harvest his extraordinary talent. (18)

Stanley did not have a good attendance record at Taft High School, but he did have a solid one at the local movie theaters. (15)

He ranked 414 out of a senior population of 509, putting him in the last quartile of his graduating class... During his high school career, Kubrick's grades didn't reflect the intellect and ambition growing in the young man. (32)