"I would have sneaked out to the car at night and pulled that bumper sticker off"

I know a few Boy Scouts in Troop 33, Beverly Hills who completely agree with you. We had this discussion a while ago. The bumper sticker trumpeting the child as an honor student (or as any other thing) is embarrassing to these kids. And the smartassiest of the smartasses has informed us that his dad put the bumper sticker on the car and he, the kid, removed it immediately.

The school will tell you it's a good thing because it reinforces the child's self-esteem (gag me, please) and motivates the other children to do better. Of course, when I was in school we had display cases with the honor roll names on display. If that didn't motivate the other kids, why will a bumper sticker do it better?

Very likely there's competition among the parents: if you don't have The Bumper Sticker, your kid is a failure, and who wants to be a failure?

What if your kid gets first chair in the orchestra? We need a bumper sticker for that. How about she tried out to play Juliet and got the role? Another bumper sticker.

How about a car covered with a separate bumper sticker for every achievement he's ever made, as a parody display belittling the single "honor student" bumper sticker?

My child played six scales in 2.3 seconds. My child is first viola in the school orchestra. My child got high score on the Chapter 4 review test in Biology. My child is homeroom representative in eighth grade. My child got "Very Physically Fit" on the Presidential Physical Fitness Exam for middle school age boys. My child did 417 grands jetees in dance class. My child was voted "Most Popular Girl in Spring Homeroom 2009. My child was first runner-up for the cheerleading squad. My child is treasurer of the Chess Club. My child was crayon artist of the month at Laurel Middle School, 2008. My child was design star of the week for April 7, 2009.