Grade Inflation
It used to be that C was average--meaning that most people earned C's. That is no longer the case. Why not?
Stuart Rojstaczer, a professor at Duke University, claims, "A's are common as dirt in universities nowadays because it's almost impossible for a professor to grade honestly. If I sprinkle my classroom with the C's some students deserve, my class will suffer from declining enrollments in future years. In the marketplace mentality of higher education, low enrollments are taken as a sign of poor-quality instruction. I don't have any interest in being known as a failure. "
Is grade inflation a problem? Could students really just be smarter than in the past and really deserve greater recognition? Or is there another issue at play in the trends in grading at universities and even high schools? Is any harm being done? What might some of the ramifications be of nearly everyone earning top scores? When given the chance, do you choose your classes based on the grade you might earn or a teacher who may be perceived as easy?
Is there a better system of grading or evaluating student performance than standard grades? Is it even necessary to evaluate students? Is the weighted system of grading we use for AP courses fair to other students?
Some sources to consider:
Stuart Rojstaczer's article "Where All Grades Are Above Average
Citation: (Rojstaczer "Where")
The statistical data Rojstaczer collected for his article
Citation: (Rojstaczer "Grade")
"The Great Grade Inflation Lie" by Tom Scocca of The Boston Phoenix
Citation: (Scocca)
Harvard's Harvey "C-" Mansfield's article "Grade Inflation: It's Time to Face the Facts"
Citation: (Mansfield)
Remember, you are to cite the sources in the text of your argument, not at the end of your post. That is why you were given the parenthetical citation information.
Stuart Rojstaczer, a professor at Duke University, claims, "A's are common as dirt in universities nowadays because it's almost impossible for a professor to grade honestly. If I sprinkle my classroom with the C's some students deserve, my class will suffer from declining enrollments in future years. In the marketplace mentality of higher education, low enrollments are taken as a sign of poor-quality instruction. I don't have any interest in being known as a failure. "
Is grade inflation a problem? Could students really just be smarter than in the past and really deserve greater recognition? Or is there another issue at play in the trends in grading at universities and even high schools? Is any harm being done? What might some of the ramifications be of nearly everyone earning top scores? When given the chance, do you choose your classes based on the grade you might earn or a teacher who may be perceived as easy?
Is there a better system of grading or evaluating student performance than standard grades? Is it even necessary to evaluate students? Is the weighted system of grading we use for AP courses fair to other students?
Some sources to consider:
Stuart Rojstaczer's article "Where All Grades Are Above Average
Citation: (Rojstaczer "Where")
The statistical data Rojstaczer collected for his article
Citation: (Rojstaczer "Grade")
"The Great Grade Inflation Lie" by Tom Scocca of The Boston Phoenix
Citation: (Scocca)
Harvard's Harvey "C-" Mansfield's article "Grade Inflation: It's Time to Face the Facts"
Citation: (Mansfield)
Remember, you are to cite the sources in the text of your argument, not at the end of your post. That is why you were given the parenthetical citation information.
posted by Mr. Webb | Monday, October 13, 2008
47 Comments:
Getting down to the very core and center of grade inflation, Stuart Rojstaczer's article "Where All Grades Are Above Average" explains the “upward spiral” of grades so well: "Parents and students want high grades. . . . students are consumers of an educational product for which they pay dearly, [and] I am expected to cater to their desires not just to be educated well but to receive a positive reward for their enrollment. So I don't give C's anymore, and neither do most of my colleagues." While I am no professor, I know this to be very true.
I have been in classes where students do not participate, do not take notes, and excuse themselves from every homework assignment one way or another, expecting to receive a passing, even a rewarding grade to satisfy their parents and conscience. Let me tell you: This does not work. In order to receive an exceptional grade one must be focused--dedicated--and most importantly interested. At least that’s how it should be--right? According to Rojstaczer, the answer is no. Although he believes students are getting the grades too easily and hands out high grades himself, he seems somewhat resentful. This, you see, I have a problem with. If Rojstaczer knows that he has "to get the most from [his] students without the external motivator of grades," yet cannot do so, then he is falling flat on his face in a very overworked predicament.
If someone does not deserve a high grade, DO NOT GIVE IT TO THEM. However very cliché but very true, without failure, there is no success. Failure and not being able to understand a concept only motivates (or disintegrates) a person. Without failure no deeper desire is created from questions. Without failure one cannot climb higher to become educated and aware. Without failure, no one would have to work hard. And I think this is exactly the point.
I think professors could use failure to distinguish and separate those deserving and non-deserving of high grades, rather than just "giving" them. This would cause students to work harder; to take the material and effort needed to succeed much more serious. And for those who do not want to put in the time, effort, and dedication to a class well then they can fail or drop out. If Rojstaczer is worried about low grades representing his teaching skills then he is wrong. Grading tough shows students that not just anything is acceptable and to only sign up for classes you are seriously interested in and willing to work hard in. This eliminates the unnecessary grade inflation just to make students and parents happy. Because what they are paying for is education--not just a degree in European Playwriting or Mathematics-- but in reasoning and work ethics as well.
Harvey "C-" Mansfield makes an excellent point embodying a conclusion of anti-grade inflation: "Some say Harvard students are better these days and deserve higher grades. But if they are in some measures better, the proper response is to raise our standards and demand more of our students. Cars are better-made now than they used to be. So when buying a car, would you be satisfied with one that was as good as they used to be?"
Grade inflation is an increasing problem throughout the United States. Professors want to keep the students and parents happy therefore awarding the student with a higher grade than they deserve. Even professors who do not agree with this new way of grading seem to feel that they must follow this new way of grading not just so their enrollment for their classes stays up, but also because they do not want to be the hardest grader at the university. Is it fair if professors to award higher grades than deserved or for just one teacher to grade without inflation but appear to be an unnecessarily hard grader?
“If I sprinkle my classroom with the C's some students deserve, my class will suffer from declining enrollments in future years. In the marketplace mentality of higher education, low enrollments are taken as a sign of poor-quality instruction. I don't have any interest in being known as a failure“ (Rojstaczer—Where all Grades are Above Average).
Even if students are not turning in homework, paying attention in class, studying, or even attending class for that matter, they are receiving grades of B’s or higher. Rojstaczer is saying that he feels obligated to grade easier and give higher grades so his enrollments do not decline. If enrollment decreases, it is thought that the instruction is poor. Rojstaczer and undoubtedly many other professors are giving higher grades to make themselves appear as though they are giving good instruction. They are in it for themselves and thier appearance of good instruction rather than the interest of the student's education.
The average grade has gone from a C to a B+. Mansfield states that many professors “recalibrate them in [their] mind[s] so that a B+ equals a C, and so forth.” Professors should not have to recalculate the student’s grade that they should be awarded to a bit higher grade just to keep the students and parents happy.
Cara T W makes a great point when she says, "I think professors could use failure to distinguish and separate those deserving and non-deserving of high grades, rather than just "giving" them." Perhaps if one teacher started rewarding students with the grades they actually earn, they will become more motivated to achieve higher grades. And perhaps if one teacher does not use grade inflation when awarding grades, more and more professors elsewhere will catch on and award proper grades.
Grade inflation has readily increased from times in the 1990s. When Harvey C. Mansfield speaks of his "two-grade device" he is, on the one hand, conforming to what society has told him is the answer to the problem of tired and unmotivated students, but on the other hand, he is still letting students know that what they are doing will not measure up in the real world. By comparing his student's grades side by side and allowing them to "[see] how well they did and where they stand in relation to others" Mansfield really is preparing them for the world more so than other professors who simply just weight the grades. One student, earning and A for effort, but a C in relation to the rest of the class, should know that they have to do a little better to be seen in a better light. Obviously, if two students from the same school, in the same graduating class and the same GPA are going to qualify for the same job. But the one who had the A in the two-grade device versus the C will end up being able to succeed in the profession much more aptly. So just because the grade that the student is actually given happens to be the same as most of the peers he is in class with, does not mean that the student would necessarily give up with just getting by.
Deserving a grade comes much differently than earning a grade. Sure, one can earn a grade from an easy class where the teacher hands out one assignment and gives out one test a year, but deserving a grade takes effort (or a pure lack there of). For example, if Mr. Webb gave out effort grades for everything that we did, we should all have As. But would we? Of course not. Because, even though we are all AP students, there are some people that will always be the slacker. That is why Mr. Webb grades the way he does. Personally, on a few essays, I believe that I deserve more than what I received. But because they were not up to his standards, he gave me what I deserved. It takes effort to climb up the food chain of the grade system. One will not automatically receive an A because they show up to class. The grade inflation problem is really caused by those slackers. They refuse to accept failure and they drag the class down with them. If they do not understand, the class does not move on. We cannot grow with them weighing the boat down. The object of perfection A has come down and extra credit is not an option. Mansfield says that the B is the new C, but I refuse to believe that. The A is the new C. Students are more readily receiving grades they do not deserve–a lot of them being As. I work hard for my A, and I have never had to work as hard as I do in honors and AP classes. While I must accept that students taking the extremely easy classes will get the same GPA as I have without trying. Cara T. spoke that "without failure there is no success." This is completely true. Children can only learn if they make mistakes. That whole concept of "everyone is a winner," is not really accepted in the real world, so by starting young, this problem has a solution. However, that is the opposite approach that the world is taking on this situation. By creating grade inflation, society is accepting mediocre as exceptional.
The author of "National Trends in Grade Inflation, American Colleges and Universities" relates the reoccurring grade inflation problem to the "emergence of consumer-based culture in higher education." He states that, "[Because] students are paying more for a product every year . . . they want and get the reward of a good grade for their purchase." This concept is truly shocking. But when one looks at the facts and statistics about grade inflation at universities, one finds that the increase has been on a steady rise, while at the same time, SAT and ACT scores remain about the same. So obviously, the younger students are not smarter, the standards are just lower. The standards that the professors set are lower. But should that be blamed fully and wholly on the professors as Caitlyn R. suggested? Of course not. Parents and students and others influence the certain professors who lowered their standards to raise the GPA so that the majority of professors today do not know that they are in, and as Mansfield said "one the evil becomes routine, people can no longer see it for what it is." Mansfield said himself that that is exactly what happened to him and that is why he created the two-grade system in the first place. The fault is not on the professors of the students, but on the students' sense of apathy and the parent's sense of not willing to admit that their child is not above the average.
The “Grade Inflation” or the drastic change in how well grades can hold their value has made a huge impact on schools around the country. It seems that a student’s “C” work is now being graded as “A” work. Being a high school student myself I would love to get A’s and not have to work so hard for them, but on the other hand it would be completely unfair. It could take me through college but what would happen when it came time for a career? Would they look at grades and accept me in a very intelligent job like a surgeon when really I am only as good as a nurse?
Grade inflation has become quite popular in all schools, which even includes the top –ranked IV league schools like Harvard and Princeton. In the article, “The Great Grade Inflation Lie”, it explains how the students are even “self – righteous about it: The theatrical high point of the article was a tale of a student flinging a B-minus paper down on her professor’s desk and announcing, ‘This is not the Princeton way’” (Scocca). After hearing this student’s remark about grade inflation being a part of the schools spirit, it is almost meloncholy. The professors at Princeton are pressurized into giving the students better grades just to keep up with the incredibly high standards of the school. And meanwhile the Princeton students expect to receive high scores. It seems that these top-notch schools are defending their appearance and reputation before the getting down to the real crux of what the school stands for. So, one can only ask, how is this fair? Are kids that attend mediocre or division two colleges being cheated because the Harvard and Princeton students are receiving “counterfeit” A’s (Scocca)?
Most of the recent blogs and resources have stated the reason’s why the professor’s are pressurized into lowering their standards, but none really touch on why a student might be acting this way. The students’ “sense of apathy” as Casey Roark stated, may be part of it, but what is the true reason students influence grade inflation? According to The Digest of Educational Statistics, the number of students enrolling in college from 1960 to 2004 has increased over 22%. More jobs are also requiring students to have college degrees. It seems that students in high school and in college are pressured drastically to get good enough grades to enter college or the work place. As statistics change, and work requirements increase, the students have no choice but to get good grades. Without good grades the kids are less likely to success in the “adult” world. This is where the inflation all begins. The parents pressure the kids to get good grades in order to get onboard a successful path, and then the kids pressurize the teachers/ professors to do so. As the bar is continuously being raised, it seems that parents, students, and teachers are all trapped in one never-ending circle.
“College enrollment and enrollment rates of recent high school completers, by sex: 1960 through 2004” Digest of Education Statistics. Created Sept 2005. Visited 1 Sept 2008. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d05/tables/dt05_182.asp
Brook W. brings up a good point of the students influencing grade inflation. Brook W. says, "The parents pressure the kids to get good grades in order to get onboard a successful path, and then the kids pressure the teachers/ professors to do so". Brook says the increasing requirements to get good jobs causes students to "have no choice but to get good grades". If the student cared so much about getting good grades, wouldn't they work for the grades instead of pressuring teachers to give them good grades? Students have become lazy. They do not care whether or not they understand the material being taught. Of course there are students who actually do care about school, but most schools provide more advanced classes for those particular students. But, most students now do not care about the process of school, just the results. This is the result of elementary and secondary schools. Growing up, kids are not taught the value of what they actually learn, just the resulting grade on the report card. The grade can be acquired through cheating, doing only some homework, and not actually paying attention in class, but asking “smart” friends. Naturally, these views of school will follow them to high school and eventually college.
Harvey "C-" Mansfield says, “People often criticize elementary and secondary schools for demanding too little of students”. If elementary schools have lowered their standards and are not making students work for the grades they earn, the students are obviously not going to work as hard as they are capable. This poor work ethic is taken into high school and teachers are forced to lower their standards due to the standard of student’s elementary school teacher’s lowering their standards. Because of the students growing up and not knowing anything but the concept of grade inflation, they are not going to expect anything else.
It is just plain lazy. Grade inflation is just professors giving into their students and becoming lazy; which in turn causes their students to put less effort into their work. Harvey C. Mansfeild says that the fact that so many high grades are being given out “signifies that professors careless about their teaching.” We, the students, talk about our teachers. Whether it is about how much we hate them or about how “awesome” we think they are, we talk about them. And just because we don’t see them doesn’t mean teachers do not hear us. They know exactly what we think of them and most of the time it bothers them. Wouldn’t it bother you if someone talked about you behind their back? Every human on earth wants everyone else to like them and never think anything badly of them. So, the result is teachers changing their lesson plans. More movies make their way into the lessons; more easy worksheets are handed out. And because they only grade our “participation” in class (just watching the movie) and completion of the worksheet (who cares if you got all the questions wrong) all that are handed out are A’s. Mansfield describes why this happens by saying teachers/professors, “think those grades reflect on [them]; [the grades] show how popular [professors] are with bright students. And so [professors] are quite satisfied with [themselves]”. Haven’t students been told that school is about learning, and is not a popularity contest, since kindergarten all the way through high school? If students shouldn’t see it as a popularity contest, why are teachers treating it that way? Teenagers are nothing but snot nosed brats (and we know it) so adults should not care in the slightest what we think of them!
The Laziness becomes so bad that it turns into a routine that “people can no longer see it for what it is” (Mansfield). The longer high grades are handed out like lollipops on Halloween, the less we are to notice how wrong it really is. It has to be stopped now.
Grades do not reflect only on teachers. Most of it shows how well we, the students, listen in class, how well we retain information and how well we can spit that information back out. Granted, it is sometimes the teachers fault, because their voices are so monotone that it just knocks out the class, but again, it is up to the student to care enough to stay awake. We do not want to leave high school thinking we know learned everything perfectly and then go to work just to find out that we did not learn anything at all. If A’s and B’s are continually handed out like candy soon our high school graduates won’t know their alphabet.
The grading that teachers do has changed over the years. A “C” is supposed to mean that the student in question received an “average” grade. The problem is that teachers are now giving out higher grades; most things being based on completion. The old average of a “C” has now had it’s place taken by “B”s.
In the sixties the respectable and average grade of a “C” was commonplace among students in high school and college. “C”s were given almost one-fourth of the time; even then, more than one-fourth of the students were average, but this was still much less inflated than now. “B”s became the most common grade for a long time, but in the early 1990’s, the most common grade became an “A” (Rojstaczer “Where”). This is a problem because if the average students are being given “A”s and “B”s, then the students that are actually above average, do not receive the recognition they deserve. This could cause the students that are above average to stop caring as much because they could try half as hard and still receive the same grade as before. This grade inflation should definitely be addressed in some manner. If this pattern keeps up, then eventually everyone will have “A”s; all grades will probably be given just for completion.
This looming problem of grade inflation should be dealt with in the near future. The handing out of “C”s should slowly but constantly become more common. This effect would separate the kids who get good grades by last minute bs, and the kids who actually learn and do all of their homework.
Are the typical grades used today capable of reflecting what a student has learned? Can they be used effectively to determine college entrance or to help- employers distinguish between candidates for a job?
What is "participation" worth, and should it factor into a grade?
I’m not really sure what to think on this topic. Reading everyone else’s posts, I noticed that most people are against grade inflation. As suggested by comments like, “If someone does not deserve a high grade, DO NOT GIVE IT TO THEM” (Cara T), some people disprove of students who can sleep through class and still score an A. But you have to think, that some people just aren’t good at school. And I’m not talking about the slacking and napping students. Some students, no matter how hard they work, panic during major tests. Panic leads to a students only though being “oh god, oh god, oh god,” and then, because of the panic, they fail. Even if they did all the work on that math problem, they’re still counted off for the wrong answer. I know some of you are thinking “just don’t panic then”, but that’s not going to help at all. The students who do panic after they actually studied are those who are truly afraid of failure. Rojstaczer suggests the reason almost to the point when he says, “Parents and students want high grades”. But he’s wrong on one point. It’s the parents that want higher grades. The students are worried enough about simply passing school. But then their parents bare down on them with demands and accusations on why their grade isn’t higher. They push them into higher level classes to make sure their child is as smart as possible, and when the child can’t keep up with the curriculum, their grades slip, and they are scolded and punished until they can raise that grade. Raising the grade might be the hardest thing of all. People strive to please those of higher authority, and when the parent disproves off the grade, the student might pull all nighters, and eventually, lead no real life because they can doo nothing but study in order to maintain that grade. And if it still cannot meet the parent’s standards, the parent blames the teacher. The teacher gets annoyed by the stream of complaining parents and raises the grade average. All of this because the parents think their child has to be the smartest kid around. They need to relax and realize that everyone is different. Some people find it impossible to memorize things, some people have more of an artistic brain than a math and science one. And some people just aren’t born as a human computer.
Mr. Webb also brings up a good topic of whether or not participation should be graded. I think it shouldn’t. Just like different people have different minds, different people have different personalities. Some people love to speak up and voice their opinions, that’s how they learn. That’s their social personality. But others aren’t like that. They learn better by listening and soaking up other people’s ideas and information, collecting it. They learn by listening. They’re the people you can turn to with your troubles and they’ll listen, think it over, get other opinions, and come up with an answer.
And then there are people who’s minds wander so insanely they can’t just listen while they process information, they have to concentrate on something else at the same time, in order to listen. If you ever see me drawing picture after picture during a class, it’s because I’m one of the people with so big of an imagination, I’d zone out and disappear to lala land if I didn’t channel the imagination onto paper. This lets me think and listen while the teacher talks, and let my hands take care of the weird part of my brain. So It’s not always a fear of speaking up that people have. And if you make them speak up countless times over, you’ll change their personality.
Carlin brings up a very good point that it’s the “parents want the higher grades”. They pressure their children into having perfect grades and, as Carlin said, parents punish the student who does not get perfect grades. Grade inflation is not just changing the average grade from a C to a B; grade inflation is also causing an A+ to be the only desirable grade. Now when parents see a B on parent portal, they freak out and pressure their child into doing extra work and begging the teacher for an A. In elementary school, students were once taught to “just do your best in school and that is all that matters”. Now students have to be better than average or suffer the wrath of his or her parents.
Grade inflation has had some bad effects on the way people view grades, but it’s not the student’s fault. Pressure from parents and college boards causes the teachers to stop from giving out the dreaded C. Rojstaczer says that “the C, once commonly accepted, is now the equivalent of the mark of Cain on a college transcript”. If people were to accept that a C is average and not a failure, then parents and the college board would stop pressuring teachers to give out As and Bs. If a C could be looked at without shame, then students would not have to force themselves to give up everything else in their lives and just concentrate on improving a perfectly average grade. “So to grade [students] strictly, is cruel and dehumanizing. Grading creates stress. It encourages competition rather than harmony. It is judgmental” and puts pressure on students to be better than normal (Mansfield). Grade inflation does not just give undeserving students a better grade; it makes students believe that their best is not good enough.
Carlin P. says that participation in terms of speaking during class should not be counted. What about participating in homework assignments and tests? Obviously, there are those students who do not care enough to even do homework. This category of students has increased as the grade level gets higher. Teachers have to look for something to grade because “[they] think those grades reflect well on [them]” (Mansfield). Because most students hardly do their work and when they do it is not usually right, they teachers have to find something to grade: participation. Teachers have to make up for their students laziness in their grades. If most students do not understand something, eyes are going to turn to the teachers teaching techniques. The teachers have to find something to grade that everyone did, so they just grade the fact that the students actually did the homework, so “who cares if you got all the questions wrong” (Amanda R.).
Mr. Webb asks, “Are the typical grades used today capable of reflecting what a student has learned?” Based on the fact that teachers are starting to grade more on participation other than the actual content of the homework, grades do not reflect what a student has learned. Some of the students cheat on the homework anyway, so they are basically getting a participation grade for someone else’s participation. However, the students that actually do their homework and do it right, are being cheated by their teachers because the qualifications have changed. So the grades have inflated and do not reflect what a student has actually learned.
Although some may believe that teachers are “teaching more effectively, some leaders say, or students are smarter and better than in previous decades” (Rojstaczer "Where") this is not cause for the grade inflation. These people are ignorant of the fact that students do not always actually earn the grades that they deserve. They think that because the professor gave the grade, it justifies that the student deserves the A or B, but if students receive a C or below people question the professor. This makes the professor feel “pressured” as Brittany H touches on. Therefore professors “give” grades rather than have the students earn their grades.
Amanda R claims that, “Every human on earth wants everyone else to like them and never think anything badly of them”. When students are receiving A’s and B’s it makes the student seem smart and it makes the professors look good for teaching the students, so professors giving grades to students is a win-win situation for both parties correct? If this was the case grade inflation would not be a problem because students would be smarter and the professor would be a good teacher, but this not true. An A for effort is entirely different from an A, of what I think means, “I have an advanced understanding of what my professor taught me”. Although students are directly affected by grade inflation, it is the professor is the person at fault because they are the people who give the grades.
The idea of giving grades for participation is fine, but that should not be the reason for a student getting an A or B. It is ridiculous for lazy and impassionate students that shows up for class and get a grade for that. A student should come to class because they want to be there not because they want the grade for that class. Above all participation grades are as Breanna C states, “Based on the fact that teachers are starting to grade more on participation other than the actual content of the homework, grades do not reflect what a student has learned”. Students should be getting grades based on their understanding of the material they are learning and if they are “just aren’t good at school, as Carlin P claims, then I am sorry to say, but tough luck to them. This is probably why there are participation grades, to help the students, who try but do not understand. This should not be the case though because even though I admire someone’s effort it does not mean they earn the A, they just deserve an A. Professors need to grade on what a student earns rather than what they deserve.
So far many posts have mentioned Mansfield’s article saying that, “Some say Harvard students are better these days and deserve higher grades. But if they are in some measures better, the proper response is to raise our standards and demand more of our students”. That may work at Harvard or other schools for geniuses, but not at normal public schools. Teachers should raise the standard if the work is too easy for all of the students, but not to prove that they have not been a part of grade inflation. Students will not just stop trying if the work is too easy; they will also quit trying if the work is too hard. If an A is out of reach for a majority of the students, then they will stop trying and drop out. Now, I’m not saying all students deserve an A, but they deserve a reasonable chance to earn that A. This should be by effort and understanding the work. Just because a student gets all of the problems wrong does not mean that they are lazy and do not care about the work, it might mean that the student tried their hardest and maybe still does not understand. The student does not deserve an A, but that does not mean that he or she should get an F either. If they did the work and tried to do it correctly they should get a B- or C. Then with extra help and understanding the same student could get an A next time and know that an A is in reach and that it is not impossible to earn good grades.
The difference between Ivy League schools and regular public schools is that Ivy Leagues have professors that are more likely to have a better degree. That is truly the only difference. Do not think that attending an Ivy League is going to make the professors care about your grade any more (one is more likely to find that at a community college). To receive a good grade at any college one must try. Slacking off should not work. One should not receive an “A” if they do not deserve it. Turning in an essay is not a participation grade. Completing a lab is not a participation grade. In college, it is tests or nothing basically. So if one studies, they should receive what they deserve.
Brook W. said “More jobs are also requiring students to have college degrees. It seems that students in high school and in college are pressured drastically to get good enough grades to enter college or the work place.” In this economy, this will not be true soon. Less people are going to be going to college even when we graduate. That means that the education levels that are required for careers are going to go down. The requirements of college degrees for more and more professions will end up going down significantly. So that means that the grade inflation will need to go down so that the people attending college will have reason to be attending college.
The BAC test in France is a test that students are required to take and pass in order to get out of high school and in to college. This test forces the students to not only pay attention in class, but also ask questions and take a proactive role in their education. In order to create this feeling in America, we need to imply a testing system so that it forces students to actually are about what they are learning. Breanna C. stated “Growing up, kids are not taught the value of what they actually learn, just the resulting grade on the report card.” This is how grade inflation was started. Since students did not care what they got on their test or essay, the professors were forced to give out better grades (with a lower standard) on order to keep students interested in going to college.
By placing stereotypes on teenagers and other students, we are truly just fueling the problem of grade inflation. Amanda R. said “Teenagers are nothing but snot nosed brats (and we know it) so adults should not care in the slightest what we think of them!” Yes, I will say that sometimes teenagers can be disrespectful and speak of their teachers in rude ways. Yet, there are teenagers that turn to their teachers for help, respect them in the highest degree. Those are the ones that care about their grade enough to go in to help their grade. Those teenagers will not accept the mediocre as acceptable. Those teenagers are the ones that go to college and try. They wouldn’t accept the B- and call it “not the Princeton way” (Scocca). They wouldn’t accept it and would fight their professor to get a better grade.
The fix to this grade-inflation problem is really enrolling in IB or AP classes in high school and going to a college where the professors will really make you try. It is up to the students to be proactive about this kind of problem. If one does not like it, then they have to try to get out of the circle because it truly is preventable.
We have to give the students a reason to care.
Brittany H. “parents punish the student who does not get perfect grades.” –These parents should be punished. My parents never pushed me to get great grades, I just fell in to them. My boyfriend’s parents pushed him in to getting fantastic grades and he did not try most of high school, and therefore didn’t do as well I as am doing. The parents do have a role, yet it has nothing to do with how much the child tries.
Carlin P states, "Some students, no matter how hard they work, panic during major tests." This is true in a lot of cases. Some students can study for days yet still do poorly on tests because they may not test well. It is not because they are not trying, but for some reason, even though they know the material and have studied, make stupid mistakes on tests or thier mind just simply goes blank. I for one took a class to prepare for major tests such as the PSATs because I do not test well. No matter how hard I study or how well I know the material I usually do not get high test scores because "some people just aren’t born as a human computer" (Carlin P). It is not the way some student's brains work. Breanna C says, "Based on the fact that teachers are starting to grade more on participation other than the actual content of the homework, grades do not reflect what a student has learned." This is not entirely true. If a student knows the material, studies, and does all of thier homework, but does not test well, how are they to be given a fair grade if thier grade is based on all tests? There needs to be a balance between the two for those students who still work hard but cannot seem to transfer thier knowledge into tests.
Casey R says, "The parents do have a role, yet it has nothing to do with how much the child tries." My parents, just like Casey's, do not punish me for having a low B in a class that is not one of my stronger subjects like physics. Obviously they are dissappointed and want me to work towards the higher grade, but they do not pull me out of soccer or track or ground me because I do not have straight A's. It is up to the student and how much they are motivated to get the good grades. Parents can punish thier child for getting D's and F's in class, but if the child is satisfied with that grade, they aren't going to try any harder.
Besides the fact that students are getting grades they did not earn, what is the actual problem of having grade inflation? There is definitely something wrong when Stuart Rojstaczer in his article "Where All Grades Are Above Average" admits, “The last time I gave a C was more than two years ago”. Like I have said before students should earn their grades, but when professors give out grades, that is when grade inflation is problem. If students are getting high marks and they did not learn or understand the material, this is when grade inflation is a problem.
Students should not do things just to get it done, to receive a grade, or to please their parents. Students need to figure out that what they are learning is more important than the grade they receive. Casey R is hundred percent right when she says, “We have to give the students a reason to care”, however, students should not need someone to give them a reason to care. The students should have their own initiative to learn, understand, and succeed in whatever they do. For this reason I feel that parents should stay out of their child’s academic life because no matter what parents may believe it is up to their child to decide if they want to do their best or fail. Casey R sums this up when she says, "The parents do have a role, yet it has nothing to do with how much the child tries." The role parents should play in their child’s life is supporting them, which is what their child can always use. Students should not be aiming for an A just because their parents want them to get one and students should definitely not take a course because their parents force them to. Maybe if there was not so much pressure in a student’s life they would actually get thing done right and for the right reason.
Grade inflation does affect students but that is pretty much it. Brook W believes that, “Without good grades the kids are less likely to success in the ‘adult’ world”. I would agree to this somewhat because if a student gets a bad grade in a class that they need in order to get the job they want, it would be quite difficult, however, it would not be impossible. Getting a passing grade in a class should mean that the student understands somewhat of the material he or she has learned, but if there is inflation a student who has no knowledge of what they learned in the class is able to pass the class. This will not help the student get the job they want though, because employers look for more than just grades. They look to see if the student can actually perform well at the job, and if the student is unable to despite what their grades show, they will be fired. So if students think that they are getting away with passing a class even though they should not have, it actually hurts them in the long run.
Based on reading the articles Mr. Webb provided and the various posts on the blog, there is a definite separation between the sides of grade inflation.
On the one hand, headed by Harvey "c-" Mansfield, are the anti-inflationists. They are the proponents speaking out against the ivy-league scandal behind grade inflation and its complex cover-up. They are the outspoken voices calling on the elite-school professors who hand out grades for their own personal benefit. And they are the daring educators willing to implement new grading systems to try to refuse the A's insistence.
On the other hand are the followers, the bell-curve junkies, the A-givers. They are the old-timers who knew the ivy schools in another age and their aides. They are the new professors who learned from the old-timers to give out A's, and they are the new generation from twenty years ago.
But both sides want someone to look good. On the anti-inflation side, it is the out criers themselves who want the glory for recognizing the flaw in the system, while on the inflation side it is both the students who want the "good" grade of an A and the instructors who hand them out who all want to look good.
But Mansfield says that the whole problem is that professors are selfish and want themselves to look their best, so all of them are in the wrong for wanting to do so. They should simply add more letters before A so grades can go above 100 percent and A can become "average". (it even fits alliteratively, "a for average").
Mansfield makes his case by saying, "At Harvard, we have lost the notion of an average student. By that I mean a Harvard average, not a comparison with the high-school average that enabled our students to be admitted here." He says that ivy students should not be "average" to begin with, but shouldn't they be weighted against each other just the same? Shouldn't the average at Harvard still be a C? It should be the prestiege of the university (something that is also convoluted) that speaks for your grade, and not whether or not it is "average." It is nice to think that one might be particularly special, but when weighted against other geniuses (another thing Mansfield purports in his article) the "average" should still be a C. It would not make any difference if everyone at Harvard got all B's pr C's or F's or X's or W's or Q's because whatever the top universities do, the "lesser" universities will follow.
The thing that I personally do not understand in the grading system is how you can weight an A in math against a C in English. Because the coursework for math is entirely based off of tests, quizzes, and homework, math is completely "real" grades. You can only achieve so many percent correct on a test or quiz. English, however, is primarily based on papers as opposed to physical number correct versus number incorrect. How can one possibly grade the thoughts of another person? Are you grading on grammatical errors and usage, for, if so, then one could simply write "x" number of perfect sentences and receive a perfect score. Are you grading on context? For, if so, then one can only be as precise as the words themselves, which can be taken in an infinite number of directions.
How then can the disgruntled professors at Harvard even be considering why there a re so many A's when they should be creating a more precise way of criticizing the material put forth by their students. They are professors at Harvard, after all. Shouldn't they be the smartest professors out there?
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As I was reading the blogs I thought of an important question that needs to be addressed. Should some students because of certain disadvantages, be it their distractive personality, their inability to test well despite heavy amounts of studying, or any other drawbacks to perform well in school, be subject to grade inflation? Should those people be exceptions to our grading system at school? It’s hard to afford a B or anything lower now when the average GPA in public schools are a 2.97 (Rojstaczer "Grade"), pretty much straight B’s. Any good college will not accept the average; they are looking for the exceptional. So when a student because of a handicap unrelated to their understanding of the class material receives a grade lower than they deserve, can that be ok? Good college, above anything else, gives you endless opportunity, so why should a hard-working, dedicated, and intelligent person be denied great opportunities because of such drawbacks? Most of those disadvantages are out of that person’s control. Would it not be ok to get around the rules of grading and help that person out. With this kind of argument it would make a lot of sense to give some students a break. But is that really fair?
It would seem so, a person, for whatever reason, that understands everything and does not succeed should still be given a good grade. Thinking about the concept of a “grade”, it is simply a reward for grasping the ideas taught in class. You are successfully absorbing the information so you should be rewarded that good “A” right? It makes sense until you take a look at it in much more detail.
Lets say there is that kid that studies day and night, but still, because of extreme test anxiety, gets a much lower grade on his test than he or she should have. Well lets say that good old Mr. Webb gives that kid a break, because that’s something that he would defiantly do, and gives him or her a pat on the back and a cheeky grin, and that kid walks away with well deserved A. That’s ok right? The student worked hard for it. Well lets say that another kid, hearing of his friend’s good fortune, explains that in truth he never understood the material because he sat in the back, and can’t see the board. He was too embarrassed to come to the teacher, such an awkward situation. Shouldn’t he like the test anxiety-ridden student catch a break? Well can’t the list keep going on? We all have problems and issues to deal with, not that I’m saying that some aren’t worse than others because there are, but how can you give some students a break and still be fair to the rest of the class? What do you think, can we draw those lines?
I would think that most employers will still look at if you have the skills to perform your job up to their standard. Even if they will still look at your grades they would use that as a measure of how well you did in the courses you needed to acquire the job. I think it would be wrong to stop his practice because even if there is a problem with grade inflation you still need to keep a certian amount of quality control. And I also think that there are some courses that are somewhat immune to grade inflation. If you have a lab course in a subjest like Thermal dynamics then I find it hard to believe that the teacher would give you a passing grade if you didn't have a grasp of the subject and failed the lab. If you were in a class that was essay intensive it would be easier to incorporate grade inflation because the grade is not so staight forward as a lab intensive math or science course. I am not saying that these classes are immune, in the source articles provided the teachers do not specify sometimes what the classes they are teaching have grade inflation in them. But the cirriculem would be less susceptible to grade inflation.
I also think that lower level collegiate courses are more of a problem in this area then higher level classes. Because of the high level of students and the general spread of majors I would assume that there would be more of a problem with grade inflation. "I recently handed in my grades for an undergraduate course I teach at Duke University" (Rojstaczer
"where"). Rojstaczer atates that in his under graduate class he practices grade inflation to help with enrollment and the popularity of the class. I think that there is more of a problem with the lower level classes because colleges are concerned with enrollment to the class and how many students are going to take the class. When you have a college class with two hundred students attending you want to keep that class in good standing so that people will keep taking it. But this doesn't apply to classes at higher levels with smaller attendences. If you take a class in nuclear phisics there is of course going to be a smaller group of students taking it. Also the type of students taking it, more focused and not just there to sleep off a hangover, will dictate the type of grading involved. If you are there to learn a skill and not to get a grade on a report card then the teacher will not fee pressured to cater to fads in grading. So I believe that they will not suffer from grade inflation as much.
Ethan G makes a good point about grade inflation in math versus English. As Ethan states, “math is completely ‘real’ grades”. Meaning math is based on what is wrong and what is right. While English is subjective and not always precise. Classes like English can be argued to be the only participants in grade inflation. But then again, we go back to the issue of grading on participation. How many math teachers grade some assignments only on participation? Almost all. While writing and English is mostly not graded on participation but on content.
The subject does not matter, it is the teacher. Curriculum in schools has slackened, and this causes teachers to become lazier. This influences students, to become lazier. They are not being pushed as hard as they should and yet it seems students are being blamed for grade inflation. Then at college levels, teachers have to lower their standards and create grade inflation so as to make themselves and their classes look good. And then people wonder and become angry of why America is behind other nations in education.
Casey R says, “The fix to this grade-inflation problem is really enrolling in IB or AP classes in high school and going to a college where the professors will really make you try”. The problem with this solution is, as previously stated, students do not learn at the same levels. The whole point of Advanced Placement classes are for students who are more advanced and learn quicker than others. But, after lowered curriculum for decades, are AP courses like the normal courses in previous years? No, not yet. If everyone took advanced classes, everyone would be the same. There would be no way to distinguish students. After all, grades are not reliable anymore, thanks to grade inflation.
In his last post Brendon W stated the smaller a college level class is, the "less susceptible [they are] to grade inflation." He says the students are more "focused" and have the desire "to learn a skill," which is very true once someone specifies their education. However, I would think that because of the small size of the class there would be more of a personal connection and familiarity between the professor and his or her students. This kind of subjectivity could cause biases and even a higher rate of grade inflation because the professor knows how hard a student tries and also even how their parents will react. In a class of 200 it is difficult to get to know every student like one can in a smaller class. Kate L. Rakoczy, a staff writer for The Harvard Crimson, shows the trend of grade inflation at Harvard: "class size may be more of a factor than academic discipline—50 percent more students in small courses received A-range than those in large courses." She also addresses the actual ratios of A's in larger and smaller classes: "While three out of five students in small courses—those with fewer than 25 students—received A-range grades last year, only two out of five students in large courses—those with more than 75 students—received equivalent grades." And as Ethan G said, "whatever the top universities do, the "lesser" universities will follow." So this trend may be occurring in universities all across America.
Another topic I would like to expand on is one brought up a few posts ago--motivation of students and parents. Brittany H, Casey R, and Caitlyn R talked about pressure, even punishments from parents to excel in academics. Both Casey R and Caitlyn R state that although they may not be getting their ideal grade, their parents do not punish them or restrict them from activities. I, however, am on the other side of the spectrum, where if I do not meet my mom's standard of good (meaning getting all A's) then I do get punished, such as not being able to play the sports I love or going to hang out with my friends. Whitnee N concludes, "I feel that parents should stay out of their child’s academic life because no matter what parents may believe it is up to their child to decide if they want to do their best or fail." Motivation is the key factor for success and without it success is only optional. Because of the intense pressure to be perfect a chain reaction has formed, all ends leading to the grade inflation which has robbed students of work ethic and determination.
The source of this pressure, the question of why parents have become so involved in their students’ academic motivation has been neglected. In the past ten to twenty years we have seen the biggest increase in grade inflation. This increase also corresponds to that of the availability and access of technology. I blame Parent Portal. Of course online grade tracking systems are good in the sense that one can keep track of assignments and improve by seeing the big picture, however, that benefit can only be changed by the students no matter how hard parents try. The cons of Parent Portal are much greater than the benefits by far. The typical soccer mom checks her student’s grades frequently in her spare time. She memorized these grades to confront her child with, then eventually, collaborates with other parents at soccer games or social gatherings. They compare. They discuss. Then each parent returns home, contemplating why their child did not get as good as grade as Suzy Q. and what they can do to change this. At conferences the issue will be addressed, pressuring teachers to give out equal grades to their son or daughter who work just as hard as Suzy Q. but do not get the same grade. It simply is not fair to them. But this is not right and must be stopped. "Fair does not mean equal" as Mr. Visser always cautions. It is up to the students to put power to their work and their authority to confront grade inflation, and change its use to satisfy the competition between parents.
Rakoczy , Kate L.. "Grade Data To Be Released." The Harvard Crimson 20 Nov 2001 9 Nov 2008 www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article.aspx?ref=160799.
After reading many of the comments,the idea of grade inflation stands a little bit clearer in my mind. In the past, C was an average grade that could be accepted almost anywhere. Now, that is not the case. It seems that along with the major advances in the technological world we live in, a "C" just doesn't cut it anymore. Colleges used to accept C average grades in hope that more students would even enroll in college, in turn that the majority of jobs back then had no college requirements. Now the only jobs that allow a simple highschool degree are minimum wage jobs. It is a "must" to go to college if you are planning on being successful. College is also a need in terms of smarts. As the world advances and new discoveries are being made, people can only get smarter that the ones before them.
In Stuart Rojstaczer's article "Where All Grades Are Above Average" he explains that the C, once commonly accepted, is now the equivalent of the mark of Cain on a college transcript. I have forsworn C's ever since." In this passage Rojstaczer iiluminates how important A's and B's are to the future of college students. He sympathiaes with them, knowing that they can't move forward without the good grades.
It seems that the inflation is spreading through not only grades and the economy, but professor's as well. They can recognize the arising difficulty of school, grade inflation, and the growing demand of technological brains. The inflation is seen in almost every subject of the world today, so question to ask is will this inflation ever stop growing?
Brook W. mentions that “As the world advances and new discoveries are being made, people can only get smarter [than] the ones before them”. So why do the authors of the articles act as if the idea of students becoming smarter over the years is completely unheard of? Rojstaczer even calls the suggestion of students becoming smarter a “ridiculous reason to explain grade inflation” and that parents and students “accept the false flattery as the real thing”. With technology like the Internet easily at the disposal of almost any one, students can do research more easily, use spell check, and get help on homework from their own homes. So as time goes on with more helpful technology being invented everyday, it makes sense that student’s work could improve. That does not mean that all of the grades students receive today are accurate, but it does account for some of the improved grades. The professors should not be so quick to put down students as being unintelligent and unmotivated. There are some students “with a strong internal desire to learn—the absence of real grades is actually a blessing. Outstanding students don't need a teacher who carries a big stick. They need educators who are partners and facilitators in learning” (Rojstaczer "Where"). The fact that grades are going up over the years is not just professors and teachers giving students worthless, random grades; some students are actually improving and really earning the grades they have.
Clearly, we are neglecting something that will remain a problem that has no cure for a very long time. As Whitnee N. put it “Students should not do things just to get it done, to receive a grade, or to please their parents.” This will always be the problem. People do not always try and despite what we wish a perfect world would be, we cannot control anyone but ourselves. Whitnee N. also stated “students should not need someone to give them a reason to care.” Well while this is true, we cannot ask the world to be perfect. Saying that we should not need to give someone the motivation that we have to is like asking people to try. As much as this seems plausible and we want it to be possible, people (1) do not like being told what to do and (2) do not like to try if they do not want to. While we will always wish that we can control those around us, we can only control the actions of ourselves. If one wants to try, they will. It is not that they don’t know how. Everyone knows how to try. Completing a worksheet will always correlate to what one is doing in class. The teacher will not hand out an assignment if they believe that the students will not know how to do it. Teachers have more faith in us then I guess we are prepared to believe.
Curving grades was brought up by Ethan G. Being AP students, I am almost positive that one time or another we are all responsible for blowing the curve in one of our classes. However, I do not believe in curving grades. I plan to be a teacher when I graduate college and I am almost certain that I will not use curved grades in my classes. Although it does benefit the students with the lower and higher grades, it does not help the students understand the benefits of actually learning. If a student receives an F on a test, that means they didn’t study. A curve could bring that deserved grade up to a D which could make them eligible for sports and would mean they could receive credit for the class. Curving grades does not show a student’s true effort and it is warped from the actuality of their effort.
Changing the grading system to accommodate certain situations that students are forced to deal with in school is completely inappropriate. Stephen M. posed the question “Should some students because of certain disadvantages, be it their distractive personality, their inability to test well despite heavy amounts of studying, or any other drawbacks to perform well in school, be subject to grade inflation?” Any group of people could be included in to this question. It brings up the sports jocks who cannot seem to remain eligible and need the teacher’s special attention (and the possibility of grade-inflation) to be able to play. This is truly where grade inflation becomes a problem. “Certain disadvantages” as Stephen puts it is so broad that it cannot be addressed to its fullest extent. One exception might be another‘s difficulty. There needs to be no exceptions and therefore no grade inflation.
Test anxiety, brought up in many posts, needs to be addressed as honestly as possible. What are the chances that these people have not gone to see help for this problem? Fairly low. Chances are they have seen their teachers about this and their teachers about this and are more likely to receive extra help in their classes. One of my friends has this problem. He studied as hard as he could for a test and he still failed it. That caused him to address his teacher and she prompted him to come in for extra help specifically related to testing. That is the kind of help that everyone with test anxiety should seek out. However, some will never admit they have a problem and will still have problems with it forever. Yet that is not always the case. Some may blame it on test anxiety while it is they actually do not study. That is why actual test anxiety is so rare. It is faked by so many just trying to get a better grade, but truly, the majority of people who study their hardest to take a test will pass it.
Grade inflation has truly become the problem to talk about. Test anxiety and other factors were considered by the first teacher to use grade inflation in his grading system. The teachers either became lazy or self-conscious about the security of their job and used this to help them feel more secure. The problem has solutions, but since no one can admit this problem (besides a few choice professors at each school) the problem cannot be addressed on a national level and therefore cannot be controlled.
Over the years I have never really payed attention to my grades. My parents always told me it is not the grade that should matter 100%, but the knowledge that you obtain from that class and teacher. I have come from a strict environment where the teachers expect you to do well and care about the class and you receive the grade that you have truly earned. Yet, once moved from that strict environment I see less and less care for the knowledge. As said before "Parents and students want high grades"(Rojstaczer "Where").
There is something that has come to my attention that I find to be very true: "We are flattering our students in our eagerness to get their good opinion"(Mansfield). I have experienced teachers trying to be really amazing in the class room. They will bring in candy or show many movies to teach a lesson. And the most absurd action yet is to let their students use all their notes on an important test or even their final! There was so much talk about this teacher and how "cool" he was because the class got to use their notes on the final. If you took good notes that would be an easy 'A'. No one in that class actually learned anything.
Grade inflation is indeed a problem, professors are passing students who are not going to do well in the world. If these students keep just blowing off classes just to please their family then there will be problems in the future. Those types of people do not even see that they are only hurting themselves. And the parents, they are too blind to push their kids and force them to learn something. Parents need to take charge and demand something and teachers need to realize this is not a popularity contest.
In art classes and even physical education classes participation should be the majority of students grades because you can’t grade whether or not their painting was standard (there is no standard in art) and you can really only look at whether or not they dribbled the ball all period. However, in core classes: English, math, science, history, participation should only be the tiniest fraction of the grade. Sure, the English teacher should grade participation in class discussions, students shouldn’t be handed points just for showing up the day of the debate. But what happens when the teacher doesn’t even take the time to notice that there are students who never talk and just sit in the back of the room praying to turn invisible? Unearned grades are given out.
Yet another big issue is: how do we know what students have learned? Standardized tests such as Colorado’s CSAP, have never been a perfect way to see what students know. When those tests are graded the answer sheets go through a machine, they’re not seen by a human. No one can look at the test and then take into account the kids that just can’t sit down and take a test, or the kids that just get so nervous about getting a good score that they make silly mistakes. It’s either right, or its not. And there is not enough time or man power to make special tests that will show exactly what they are good at and what they aren’t. All that can ever really be done until there is more time to put towards this is give tests that show how well students can memorize information and then spit it back out. But again, tests like this take very little effort from teachers.
All a teacher really has to is assign page numbers and make sure everyone gets a worksheet. Teachers like that aren’t real teachers, aren’t good teachers and none of their students will remember them. They will just be another easy A. Good teachers—notable teachers—are the ones that really get involved. They interact with their classes, every day. The teachers that make a point to take time to insure that each and every student (that cares enough to ask for help) understands the lesson. Its give and take. The student has to care enough about learning the subject and the teacher has to care enough to give their time and effort into helping them learn.
When Tom Soccca tries to debunk the "Great Grade Inflation Lie", he does so in a way that makes it seem like some professors, such as Mansfield, are personally responsible for grade inflation because they invented its idea. It is as if those professors who are speaking out against grade inflation (basically just Mansfield from Socca's article) are the ones responsible for it and it shifts the blame to them. This, however, insists that grade inflation is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Others on the blog, such as Whitnee N. or Casey R. have suggested student responsibility to counteract grade inflation. In order that "students should not do things just to get it done, to receive a grade, or to please their parents" to be effective, the ivy-league schools must reemphasize the importance of grades as simply the residual assessment of a students knowledge. There should be very little weight on individual grades themselves and much more weight based on some kind of human analysis and not willingness to learn in a school environment. Of course, that kind of evaluation should be part of a greater analysis, combining psychiatric and emotional properties with overall knowledge and intellect. There are no "right" and "wrong" answers to questions, only answers that help to build a more complete history for a student, rather than just a list of letters on a page. What good can a number or letters do when deciding between people who really do want to learn? Because if the grading system was more thorough at the university level, then the traditional letter grading system would also become more thorough. That is the kind of positive enhancement that would filter down through the education system just as grade inflation supposedly has.
It just seems unfair to label someone's work with a single letter or percent mark. How can one person's interpretation of work be weighted against another's fairly and without bias. This is the true grade inflation that Mansfield is leading up to. He is trying to approach the notion that work, in itself, is not truly gradable. There always has to be some bias or unfairness or generosity or imprecision involved. Not only is grading subjective, but it is almost entirely subjective. Surely one could not judge a person by something they have no control over, so how can we assess just how much control a student has over his or her learning? Can we leave them completely responsible to present themselves to universities or do we exercise control over them to prevent their failure? Isn't failing part of learning too?
As much as I agree with Kaela about the need for change I believe that it needs to come from the actual kid, not an outside source. I personally have not ever tried to do do well in a school course just because my parents wanted me too. This might sound like the usual teenage angst but for a lot of my friends and myself the parents do not play a very big part in their education. I will do well in a class because I feel it will help me later in life. And while external motivation might help with a good majority of kids, there are some kids I am sure that will just blow off their parents and not do anything still. The motivation to do well in school comes from the child, not from the parents.
I agree with Casey that a teachers job is not a popularity contest. A good reputation is important for the initial connection with the student but half way through the year you need more than just a sense of humor to keep kids interested in the material. I feel like i'm getting off topic here so I will digress.
With the many advances in technology kids are ever more connected with information that can help them learn for better or worse. Brittany said, "So as time goes on with more helpful technology being invented everyday, it makes sense that student’s work could improve," in her post. This makes a lot of sense but it also opens up for discussion the theory that grade inflation is perhaps an education system that is behind the times in terms of sttudent intelligence. I realize that it has become curse to get a C but compared to the subject matter that our parents were learning when they were in school we are packing a lot more information into our brains. I guess what I am trying to get at here is that grade inflation seems to be an sct of cowardess and inadequacy and needs to be remedied by teachers that take pride in their work and that can influence children so that they want to learn again.
A lot of people are talking about how bad it is that students are being let into the workplace with inadequate experience or knowledge because of grade inflation. Kaela N said that, "Grade inflation is indeed a problem, professors are passing students who are not going to do well in the world." this is true and to me this makes Grade inflation a lot less concerning. As others have stated in earlier posts, people who take advantage of grade inflation will only hurt themselves. If a person who regularly slacks off and doesn't do the work that he should he will not last in the real world or in a real working environment. It really doesn't matter if you graduated for Harvard or Yale, if your work ethic and expertise is not up to par; you are going to be replaced by the other hard working student, who does have the expertise needed. Sure both of those people, the slacker and the hard worker, got the same grade because of inflation, but the hard worker is going to last in the real world, because it is a lot harder to cut corners in the work place than at school.
As Tom Scocca wrote about, "They know nothing, they read nothing,' she (Frederica Clementi) says.’They don't know how to understand things.' Their performance on exams, she says, has been staggeringly bad."(Scocca).
These don't sound like kinds of people who would be able to hold a good job. Grades do have a tremendous impact on your future, but grades most of the time, and especially because of grade inflation, I feel do not properly represent you or the knowledge you receive from the class. For example, I took Geometry Freshman year and got a solid "A" in that class, but when I was cleaning out my desk the other day and found my old Geometry homework and I'll be honest. I hardly remember anything on there. On the other hand, my mom constantly tells me about her most important class she took in college where the teacher only asked questions for the students to answer. My mom says that the teacher was so good that it taught her how to think independently and learn in a dramatically different, but much better way. The grade she got, a C, it was one of the only C's she got at her college, but it impacted her learning and future in a very positive way. So yes grades are important, but in the real world grade are not synonymous with your personal success. So if you are a person that works very hard in class, but receive the same grades as people who slack off, don't worry because when it comes down to it. You will be the successful one.
What Stephen M said about how “in the real world grade are not synonymous with your personal success” is idealistic, but not realistic. A person who is personally successful but receives several C’s on their transcript will have less of an opportunity in their career than those who got straight A’s. The colleges base people off others, and though in your heart you may be successful colleges will not see it as so.
As far as the pressure to get good grades goes, it’s true. The C is regarded as a terrible mark these days and the “A’s overcame B’s to reach the top of the charts in grade popularity” (Rojstaczer). I have to disagree with several of the posts commenting on the pressure of the parents and agree with what Casey R stated about “the parents [having] a role, yet it [having] nothing to do with how much the child tries.” My brother and I were raised in the exact same environment where our parents constantly pressure us to get good grades. I am in several advanced courses while he, on the other hand, has a few C’s on his report card and several notes on Parent Portal stating how he ditched some days. So I have to disagree that parents have much to do with it. It’s the individual person that makes their life what it is. It’s their choice to either go to school and educate themselves or choose to not try as hard. The only real incentive for everyone is that word “college” which in today’s society is the only way to go to have a decent life (of course there’s also the military, but that’s probably just me). The pressure is making the grades increase because the fate of a person’s life is so dependent on the marks on their report card.
The people who take less advanced classes and get straight A’s so that they are not challenged is truly unfair to those who work hard in the more advanced classes and get Bs or Cs. Will the college take into account the courses the student took or the triangular mark of approval marked along the side of the transcript? I would think the latter. The A is less of a mark of being advanced and more of a mark of being acceptable. It is corrupting the education system, leading to being “’addicted to counterfeit excellence’” (Scocca).
I like what Ethan G stated about “it just seems unfair to label someone's work with a single letter or percent mark. How can one person's interpretation of work be weighted against another's fairly and without bias.” This is unfair, but the fact is it is entirely impossible to assess someone by “combining psychiatric and emotional properties with overall knowledge and intellect”, though that would be incredibly helpful. Education for now does what it can and does deserve reform, but honestly, could a bill ever be passed to change the entire course of the ABCDF grading system? People will not accept change such as that.
Okay, everyone has been bringing up great points on this. I don’t know where to begin. First off, Breanna C brings up the point of not only participating in class, but “participating in homework assignments and tests”. I think that’s fine. Everyone, think a minute, you wouldn’t get as good of a grade if you didn’t get the participation points. Like, say on a math test, you work out the problem, but get the wrong answer, you’re counted off, but not as much as you could have been. This brings me to another idea. I notice how people are still freaking out about the grade inflation and the kids who do not earn the grades they get. But think one minute. Without grade inflation, would you really be getting the grade you’re getting now? In any of your classes? And if you say, “well duh”, don’t look now, but your ego is showing. Seriously people, I know you are smart. Be we I bet I could count only a handful of you that would maintain you A+++ average and whatnot. We are not all geniuses. We aren’t all Stewie from family guy. That’s how life is.
Next, Whittnee N said, “A student should come to class because they want to be there not because they want the grade for that class.” Yeah, sure. But you have to remember that , most classes are required. I don’t want to be in math class. Ever. But I don’t exactly have a choice, do I. We’re minors, we don’t get the choice. I don’t want to have anything to do with any kind of job involving math. And who even uses things like Logarithms and Unit Circle in real life? Engineers maybe. But that’s not for me. If I could heave my way, I’d only be in creative writing, art, and earth science and biology classes. None of that other stuff is ever going to be used in my life unless I decide to become a mathematician or an evil scientist or something. And believe me, I don’t plan too.
Brendon has a good point, yet I can still argue this: "The motivation
to do well in school comes from the child, not from the parents." I
use to be the type of student who didn't really care about school at
all. Actually, i thought it was a waist of my time. My parents had
several sit downs with me to tell me that i need to pull things
together. I can't just keep sitting on my butt and thinking something
is going to happen. My parents told me in a harsh, but meaningful way,
that if i did not start paying attention and trying then i was going
to fail and have nothing when i left the house. After several nights
of thinking this over i finally decided to step things up. It is
indeed the child's job to find that motivation to get through school,
but parents still make an impact on their child's outcome. If the
parents dont care, then why should the students?
The question from Mr. Webb says, "When given the chance, do you choose
your classes based on the grade you might earn or a teacher who may be
perceived as easy"? I've never thought of choosing classes like this.
When choosing classes, such has electives, I choose something that I
want to sit through and actually learn something. I'm not doing if for
some easy 'A' or because I know that teacher will be easy. That is
just ridiculous, why waist your time sitting through a class you dont
even want to take? Not everything is going to be easy. And those that
take the easy way out are only hurting themselves. Poor choices will
only give you poor results.
Another thought that comes to mind is the fact that teachers 'baby'
their students. I've seen and heard of teachers who give students
second chances with everything. They always forgive and hold their
hand along every difficult thing that comes their way. Some teachers
need to let the child fail if they have to. If that student doesnt
want to work then let them slack off. These teachers help the kids and
give them high grades. They are never going to learn anything from
that. And what happens when they move up a grade? They are going to
fail. Why? Because they had someone holding their hand throughout that
entire class. They're never going to learn. They are just going to
expect someone to hand them that good grade no matter what. Training
students this way is going to effect their future immensely.
Part of the problem with grade inflation is the teachers. They are giving increasingly better scores for increasingly worse work. Teachers often give grades for completion rather than right answers, because it is less grading. Teachers also secretly want to be popular with the students. These factors are a key part in why grade inflation has become such a problem.
Teachers are just regular people. They have other lives and other things to do. That is why it is easier for them to just give completion grades as oppose to actually reading and grading work. I, by personal experience have been given full or almost full points for sub-mediocre work. More than once in the past I have been given full points for math assignments that I only wrote a couple of real answers and then wrote random numbers for the rest of the assignment. This is not right on my part, but it is a problem with the system. It is easy for teachers to teach nothing. There have been classes where I have learned nothing in and still earned a B grade. “Both candidates spoke frequently of the need to raise standards” (Mansfield). This is, of course, speaking of raising the education standards. That would be a good start in fixing the grade inflation problem. Students should be less lazy, but so should teachers. Teachers may work harder if they were given a pay raise; that’s just one way of fixing the problem.
Again, teachers are just like any other people, so obviously, they want to be liked by other people. This, however, should not be a factor in the grading of their students. This is the case sometime though; teachers want to be popular with young bright students. At Harvard, some teachers even think that the students’ “outlandishly high grades. . . Reflect on [the teachers]” (Mansfield). This fact gives the teachers no reason to grade their students fairly, only if honestly bad grades will make them look bad. Teachers are “quite satisfied with [themselves]” (Mansfield) when their students score high on papers and other work. Bad grades could even make a professor look like he or she is doing a bad job at teaching students. What teacher would want that? Teachers should be encouraged to give out bad grades without fear of looking bad.
Many people including my parents have told me that grades do not matter as long as I am trying my best at whatever I am doing. Christy H. proves that these people are wrong when she states, “A person who is personally successful but receives several C’s on their transcript will have less of an opportunity in their career than those who got straight A’s”. Although people tell me grades do not matter it is pretty disappointing when I try my hardest and I see a C on my report card because I know that a C just does not cut it, at least not in today’s world. Today a 4.0 grade point average is not good enough because people have the opportunity to get weighted grades. It is more important to understand and get C, but to get into certain colleges, you have to have the grades. It would be nice if colleges or people who look at grades to assess if someone is qualified or not would understand as Ethan G puts it, “People today just seems unfair to label someone's work with a single letter or percent mark”. I completely agree that grades should not mean everything, but if there are no grades then how do we label someone’s work? In today’s world Grade inflation has definitely taken its toll on students.
After reading I noticed that people have said or implied that their parents are forcing them to take a class, so therefore because they do not favor the class they fail it. Carlin P. says, “We’re minors, we don’t get the choice”. Sure we do not get a choice if our parents are forcing us, but we do have the choice to do our best even if we do not like what we are doing. Will it really help you if you fail a class because you do not like it? It is hard when a class is extremely boring and everything that comes out of the teacher’s mouth turns to a blank in the student’s mind, but keep in mind this class could affect your future. A bad grade in a class could keep someone from attending the college they have always wanted to go to. Likewise a good grade due to grade inflation will also affect the student who gets into a college because of that inflated grade. High school supplies students with basic knowledge they might need for college, so if someone does not understand the basics how are they suppose to succeed?
I highly doubt that teachers actually care if they look bad because their class is receiving bad grades; however, I think they are concerned about why students are performing horrible. Alex Z.’s commented, “Bad grades could even make a professor look like he or she is doing a bad job at teaching students”. I would agree but not when Alex Z. says, “Teachers should be encouraged to give out bad grades without fear of looking bad”. It is not about looking good or bad it is about why the students are performing the way they are. If students understand the material then the teacher should continue teaching with the method they are using, but if the students are performing at an unacceptable level then obviously that teacher needs to reevaluate the way he or she is teaching. It is true that teachers are the main cause of grade inflation but it is not entirely their fault just like how the bad economy in the United States is not fault of just one person. There are many people who contribute to the cause, but it is easy to blame one person for everything. It may seem or maybe it is the teacher’s fault for why a student’s failure but there is more than one factor as to why a student failed. Hopefully teachers are teachers because they want to help others learn and not be teachers to look good.
While Whitnee brought up a good point about how her parents, along with many others, don't really care what grade we get as long as we try our hardest, there is also a negative aspect to that perspective. Unfortunately, when you try your hardest and you do get bad grades, many colleges or programs may have a tendency to overlook you because you don't have a high enough GPA. Getting bad grades or doing poorly in any subject, makes people think that you are lazy and that you should try harder. Trying harder in this case is problomatic because you have a tendency to overwork yourself or fail to comprehend the knowledge that you need to know.
And while Alex Z states that teachers are "giving increasingly better scores for increasingly worse work", that is not always the case. In modern day society, not all teachers try to be popular with students. In fact, some actually try to be harder on them to help increase the potency of learning. And grade inflation, at this point in time, isn't just about teachers being nice or being lazy. In fact most students enjoy a challenging course or elective.
According to Professor Harvey C. Mansfield, professor of government at Harvard University, "professors who give easy grades gain just a fleeting popularity, salted with disdain. In later life, students will forget those professors; they will remember the ones who posed a challenge." This presents another problem within society because not only does grade inflation affect how we percieve colleges it also shows us which classes might give us "easy A's".
“A's are common as dirt in universities nowadays because it's almost impossible for a professor to grade honestly” (Rojstaczer). Is this true? It can be believed as well as ridiculous. Some teachers do try to gain some popularity, but that is not always the case. As Alex Z. says, “Teachers often give grades for completion rather than right answers, because it is less grading”, I would have to agree with him. Some teachers do get lazy at times and decide to check on completion to make things easier.
Tests are not graded by comletion, though. Tests are worth more than homework and class work, so teachers being lazy can’t be the only reason for inlation. In order to get a good grade on a test is to study and understand what is learned. If grades are good, that must mean that students are actually learning something. On the other hand when a majority of a class does poorly on a test, then the grade is curved. By curving gardes they become higher. If most of the class did poorly then, the grades are not really what they deserved. Teachers are being to nice, and that is leading to less intelligent students, at least compared to other countries.
In some former posts, the subject of curving grades came up. Casey R. asserted, "although it does benifit the students with the lower and higher grades, it does not help the students understand the benifits of actually learning." Even though this may be true some cases, but what about the ones where every student is scores a D or an F? Would the blame be put on the students? In circumstances such as this I would assume that either they were tested on an extremely difficult subject that no could comprehend or they were poorly taught. Most teachers that use the curve grading system know that they could have spent a little bit more time clarifying the test, and thus curve the grades. It is in no way out of line if it isn't the students' fault. Most are just relieved they didn't fail something so imposterous. As the article "The Great Grade Inflation Lie" stated, "Students, naturally, are going to want the highest marks they can get" (Scocca). So, obviously a curve is not only acceptable in certain situations, but is also greatly appreciated by the student.
An idea that was introduced earlier, but not thoroughly discussed was the idea of how grade inflation may not be as much of a problem as we think. Sthephen M. explained that "It doesn't matter if you graduated from Harvard or Yale, if your work ethic and expertise is not up to par; you are going to be replaced by the other hard-working student, who does have the expertise needed." This can be true for anyhting such as sports, job promotions, and even just the idea of carma. It is always been said that the stronger, more intelligent one will rise to the top. But, isn't it still ufair for those who think that they are successfully rising to the top due to grade inflation, but in all reality they are just being lied to by professors? A student who continuosly recieves A's for C work will be tricked into thinking that they are creating top qauility products. As much as the idea of carma is completely true, is it fair when a student assumes the opposite what they are truthfully ranked?
My earlier posts have been focused on the core idea that all grade inflation is wrong and that the teachers/professors that give into it are lazy however Stuart Rojstaczer talked about how “the previous signs of academic disaster, D and F, went by the wayside in the Vietnam era, when flunking meant becoming eligible for the draft”. So, is it wrong that a few more passing grades were given out during that time? No. When a professor sees a bright, young man that just has a passing grade in Russian literature between him and war, they give him the grade. No one could blame them. If that young man flunked and was shipped off only to come home in a box, the teacher could see it as being their fault. I certainly do not see a problem with that reason for high grades but war is completely different from just trying to make sure enrollment increases next year.
Yet, obviously the inflation didn’t stop after the war ended. Once it builds up over time no one notices the difference. It becomes a habit, and that is the issue. It is really no big deal when its every now and gain for a good cause but when it starts happening for everyone, no matter what, its “an evil” (Mansfield). The only real way to fix the inflation is to convince professors to start giving the grades that are earned. A B student still has to work for their Bs. And so does the C student. Students must work to earn grades and teachers must take the time to grade their classes fairly.
I feel that in majority of cases, that curving tests is a very good thing. When I had Earth Science in freshman year, after a big unit we took quite a test, that obviously the teacher hadn't prepared the students well enough for and the students themselves were in no way ready for. The highest score? A 73% with the average landing around a 62%. The teacher was fine with a curve on the test because the teacher constantly said that you are only being graded according to your peers. Not only was I relieved that I was not going to be flunking freshman science, but that it also makes sense that one we were curved on a test we were not prepared for and two, that we were being graded according to our classmates. Think about your typical classroom, usually you will have students who do bad, students who do ok, and the very successful students; and they are being graded against each other under the same conditions.
There are a couple people who blame teachers solely for grade inflation, but I think we all have a part in causing grade inflation. Let’s face it, you like the teachers who give you good grades, honestly if you say you don't like teachers because they are giving you good grades, you are probably lying. There is a large majority of people who will agree that a lot of the optional classes in school they take because they want the easy "A". Now in college where every class you take is optional, this has an even more serious effect, "...it's almost impossible for a professor to grade honestly. If I sprinkle my classroom with the C's some students deserve, my class will suffer from declining enrollments in future years."(Rojstaczer "Where") How can a teacher be successful in his career when "sprinkling" a few C's has a dramatic effect on class? So think to yourself, you will never be unhappy with good grades, so how can we take care of grade inflation?
It is understood how grades become increasingly less important out of college, correct? Once one has acquired a job, one's employer cares less and less about one's grades and more and more about the ethic and characteristics one displays in the workplace. In fact, it could be understood that an employer could look for employees without a perfect grade record or SAT scores or the best college degree in order to make a more financially-friendly decision. If they hire someone with perfect grades and scores who attended Harvard, that person would most likely have to be paid more due to some bureaucratic issues. However, if the same person was hired under different credentials, then the company would not have to pay them as much. In instances such as this, it is simply circumstance that might get someone hired over someone else. So, in the "real world", that is, life after high school and college, employment and opportunity become less about how well you can do in school and more about just what you can accomplish in a pinch.
It is utility, and not academic ability, that lend themselves to opportunity in life. Sure, there is all of this discussion about how grades at Harvard may or may not be unrealistically high, and how high school has followed that trend of high grading, but there are infinitely more ways of proving one's self than just having a high GPA. Why, then, do the universities put such emphasis on high GPA's when they look for applicants? I would think that they would be willing to take as many people as were willing to pay for the schooling, seeing how it just raises their profits. Do they really think that students are focused on their grades at a time when adolescent students are at their most turbulent? And if we have such high standards for college entrances, then why do teachers from foreign countries, such as Fredrica Clementi(Socca) feel like American students are the most lazy and the least prepared of any of them?
It seems as though there as been a change in ideals from the somewhat romanticized near past where students always worked their hardest to do well in school to today's common straight-A slackers. Were students once better able to focus on learning, or was the lower-GPA really somewhere where people themselves were "less smart." I know there is always the influence of modern information technology in the ability for students to work less for the same results as a student would have had to spend weeks researching in the past, but that new access to information can only account for a very small change in "student smartness" because the standard has been raised as well. On the other hand, some technology has only improved the chances for students to receive good grades. Proofreading and editing papers became extremely accessible with the advent of computers for personal use and word processing.
Only with time will we be able to see whether or not grade inflation is a fact, or merely the creation of bored Harvard professors.And until evidence arises to point clearly in one direction or another, grade inflation will persist as one of the most relevant academic topics for years to come.
Touching on what cara T said in her second post about how parents, “Compare. They discuss. Then each parent returns home, contemplating why their child did not get as good as grade as Suzy Q. and what they can do to change this.” Every parent wants to believe and does believe that their child is the best and is superior. So when their child does not get the same grade or better as the other kids, they go complain and whine because surely their child is better and works harder than anyone else. As Rojstaczer says “they accept the false flattery as the real thing”(where). So teachers inflate grades to please parents because they don’t want to have to argue about the grades given.
Stephen M and Casey R both have talked about making exceptions for those who might have problems ranging from test anxiety to not being able to see the board. If you make an exception for one, you have to make an exception for everyone because there is always going to be a student trying to get sympathy from a teacher to raise their grade by making an excuse.
Casey R says that “the problem cannot be addressed on a national level and therefore cannot be controlled.” Everyone has to agree that there is a grade inflation problem and everyone has to agree to change their grading standards. Not just one or two teachers at a couple of colleges can because professors like Rojstaczer “ [are] expected to cater to [student’s] desires not just to be educated well but to receive a positive reward for their enrollment.”
I agree totally with Whitnee N when she says, “If students understand the material then the teacher should continue teaching with the method they are using, but if the students are performing at an unacceptable level then obviously that teacher needs to reevaluate the way he or she is teaching.” Yes some teachers do not want to look bad because their students are failing, so they hand out higher grades. But if they truly care, they will adjust their teaching technique and try to help the students actually learn the material rather than just inflating the grades. Teachers should care when students both are and are not getting the material and be willing to help those who are not. Teaching is not for those people who want to win a popularity contest, but for those who want to help others learn and succeed in thier lives after they leave school.
To answer Ethan G's question of "Why . . . do the universities put such emphasis on high GPA's when they look for applicants?" and "Do they really think that students are focused on their grades at a time when adolescent students are at their most turbulent?" In this time when college is almost the standard after high school, schools can no longer just accept whoever applies. Certain schools have high standards and quirks, but in this day and age colleges can afford to be selective. Very selective. So why are grades the most important and crucial element in determining acceptance? Dr. Kat Cohen, CEO of college admissions counseling firms IvyWise and ApplyWise, advises that, "Your transcript is the first thing any college is going to look at because one: they want to know can you come to my college and do the work here. So they are going to be looking at the rigorousness of your courses, the grades you got on those courses, [and] your grade trends." Colleges and universities do not want to accept someone who cannot put full effort into their work and achieve great grades, rather than going out and being involved in educationally harmful activities. They know how crazy the college life can potentially be and they want a student that can balance and keep up with the pace of the college.
The question now becomes how do the college admissions know what the real grades students earned on transcripts? And does it/should it have an effect on the chances of being accepted? My guess is that by looking at the grade trends throughout the transcript they might be able to tell? But what if grade inflation has become so common it is impossible to tell what the real effort and ethic of a student is?
This, unfortunately, is what could be lurking ahead in the future of grade inflation, college admission, and ultimately the fate of a student. Is it possible that a student's work ethic and ability will not be genuinely revealed until they graduate into the work place?
One method which has not been discussed too much is what guidelines determine these letter grades and numbers that "label" us and our work? Although I agree with Ethan G when he argues, "There should be very little weight on individual grades themselves and much more weight based on some kind of human analysis and not willingness to learn in a school environment," I have to disagree on the methods used to achieve this. In fact concrete grades could be the factor that eventually repels grade inflation. These solid letter and number grades must be created and based off a strict rubric or list of requirements. "Tried hard" and "sits in the back of class" would be excluded from this list, eliminating biases and emotional/sympathetic factors from the equation. This evaluation would be an honest and accurate measure of quality and quantity of the student's work while not confining the imagination and opinion/take on the piece.
Also, I heard the suggestion of weighted grades for honors classes a while ago. The mere proposal of this shows that there are so many students achieving a 4.0 that it is time to go above and beyond this. But if all "smart" students can now receive a higher overall GPA then doesn't that affect grade inflation as well? Does it not give higher rewards and grades to those who have been doing the same work as we did years ago? It may be my personal opinion, but honors English, history, and math are nothing compared to AP English, history, and math. So is this not society crumbling into the grip grade inflation, allowing students to not work any harder yet be rewarded higher grades for it?
Cohen, Dr. Kat. "10 Frequently Asked College Admissions Questions." Applywise (2008) 11 Nov 2008 www.applywise.com/partners/landing_top10_07.aspx
The typical grades used today are not very capable of reflecting what a student has learned. This is because some teachers are being too nice, and giving out false grades. Students do not try as hard because they either know the assignment will be curved or graded upon completion. So a grade given is not always what the student earned. They should not be used effectively to determine college entrance because the student would not be very capable of keeping up with his or her classes. Employers hould use grades because no matter what the highest grade is truly a higher grade. It may not be the grade deserved but still gives an insight to around where the grade should be.
The weighted grading scale is fair because, students are taking harder classes and ultimately is fair. Taking an AP class means it is advanced, that means it will be harder. By doing much more than the regular students, they get credited for more. It is not fair if they were graded the same because one class does more than the other.
To answer Cara T’s question of “Is it possible that a student's work ethic and ability will not be genuinely revealed until they graduate into the work place?” the answer is yes. People graduating with A’s they do not deserve will not have the same ethic as those who do deserve it and worked incredibly hard. That is where grade inflation is going.
Grade inflation is not going to end. There is no way to stop it; it’s an inevitable byproduct of the American education system. America could use reform, perhaps not as harsh as the French BAC Casey R mentioned, but as she stated “we need to imply a testing system so that it forces students to actually care about what they are learning.” The problem with this is I highly doubt every college and school in American would be willing to part with the current system. Besides, how would they convert the old system to equal a new system if it is instilled? Even if we replaced the grading marks to E G Y S and H to help defeat the connotations of the C’s and A’s people would still freak out because as much as we preach our want for change these days it’s a fact that many people don’t like it. So as much as it would be great for colleges to not look at our grades and shun us away because of a few marks of C, the system will not be fixed. A’s will continue to become easier and easier to achieve.
Perhaps in the future one day when the A is the new C and a GPA of 5.0 is the new A people will begin to consider the prospect of changing. It will have to get dramatically worse before it even inches a step towards getting better. The education system would have to become as a big a problem as oil for anyone to start to really care, because as Stephen M said “you will never be unhappy with good grades”.
I’d like to bring up a point Stephen M made. He said, “Should some students because of certain disadvantages, be it their distractive personality, their inability to test well despite heavy amounts of studying, or any other drawbacks to perform well in school, be subject to grade inflation? Should those people be exceptions to our grading system at school?” this playing right off of my examples earlier, I’m going to invoke my opinion. I don’t think there should be exceptions. There should be different schools. Different schools for people who learn differently, different schools for people who want different things out of life. But we can’t do that for high school. That’s more like collage. And now that I think about it, a little bit like “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. They assign jobs to people based on what they’re capable of.
I think that maybe we should have more grades, like, instead of just the five A, B, C, D, and F; there could be a higher range of passing grades. Like, say for example: O for Outstanding, E for Exceeds Expectations, A for Acceptable, P for Passing, P- for Poor, D for Dreadful, and T for Troll. (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling) If we had a better range of passing grades, like say five or six different levels of grades, it might be easier to grade a student based on what they learned. Just an idea to throw out there.
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