04-28-2004, 11:45 PM
I despise grading students, although I enjoy other aspects of my job. Grade inflation is a problem, and it makes sense for universities to address it at the university level rather than at the individual level. That particular system sounds too arbitrary for my taste, but that could be due to the nature of the class I am teaching (small numbers of students, upper division required course, no tests or quantitative data collected during the course). I have found that there are large variations in the students' performance from term to term. Also, these variations tend to be multiplicative- when the class happens to have several strong students it seems like all of the students do better as a result. We have richer discussions and can explore some topics in a little more depth. On the other hand, if the overall ability of the students is lower, there is nobody left to drive those in-depth discussions (I talk to myself often enough but we can only get so far that way), and the entire group ends up skimming the surface rather than doing much meaningful learning. Or, worse yet, we spend a lot of time covering material that they should have learned in prerequisite courses. Some terms, I honestly believe that everyone deserves an A. Some terms, almost nobody does. I'm sure that Princeton would have similar variations in their smaller courses.
The other thing is that students pretty much universally feel that they deserve an A, regardless of their effort or abilities. They respond to that belief in several different ways-
1. Some apply themselves and work hard to make sure they get the A that they are seeking.
2. Some complain and quibble any time they are not given full credit for any assignment.
3. Some let you know the exact ways in which their life will be ruined if they do not get an "A".
When students use #2 or #3, they are often prepared to fight for the "A" after the fact. They will either contact the professor's superior to complain or lodge a formal complaint with the university. At that point, the teacher needs to be prepared to jusitify the decision to give the student a lower grade. Even if the teacher is justified, this process can be mentally draining and time consuming.
So, in many cases, teachers may feel that it is easier to give an A than to face the consequences of not doing so. As long as that's the case, grade inflation will probably continue to be a problem.
It's not inevitable, though. I got my BA at a college that has little or no grade inflation. I believe that, even today, "C" is the average grade. However, this can make it difficult for their students to get into graduate schools, because the students' GPA will be lower than those of students from other schools. They send a note along with every transcript explaining their "no grade inflation" policy, but I'm not sure that's enough to cut through the red tape in many graduate admissions departments.
What's the difference between that college and all of the other ones experiencing grade inflation? Well, grades were de-emphasized. Students got verbal and written feedback most of the time. We were graded, but did not even see our grades unless we went to the registrar personally and asked to see them. That's kind of a goofy system, and it does have some flaws, but it was effective in creating a school culture where grades were not often discussed, in class or even just between students.
The one drawback is that it's very expensive to have small classes so that it's realistic for a professor to give extensive verbal and written feedback to the students. So, I'm not sure it could work on a larger scale. But, I would prefer to use that model than a more traditional one.
-Griselda
The other thing is that students pretty much universally feel that they deserve an A, regardless of their effort or abilities. They respond to that belief in several different ways-
1. Some apply themselves and work hard to make sure they get the A that they are seeking.
2. Some complain and quibble any time they are not given full credit for any assignment.
3. Some let you know the exact ways in which their life will be ruined if they do not get an "A".
When students use #2 or #3, they are often prepared to fight for the "A" after the fact. They will either contact the professor's superior to complain or lodge a formal complaint with the university. At that point, the teacher needs to be prepared to jusitify the decision to give the student a lower grade. Even if the teacher is justified, this process can be mentally draining and time consuming.
So, in many cases, teachers may feel that it is easier to give an A than to face the consequences of not doing so. As long as that's the case, grade inflation will probably continue to be a problem.
It's not inevitable, though. I got my BA at a college that has little or no grade inflation. I believe that, even today, "C" is the average grade. However, this can make it difficult for their students to get into graduate schools, because the students' GPA will be lower than those of students from other schools. They send a note along with every transcript explaining their "no grade inflation" policy, but I'm not sure that's enough to cut through the red tape in many graduate admissions departments.
What's the difference between that college and all of the other ones experiencing grade inflation? Well, grades were de-emphasized. Students got verbal and written feedback most of the time. We were graded, but did not even see our grades unless we went to the registrar personally and asked to see them. That's kind of a goofy system, and it does have some flaws, but it was effective in creating a school culture where grades were not often discussed, in class or even just between students.
The one drawback is that it's very expensive to have small classes so that it's realistic for a professor to give extensive verbal and written feedback to the students. So, I'm not sure it could work on a larger scale. But, I would prefer to use that model than a more traditional one.
-Griselda
Why can't we all just get along
--Pete
--Pete