A (90-100%):
The grade that every student and their parent salivates over. It is the highest letter grade attainable and thus the most sought after for. Those who receive this grade are considered the most exceptional students and they are rewarded with an extraordinary amount of gratification for their success. Furthermore, they are usually labeled as the most brilliant and hard-working of their peers. I, myself, have always strived to earn the highest grades possible in each of my classes as that is what my parents and teachers have always instructed me to do. Over the years, I have learned the importance of receiving A’s as an incentive for me to study persistently, as it is evident that they are used as a tool to judge your understanding
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This entire concept behind our academic system’s grading scale intrigues me, as we have been ingrained by society to consider how substantial of a role earning the highest grades possible plays in determining the outcomes of so many aspects of our lives including our friends, income, spouses, family members, and even our health to a certain extent. When you achieve the perfect “A” you are reminded by your peers the potential and success headed your way, but how often are these compliments truly solidified by grades? The “A” is what challenges students to compete among one another to be considered the very best of their peers, and it can heavily influence a student’s self-esteem in one way or another. A student who is unable to attain the illustrious “A” may be left frustrated, but we must step back to remind ourselves that not all of the most successful people in our world’s history were the highest achieving students. Thomas Edison, one of the world’s most brilliant scientists was removed from formal education after only 12 weeks due to his “persistent questioning and seemingly self-centered behavior,” (). Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg both dropped out of Harvard University in order to put their efforts towards …show more content…
They are given a slight amount of reassurance since they were able to successfully pass, but clearly there is an extensive list of issues that must be addressed if that wish make the jump from “D” to “A”. It is a grade that bothers many of us, as it leaves us thinking that there is some much needed improvement in order for one to bounce back from earning a “D”. It can only leave a student flustered since they do not know what lies ahead for them, and only increases the amount of stress and pressure they must withstand when they are constantly reminded of horrendous it can be if they receive that grade or worse a second time. A student who receives D’s is no longer considered even average, and is now falling behind their peers as they frantically search for ways to catch-up before falling completely behind. This also begins the phase of questioning for the student in whether or not they are truly capable of understanding the material and that maybe they are not in the correct field of
In his essay, "Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A’s,” Staples claims that student grades are increasing for the wrong reasons, causing college degrees to become meaningless. Staples provides evidence that average grades have increased significantly over the last several decades, but claims that it is not because students are working harder. The real explanation for grade inflation, he argues, is the effect of grades on both students and their professors. Teachers give more A’s to receive better evaluations and increase job security. Students give more importance to their grades as a result of the rapidly increasing cost of a college education. Staples argues that modern
The author states that when he was a kid, he was very pleased to get a B grade and now students see those grades as mediocre to say the least. When he attended Tufts in late 1960s, a “B” in certain courses was something that he could dream about. Primack states that GPA’s across the nation have risen since the 1960’s. He believes that this issue could be due to teachers not wanting to give out bad grades in fear that students will not want to take their classes. He uses Harvard University as a prime example of a college guilty of grade inflation.
“Making the Grade” by Kurt Wiesenfeld Newsweek magazine, June 27 1996 brings to light an issue that has been glazed over by society for some time, grade inflation. It’s highly disturbing that “we lament that schoolchildren get “kicked upstairs” until they graduate from high school despite being illiterate and mathematically inept, but we seem unconcerned with college graduates whose less blatant deficiencies are far more harmful, if their accreditation exceeds their qualifications”. The issue of grade inflation is not simply an issue of students feeling entitled to higher grades than they have earned, it is a problem that directly impacts our society in a multitude of negative ways. Perhaps the “gold star” mentality started out with the good intentions of creating children with positive self-esteem, however, a direct result is lazy adults with a sense of entitlement for no reason, who lack qualifications to adequately and safely perform their jobs.
I read an interesting article by Alicia Shepard called, A's for Everyone! Shepard has written for many exclusive magazines including the New York times and People magazine. Her expertise mainly involves media. She has also received a masters in journalism and a honors in English (Women's Media Center). The essay's main point of interest is talking about of students and parents expecting the highest possible grade for everyone. This is a perfect time to discuss an article like this as us college students move into our first semester of classes.
Saiba Haque Word Count: 1347 HUMANITIES 8 RECONSTRUCTION UNIT ESSAY Slavery was a problem that had been solved by the end of the Civil War. Slavery abused black people and forced them to work. The Northerners didn’t like this and constantly criticized Southerners, causing a fight. On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Lincoln to free all the slaves in the border states. “
However, such accusations such as laziness and entitlement, although common, have been prevalent amongst those of college age as proven in “A’s for Everyone.” Shepard had investigated the cause behind this and had put the blame on grade inflation in the years prior to entering college, the pressure to get superb grades due to high tuition costs, and most importantly the belief that “effort” constitutes a grade bonus. However, if one has entered the school system in America, one could see the relative ease in which one could improve their grades through inordinate amounts of extra credit. Multiple students have heard and even seen fellow students ask their parents to even come in for meetings of which equate to blaming their child’s poor grades on the teacher and harassing said teacher to allow their child, soon to be a hardworking, productive citizen of society, to get the “grade they
In the article “Making the Grade,” published in Newsweek Magazine, Professor Kurt Wiesenfeld states that students in the modern society believe that they should receive grades based on their desires and potential rather than their academic performance and personal effort. It is arguable that students should be allowed to have some leniency based on the fact that there may be obstacles distracting or refraining them from completing their work. I believe that it is the students responsibility to maintain or improve their grades by implementing hard work, consistency and dedication to their studies.
I have always valued school and enlarging my intelligence; I receive a sense of pride from earning a decent grade on a paper or on a particular assignment. Alfie Kohn wrote an essay titled “From Degrading to De-grading”; in it he suggests a different view on the current education system. Even though students expect marks and even seem dependent on them, grading should spur on a love of studying not deter it. Grades tend to reduce a student’s inclination for stimulating tasks, and lessen students’ interest in erudition.
The article “How to Be a Success” by Malcom Gladwell speaks about how success is something that can be achieved if you put the time and work into it, and how success is not achieved overnight but rather through long hours of constant practice. His article is targeted to more than one group of individuals. The groups of individuals that his article targets are teenage students, young adults, adults, people who want to become an expert, or want to succeed in something they have an interest in and in general society. Another article also related to the success of an individual “An A+ Student Regrets His Grades” by Afraj Gill describes how in society many schools focus more on students’ grades, rather than their learning, and how a student is
Former professor of geophysics, Stuart Rojstaczer, in his informative op-ed piece, “Grade Inflation Gone Wild,” featured in “Christian Science Monitior(2009),” investigates grade inflation among universities today. Rojstaczer’s purpose is to inform and educate universities on the inflation of grades, and how an A has become the average grade among those schools. He adopts a dismissive tone when generalizing and addressing the students on their behaviors and actions. Rojstaczer found over 80 universities with data on they’re grades, using this he was able to better understand the inflation and also analyze possible solutions. His logos based writing portrays a negative connotation on todays students and their ability to achieve within the classroom. There is no hiding that the standard for grades has been on the rise sense the 1960’s, and is now at an average GPA of a 3.0, but rojstaczer may have lost his audience with his arrogant approach.
In today’s society we feel the need to be graded in order to learn. The topic of the grading system has sparked three essays, by three different authors, about the pros and cons of the grading system. First, Jerry Farber, professor at University of California at San Diego, wrote A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System (333). Next is Steven Vogel, professor at Denison University, who wrote Grades and Money (337). The last two authors in this compilation are Stephen Goode and Timothy W. Maier. They both are journalists for Insight on the News. While each of these authors have their own point of view on the grading system, all three essays talk about how being graded affects learning.
Throughout my past schools years, I have been the type of student who not only wants but needs, an A. As I am working towards applying to prestigious universities I am working for the best grades I can
Pressures on children in today’s society are a problem that is becoming more evident in academics as parents and teachers put more and more emphasis on these children to outperform their classmates, stress in the child’s life becomes an interfering problem (Anxiety.org, 2011 Weissbourd, 2011,). From preschool children to college adults, pressure to execute academic perfection extends across all areas of curriculum. In our highly competitive, American society, emphasis placed on academic achievement has never been so intense (Anxiety.org, 2011, Beilock, 2011). This need to be the best, fueled by our culture in America, has created a social force affecting education, a force to be reckoned with at that. Too often, parents and teachers sacrifice their chil...
The public high schools began a grading system as a way of telling an individual how they were performing. There was no interest by the public in reporting the school’s progress at teaching. Teachers, in an effort to recognize outstanding performers, looked for a way of rewarding hard-working students for their efforts The grading structure changed from superior and excellent to A’s and B’s. This placed much of the burden of recognizing academic talent on the high schools.
In Kristin Butcher’s article “The Effects of an Anti-Grade Inflation Policy at Wellesley College” she states, “Based in part on grades, students make choices about how hard to work, courses, majors, and careers. Graduate schools make choices about whom to admit and employers make choices about whom to hire”(1). By participating in Grade inflation this is helping professors, students, and schools succeed. Students will receive good grades so they can pursue in post education practices. Teachers and school reputations will remain high. Teachers and schools want to give a good impression and in order to do that they need to produce something that all students want, a good grade. Some say grade inflation helps show students they are smart and capable of working hard and receiving good grades. This motivates them to work harder to keep those high grades. Grade inflation also gives students the opportunity to apply them selves to the next level University. But is this really helping a student succeed? How are they going to succeed if they have not gained any knowledge? It is not right for someone to give a student a grade they do not deserve. Stuart Rojstaczer in “Grade inflation Gone wild” has an interesting opinion on students. He says, “When students walk into a classroom knowing they can go through the motions and get a B+ or better, that’s what they tend to do, give minimal effort”(75). This is a great point because in today’s society too many people just give bare minimum effort because that’s all they have been taught. Students need to learn as much as possible and be challenged so they can succeed in the future. Like Rojstaczer said all Grade Inflation is doing is making lazy students, teaching one to give no effort because everything is given. This is setting students up for failure in the future, as work does not come easy for the everyday