Grade Inflation

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The Uncommon “Disease” of American Schools
In European schools, only a small percentage of students gets A’s, while in the United States the most popular grade in high schools and colleges is an A. Is there grade inflation in the U.S.? The popularity of A's became a trend in the 1970s. Professors around the United States named this evident increase in grades in universities and high schools throughout the country as "grade inflation". The concept of grade inflation is defined as the assigning of grades higher than previously assigned for given levels of achievement, basically, grade inflation is defined with the phrase “same work, better grades”. Nowadays, it is undeniable that this phenomenon is occurring in our nation. As found in an extensive …show more content…

The goal should be ending the centrality of grades altogether. Grades are technically the only “precise” indicator to determine the potential and knowledge of a person. As stated by Vikram Mansharamani, lecturer in the Program on Ethics, Politics & Economics at Yale University, “…without meaningful grading, students will have less motivation and knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses, while employers will struggle to differentiate between potential hires” (Mansharamani). Keeping the inflated grades are only causing students and evaluators to misunderstand the abilities of students and graduates in certain things. In addition, grade inflation may cause students to reduce their effort on their …show more content…

Students are coming to college with the insufficient capability to be successful in certain areas, such as math and writing, having to take at least one corrective course these subjects. Giving students inflated grades may be just a help to give them an advantage in the job market, however, they are just becoming less competent as they enter and graduate from college since now to earn an A, they have to work less. There is no solid proof or indication that the rise of grades throughout the United States is linked to any increase in performance or achievement. Additionally, scores in standardized tests, such as the SAT and the ACT, demonstrate that student and graduate literateness have not improved as grades have increased. Recent studies have demonstrated that grade inflation is a nationwide problem that causes students to have weak skills when they enter college or graduate from college. Rather than giving students an advantage in the job market, grade inflation only hurts students since in a world where many students receive mostly A’s, employers and graduate schools are not taking these high grades seriously. Also, since students have to work less to earn high grades, they might not develop their skills and abilities adequately. A college education should develop in graduates the knowledge, abilities, capability, and character to

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