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Analysis on the dangerous myth of grade inflation
Standardized testing impact on schools
Analysis on the dangerous myth of grade inflation
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A common topic in college and even in high school is GPA. Needing a certain GPA to get a specific program, stressing over exams so one’s GPA does not drop, or retaking classes to bump a GPA. However, what does receiving an A really mean? Was earning an A back in 1995 the same as now? Jordan Ellenberg, an assistant professor of mathematics at Princeton University, addressed the controversy of grade inflation in the article, “Don’t Worry about Grade Inflation.” Grade inflation is when more students are receiving higher grades than they deserve. For example, without grade inflation an A and B+ have different meanings, but with grade inflation both would count as an A. Ellenberg stated that grade inflation does not matter because students who get good grades in one class generally do well in the rest of their courses. He backs up his point by using the statistical concept of sampling and measurement. In his two-grade experiment, he uses two students’ grades using the +/- system as the sample in the experiment. Both of the students perform above average and although in different percentiles, will both perform well. The results remain the same even with differing standard deviations. Ellenberg pointed out that students who perform well …show more content…
A grade of a B+ and B- simply just means a B. OU uses this system because it is a more simple method. Simple is sometimes better right? The grade point system as stated on the OU website, “each hour of A, B, C, D and F carries a grade point value as follows: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 and F=0.” If the +/- system were to be used than receiving a grade of B- in a course does not value as a 3 point since this grading system is used to distinguish the “great” from the “good”. A letter grade of B- meaning a received grade of about 80-83%, would count less than 3 points (2.7) towards the student’s GPA. While a B+ could count slightly more than just the average 3 points
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. “About 15 percent of Harvard Students got a B-plus or better in 1950. In 2007, more than half of all Harvard grades were in the A range.” One of the questions being proposed by him is could the grade inflation be due simply to the fact that students are getting better? Primack simply refutes this argument by stating, “Privately, many faculty members and administrators say colleges are unwilling to challenge and possibly offend students and their hovering tuition paying parents with some tough grade love.” The writer claims that “grade inflation hides laziness on the part of the students, and as long as it exists, even faculty who want to do a good job grading don’t feel they can.” The statement is based on the belief that grade inflation is the result of fearful and “scared” teachers but does not have any real evidence to back it. If in fact laziness is the problem being covered up by grade inflation, the work force could be affected badly in the future. Phil Primack seems to be addressing an audience of teachers and some students across the country. He repeatedly talks about grade inflation being on the rise and being a problem. He gives good examples that without a doubt prove that grades have in fact risen since 1960. Primack calls on the audience to act and to change the way they grade in the
In the op-ed, “Grade Inflation Gone Wild,” Stuart Rojstaczer addresses the concern of grade inflation and its effects on students. Rojstaczer uses several different methods to prove his point of view to the reader. Rojstaczer links grade inflation to the sinking quality of education, as well as the rise of college alcoholics. While this op-ed does a satisfactory job appealing to the reader on a person-person basis, many of Rojstaczer’s main claims do not hold any scholarly evidence. This analysis over “Grade Inflation Gone Wild” will discuss whether Rojstaczer has written this editorial solely to convince readers of his opinion, or does Rojstaczer present a credible claim in higher education’s 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.
The grade scale furnishes students with superior achievements the opportunities to receive Scholarships. The grade scale allows professors and colleges to average a point value for academic reviewing. The chart below shows the different level of achievement for a grade scale and a pass/fail scale. The grade scale f...
The author was a freshman at Princeton University when this article was written. He seems to have enough drive and determination in order to embrace grade deflation compared to his peers, who complained and disagreed with the grading system, which is what started this essay.
In other words, two teachers may give the same assignment two completely different grades based on their own grading style. This puts an incredible amount of stress on a student because they need to complete assignments that will satisfy their current teacher, whose expectations and grading style could be very similar or very different from the student’s previous teacher. Alfie Kohn believes that the influence grades have on a student’s life doesn’t help this situation, and may even make it worse by providing students with a false sense of security about their knowledge. In her article “From Degrading to De-grading”, she states that scores on tests can be largely based on how the test was written and what skills were tested (Kohn 240). Therefore, it is up to teachers to identify what topics students must master in order to be proficient and score well on standardized tests. But when the class is not structured with a consideration for the material used on such tests, students enter the test blind to the skills that they will be expected to know and use. Anyone can memorize a list of facts off a study guide and score well on a multiple choice test the next day, but skills such as analyzing literature and interpreting a handful of graphs containing data from a scientific experiment are skills that require time and hours of instruction to master.
“Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s”, an essay by Brent Staples, argues that in the past few years colleges have been very lenient when it comes to grades, and they have basically been giving students A’s that they don’t deserve. The reasoning behind this is that colleges are “faced with demanding consumers and stiff competition” (Staples 935). Some departments are trying to save themselves from administrators canceling their course because students don’t want to take their class, making them lose their job. The way students and parents see it, is that they are getting their money’s worth. Staples builds common ground by offering a solution to the problem of grade inflation, he thinks that higher standards should be set for the more
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.
Before we can look at how grading affects learning Farber suggests we look at how it has affected students (333-334). The greatest effect of being graded happens to the individual. Farber asks, “Did you need grades to learn how to drive?” We have become “grade junkies.” Without the grades students can’t learn (333). Vogel agrees that students believe grades are the motivating factor in learning, but only for the money. Students want the grades because high GPA’s equal high paying jobs (338-339). Another negative effect of grades is that students want the best grade with the least amount of learning but this causes conflict with professors because the professor’s goal is different compared to the student’s (339). Grades have positive effects too. Farber believes that grades give us discipline, but not self-discipline. True self-discipline comes from wanting something not coercion (334). Farber defines self-discipline as revising one paragraph all night because one enjoys it (334.)
Caroline Boulanger, a sophomore business administration and management major at Boston University studies hard. In her freshmen economics class, her final grade was based on three exams. She received two "A's" and an "A-" on these exams. However, at the end of the semester, she ended up with a final grade of a "B-." She tried contacting her professor and he has still not gotten back to her, so she assumes her grade was deflated. Boulanger is not the only person who has had this problem as a result of the grading policy of Boston University.
Will inflating grades now cause diplomas to become null and void? Brent Staples, a member of the New York Times editorial board and frequent writer to the newspaper, who also holds a PhD in psychology writes the article “Why colleges shower their students with A’s”. This article appears in the New York Times in 1998. Staples writes about ongoing concerns of grade inflation and its effect to devalue future diplomas. Appealing to his audience using a logical approach Staples includes a fallacy in his persuasive article.
The Consequences of Grade Inflation When students arrive at university, professors expect them to understand the material to an exceptional standard. The problem is that grade inflation is occurring more regularly in secondary schools and universities across the country and when these students’ marks are sent to universities or colleges, the student may be given multiple scholarships for something that he/she should not have earned. Grade inflation is conceived between both students and teachers, meaning that the students are given higher grades when they have inadequate learning, reading, and verbal skills, while the teachers do not have to grade as many papers as they should in the real curriculum. There have been multiple examinations that have confirmed that grade inflation is very real and still occurs today. Students seem to think that they do not need to put forth much effort in school to do well, and grade inflation encourages this thought.
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
Grade retention, better known as “staying back”, “being held back” or “repeating”, has been the topic of much debate within the educational system. The controversy which surrounds this long-standing issue has been reinforced by such topics as the recent endorsement of academic standards. Research indicates that “the rate of retention has increased by approximately 40% in the last 20 years with as many as 15% of all American students held back each year and 30-50% held back at least once before ninth grade” (Dawson, 1998). These discouraging statistics pose copious problems within a school system. The difficulties can be appreciated at the organizational level, as well as inside the classroom and, most troubling, within the individual students. The consequences, both positive and negative, reverberate throughout the school system. Grades retention is an issue which requires a prodigious amount of examination and should be considered carefully and thoroughly.
The current grading system should be upgraded, and every school should incorporate the plus/minus system in their method of grading. 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 in 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.