Lowering Standard’s or raising the Bar for Success

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In the article “Students Fail-and Professor Loses Job,” by Scott Jaschik, Norfolk State

University administration is sending the message to students that it is ok to not attend class and work for their passing grades due to lack of academic readiness. They are a historically black

University and are known for providing education for disadvantaged students. They wanted

Professor Aird to compromise and allow more students to pass; but he doesn’t believe that lowering his grading standards is truly going to help students succeed.

Professor Aird uses phrases such as, “show me how lowering the bar has ever helped anyone.” (1) Lowering the expectations to pass a class would not better students; it would just leave them less prepared for the future and uneducated. Even if someone is at a disadvantage because of where they went to school, the lack of a good education that they received when younger, or where and how they were raised they shouldn’t be able to just slide through college without learning anything. If that were the case earning a college degree would be worthless. Students further their education by attending college to better themselves and earn a degree so they can open doors for better career opportunities.

Norfolk States’ graduation rates are low and the percentage of students who actually attended Airds class is only 66 percent. Passing 70 percent of students who attend the university is the expectation that the administrators have set regardless of if they earn the grade. Passing students that have not truly met the requirements to receive the grades they have been issued does not better them or help them for their future but hinders them and leaves them less educated than the students who received the...

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...d showing the effort to do the work at college level. “She said that she fails about 20 percent of her students on average.” (4) Newby-Alexander did not think that punishing a professor for giving a student the grade they deserved was a legitimate reason.

Aird did nothing except try to be a professor who truly cared about his students’ success. I would have to agree with Airds; and that giving students a certain grade because the standards are low and they want the majority of students who attend the college to pass does not do anything but hinder them. Once they are finished with school and go for a career that they had earned their degree for would be hard especially when they are uneducated. Going to college isn’t about just making it through to receive a degree; it is about receiving a good education and gaining knowledge that will prepare you for the future.

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