The Dangerous Myth Of Grade Inflation Summary

In Artie Kohn’s “The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation” in Bergmann’s Academic Research and Writing, the author is skeptical regarding if the issue of grade inflation is really existent. It is shockingly apparent after reading the portion of the essay stating Harvard University’s two headlining quotes, each quote’s dates were spread apart by over a hundred years (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 260). Those representing Harvard University in the quotes come off as rather egotistic and overly confident in nature. The author states within the essay “To say that grades are not merely rising but inflated – and that they are consequently ‘less accurate’ now…is to postulate the existence of an objectively correct evaluation of what a student (or essay) deserves,

the true grade that ought to be uncovered and honestly reported (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 263). In my opinion, it is very insulting and undermining to professors that educate nationally being that that it is being suggested by critics that grade inflation is a direct threat risk to academics. The guidelines for collecting supportive evidence for an argument are sidelined by the very individuals that have set arguments regarding how “insincere students gain passable grades by sham work (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 260).” Such an argument brings to the light the question if anyone meets the criteria for attending Harvard and other prestigious colleges, whom are greatly known nationally for being difficult to get in being that they hold high expectations for their current and incoming students… Of course, the answer would be no if one’s answer is based off of personal opinion and lack of research. This argument does not involve grades whatsoever, but instead, it has to do with conservative individuals that feel they are not winning in the fight against “…multicultural education, the alleged radicalism of academe, ‘political correctness…’ and too much concern about students’ ‘self-esteem’ (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 263).”
Only information that is most definitely not substantial or opinion-changing was provided with numbers that were rather questionable being that they were based off of an unrepresentative portion of the population by self-reports sent in by individuals, such as Jeanette Curteon and Arthur Levine, who have argued that since 1969, grades have risen. The widespread accusations of the inflation of grades like those shared by Levine Curteon very much contrast with U.S. Department of Education’s senior research analyst Clifford Adelman’s research. Based off of transcripts founded from over three thousand institutions in 1995, the research of Adelman gave an utter contrast to the increasing numbers of grade inflation claimed and supported by Curteon and Levine. The author insists that such findings need to be studied and assessed properly by critics, so that actual proof of grade inflation can be provided in order for other opinions and explanations to be disregarded (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 261).
The author also mentions SAT scores within the essay being that they have been inquired about regarding this topic. It has been stated and claimed by Henry Rosovsky, former dean of faculty at Harvard University, that declining, SAT test scores represent a group of students that are not deserving of attending such a high-ranked college, and also, he believes accepting such students lowers the bar for every other student. Being that over two-hundred-thousand more students have taken the SAT, the evaluation of scores that have been achieved several decades ago is not realistic making Rosovsky’s statement unrealistic as well. His statement just adds on to the fact that results are continuously being shown that have been achieved with inaccurate information that is for the benefit of those who are for the argument regarding the inflation of grades. Kohn mentions a fact that I very much appreciate… The author states that evidence that proves that newer students entering Harvard University and other universities that are prestigious have acquired SAT scores that are higher in math and verbal compared to incoming students that arrived in 1985, which supports the fact that such scores correlate to higher grades within the universities (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 262). There has been an increase in the amount of states that are participating in high-school graduation exams and standardized tests, and also, an increase in the number of college students who qualify only for courses that are remedial, which both were reported by the American Academy (Bergmann, 2010, pgs. 262-263). The author responds to these reports by emphasizing that elementary and secondary schools’ scores over the last 20 years don’t prove a drastic change, but rather, a raise in the scores, which was reported by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 263). The author ends by stating that there has yet to be findings that are legitimate that can consistently prove that the proposed argument of students not getting the grades they deserve is valid.
It is apparent that the fact that the “elite” of prestigious universities are aiming to argue that students are not deserving of their grades, or in other words, are not worthy of attending the institutions where they work, angers the author and is his motivation for writing “The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation.” The fact that there is not much evidence to support such arguments makes others get to thinking rather than becoming entirely convinced, so with that said, I do not believe this angers the author but the fact that those stating such arguments think they have arrived to such a high level and are able to do so angers him.

There is such injustice within the arguments, and the fact that it can be stated that individuals are not good enough and are not at a certain level instead of aiming to guide students down the path they believe would help benefit them is unsettling. Yes, Harvard is highly looked up to, but that does not mean those higher up within the university can take advantage of that and belittle hard-working students, who even though may not be at the highest level student-wise, worked so hard and applied to such a prestigious university because he or she has high goals and standards. Within Kohn’s essay, a writer for The Chronicle named Henry Mansfield stated that healthy universities should not aim to expose an error in grade inflation, which I greatly agree with (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 264). Students should be motivated and trained for greatness, rather than getting knocked down by the highest within their

college.
Kohn’s thesis is “The real threat to excellence isn’t grade inflation at all: it is grades (Bergmann, 2010, pg. 266).” I was very much persuaded by Kohn’s essay and his arguments. The author carefully researched his arguments and compared both sides excellently. It is matter of how grades are made use of that can risk future societies and the working individuals that will eventually have either a negative or positive impact to the society in the future. I believe the author aimed to make this known within his essay and successfully did so clearly and effectively. As stated by the author, grades most definitely are motivational, but this is not necessarily a positive thing. God wants us to acquire knowledge, so we can better reflect Him. Kohn states that grades should not be used as weapons where unity among students is destroyed, but instead, students should be motivated to work together in order for all to achieve success and continued excellence together.