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Grade inflation gone wild
Grade inflation gone wild
Grade inflation gone wild
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Unhelpful Advantage The United States hands out more A’s than any other country in the world but is getting lower ranking in the math, science and reading fields each year (PISA 2015). So why is this happening and how did it come to be? Grade inflation in the US has caused a reduction in the ability to compete for jobs. As students have the same grades but are less prepared than those in other countries of the world. Combined in this paper are explanations as to why grade inflation started and continues to happen and the effects it has caused for the scholars living in the United States.
The Vietnam War, fought from 1955 to 1975, was known for taking 17 year olds from their homes and returning them in body bags. The only way these teenagers
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However, there might not be enough data to correctly prove this. As stated in the paper by Times Higher Education, most colleges retain their information because they are afraid of what the data may prove. Nevertheless, grade inflation keeps threatening the education of the United States’ scholars and ultimately their future.
A side effect of grade inflation that has become prominent in the US is the lack of credibility of the grades awarded to students. The rise in GPA over the years has led to new speculations about the solution to this problem, such as having grades downgraded by the schools’ admissions office (Hurwitz 2017). It also came to Hurwitz’s attention that private schools (high schools and universities) are the only institutions that have suffered a major blow by grade inflation. This ‘new’ discovery supports the idea that now schools see scholars as consumers, and not just as students who want to learn (Hurwitz
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College professors seem to think that positive rewards for the students spent money is more important than realistic feedback on school subjects. Students’ expect to have high grades because of the amount of money they ‘invested’ in the school/university. When lower grades are assigned (the appropriate grade) students complain and drop out of classes, damaging or hurting the professors’ and possibly the schools’ reputation. Grade inflation has caused students to expect higher and higher grades, not the grades they actually deserve. This then turns into a cycle: students invest more, they expect more, teachers award higher grades, national GPAs
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
From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback.
Staples wrote, “Professors at every level inflate to escape negative evaluations by students, whose opinions now figure in tenure and promotion decisions”. (935) to tell the truth, I disagree with Staples opinion. I ponder on if it really the students or is it the professor. If a couple of students leave a bad review that will not make the professor look bad if they are giving them the grades they deserve. Why are the students in charge of the professor’s job? That is a question no one can answer. There are several aspect to consider whether or not the professor could be doing the job for the money or have too much pride in letting others see them do bad. Those aspects should be taking into consideration when speaking about grade inflation. I feel as if Staples is putting more blame on the students and parents than the teachers and administrators. Even if colleges use Staples’ proposal colleges are still faced competition among online universities. Students who attend a college campus generally end up in debt causing more people to steer toward receiving their diplomas online. Therefore, grade inflation will continue to rise because of the fear among
For many college students, college is their first big step into adulthood. Students now need to worry about money, roommates, serious relationships, pursuing their passions, future and present jobs, and above all homework, class, and studying. This is the situation that most college students are thrown into. We simply don't need one more thing to worry about. I believe this is why in 2008, an AP survey found that eighty percent of students say they are stressed daily, thirteen percent have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or depression, and nine percent have considered suicide.(Cite 1) This makes colleges that are actively pursuing lowering students grades such as Princeton seem maleficent. Harrell brushes this off in his article as he says that lower grades will increase competition and then makes the incredulously pompous statement: if you wanted to breeze through college you should have gone to Harvard. Harrell says that at Princeton their goal is to “Teach, not to entertain... [to] maximize academics, not leisure.”(CITE0) This mindset is not healthy. A student at a university that puts an emphasis on lowering everyones grades and increasing difficulty fosters a culture that overemphasizes gades. In other words, a college with this attitude would have a campus where instead of pursuing things like health, community, or lieser, students would mostly be inside worring and
In the marketplace, products of poor quality are able to sell based off of a shiny finish rather than a superior function, which is relatable to the education world where schools issue empty degrees. From community colleges to Ivy League schools, within a very short time period average scores have become excellent scores. Full-time teachers have several motives for handing out high grades: avoid unpopular class cancellation, submission to administrative pressure, and to earn promotions. Similarly, part-time teachers with less job security than their full time counterparts have cause to give in to pressure as well, succumbing to threats made by complaining students. There
“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
The scores rose six percent among nine year olds, and three percent in the thirteen year olds in the subject of reading. The scores rose eleven percent among nine year olds, and seven percent among thirteen year olds in the subject of mathematics. Sadly among seventeen year olds there was no difference, the progress has stayed in the same position in both mathematics and reading. In the past forty years after different curriculum, testing, teacher training, teacher’s salaries, and performance standards, and despite all the billions of dollars invested in school, there has been no improvement, none in the academic output of American high school students. This previous fact provides ethos because after spending billions, most reader knows how hard money is to earn and they realize its going to waste. Many experiments like the. no child left behind and the race to the top have failed, along with a large list of many different
Not only does Boston University strongly discourage grade inflation, but they evaluate their professors by how high they grade their students. This leads to problems for both professors and students.
America is quickly changing to be a nation of inflation. Grade point averages have risen from 2.93 during the ‘91-’92 school year to 3.07 nearly a decade later (Harding 21). This is mostly due to the change in grading scales from a traditional seven point grade scale, which a student could only earn an A if obtaining a 93 percent or higher and doesn’t award students with any “minus” grades, giving a student a B if he gets a 92 percent, and a 10 point scale which adds “minus” grades, so it is possible to have a 91 percent and only have an A- rather than a B. Some states, such as North Carolina, are now requiring all of the high school to grade on a 10 point scale (Lee 1). This is supposed to aid students not only in getting into college, but getting a job as well, because that is the ultimate goal in everyone’s life, right? One is supposed to get into college to get a degree so they can make money for the rest of their life. But the problem arises because the importance of getting a job has surpassed the importance of getting an honest education. John Harding even made the point that grading has changed from a measure and motivator for students to perform and learn to an external evaluation
There is no escaping the fact that the cost of college tuition continues to rise in the United States each year. To make it worse, having a college degree is no longer an option, but a requirement in today’s society. According to data gathered by the College Board, total costs at public four-year institutions rose more rapidly between 2003-04 and 2013-14 than they did during either of the two preceding decades (Collegeboard.com). Students are pressured to continue into higher education but yet, the increasing costs of books and tuition make us think about twice. Sometimes, some of these students have to leave with their education partially finished, leaving them with crushing debts. It is important to find the means to prevent these students that are victimized by skyrocketing tuitions from dropping out, and encourage all incoming high school seniors to continue their education.
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,
There are many aspects to grade inflation that need to be fully addressed and understood before a solution can be put forth. For example the comparison between today’s education and the education past generations have received. This current education has shown a rise in GPA, yet lack of evidence to show an increase in inelegance. Seeing as GPA has increased, either the professor or student must be having an impact, and their connection to inflation must also be put into consideration. If both the student and professor has been analyzed, then the institution as a whole should be looked at closely and their possible motives behind grade inflation.
Our education is changing every day; students should take full advantage of learning to succeed throughout their career. Miller depicts several meaningful points that bring an agreement on education. Gabrielle Napolitano was suing Princeton University because of the accusation of plagiarism. Back to the article Miller states, “Students get a lower grade in a course than they think they deserve; they sue. Students graduate and fail to get a job, or as good as they expected; they sue.” This quote shows that students think that college will train them for employment, but instead, college is the time to learn and advance in education. Many students today worry more about getting into Ivy Leagues rather than learning and trying to get that learning to have a positive outcome for their own knowledge. The beneficial way into education is to learn more material for one self. For example, if a student is in a class and all they do is try to get everything done for the
Each year millions of high school students start thinking about which college they want to attend. With an annual sticker price of “$21,228”, students know a college education is not cheap. Students understand that tuition prices are not stagnant “Between 2003–04 and 2013–14, prices for undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board at public institutions rose 34 percent, and prices at private nonprofit institutions rose 25 percent, after adjustment for inflation” Parents and students often wonder what the cause for these increases are. Unfortunately, there is no one simple answer. The painful truth is the reason for rising tuition prices is the result of several factors.
Grade retention which is better known as ‘staying back’, ‘repeating’ or ‘being held back’, refers to the practice of having a student return to a particular grade level for a subsequent year after having been at that level a full school year. (Wu et al, 2010). The purpose of this paper will be to answer the research question “What are the effects of grade retention?” based on high schools in the United Sates of America. Statistically, with as many as 15% of all American students held back each year and 30-50% held back at least once before ninth grade, the rate of retention has increased by approximately 40% in the last 20years (Wu et al, 2010). This paper will give the reader an overview of the effects grade retention has on students academic performance, socialization and how it eventually leads them to dropout of school. A number of scholarly articles will be used to accomplish this.