Stumble it!But I paid for it!
posted in Education by themaiden |I’ve been thinking a lot about grade inflation over the past few months, mostly because I am on the front lines of it. That is, I’ve been grading papers– a lot of them. I’ve been through 500 or so pages of freshman, mostly, attempts at writing philosophy… well, let me rephrase that… attempts at thinking for the first time in their short lives. Of course, each student is having thoughts they’ve never had before and each and every one of them thinks these thoughts are original and genius. They are neither.
Mostly, I don’t say this critically. I think that an obsession with ‘unique’ is intellectual poison. We ought to be concerned more with ‘accurate’ and, frankly, if someone else has it right you can’t be both ‘unique’ and ‘accurate’ about that thing. The ‘genius’ part I do find annoying, but the brunt of the criticism isn’t aimed at the kids. There seems to be something– self esteem issues perhaps?– embedded in the educational system that leads these kids to believe that every one of their little brain farts is exciting and valuable. They aren’t, and it is a dis-service to everyone to leave them with that impression.
And so to my topic of grade inflation.
Teachers who push most students above a C grade only defeat the purpose of grades to motivate students to do better or to help parents and employers to distinguish abilities. Once graduates enter the job market, they discover they can’t bank on those undeserved grades.
Like I said, “it is a dis-service to everyone”. Why expect careful thought from someone whose sloppy thinking has never been challenged?
But there are problems.
Professors get the message pretty quickly that “A” students give them good reviews that lead to tenure and raises - while the opposite occurs for tough graders.
Not to mention that…
… the truly outstanding and industrious student is wronged. Grading is about fundamental fairness. Not everyone performs exceptionally well and should not be deceived into thinking they have. Nobody’s achievements should be cheapened by a leveling of grades.
And so to me. The rules of thumb given me for issuing those grades prevented me from giving the grade actually deserved. I feel guilty.
Maybe, though, it isn’t so bad. Perhaps there is hope for anyone willing to face the whining of students who got a D, deserved an F, and think they earned an A.
Despite dozens of empirical studies to the contrary, fear that students will retaliate on their course evaluations is the myth fueling grade inflation that is hardest to debunk. Faculty often are convinced that their popularity and even their jobs are at risk, that somehow they can buy respect with higher grades, and that students are so easily duped by undeserved grades that they will return the favor with higher evaluations.
Still haven’t explained my title have I? Someone I know relates this problem to the tendency of students to view grades/diplomas as commodities to be purchased. Pay your money; get your product. One wonders if the same logic applies to, say, pilot’s licenses.
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