[silk] Fw: grade inflation

["Arsalan Zaidi" <azaidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > Subject: Fw: grade inflation
> >
> > The following article from "The Economist" may be opinionated in some
> > respects, but the author has an interesting point-of-view. And the fact
> > that grades have become quite cheap, especially in programs such as the
> > MBA (which are "cash-cows" for many a universities) is quite valid.
> >
> > -Vikrant
> >
> > ____________________________________________________
> >
> > Lexington
> > All shall have prizes
> > Apr 12th 2001
> > From The Economist print edition
> >
> > EVERY so often academic squabbles are worth treating as more than just
> > up-market versions of "The Jerry Springer Show". Harvard University is
> > having exactly such a squabble at the moment. The instigator is Harvey
C.
> > Mansfield, a political philosopher whose soft-spoken manner belies a
taste
> > for public controversy; the subject is the rampant grade-inflation under
> > which so many American students now take it for granted that they will
be
> > given an A for work that 20 years ago would have got a C; and the debate
> > he has set off is challenging the cloying culture of self-esteem that
> > stretches well beyond Harvard.
> >
> > The whole thing started when Mr. Mansfield, whose tough grades earned
him
> > the nickname "C-minus", declared that he was no longer willing to punish
> > his students by giving them realistic grades. Henceforward he would give
> > them two grades: an "ironic" grade that would go on their official
> > records, and a realistic grade that he would reveal to them only in
> > private. In this way Harvard students could enjoy the challenge of
> > measuring themselves against real standards without having their
gleaming
> > résumés sullied.
> >
> > "Ironic" is a gentle word for Harvard's grading system. About half of
> > Harvard's students get an A-minus or above. Only 6% receive a C-plus or
> > lower. Some Harvard apologists justify this inflated system on the
ground
> > that their university selects the best and brightest. But aren't grades
> > supposed to establish relative merits? Aren't "elite" institutions
> > supposed to measure people against the highest possible standards? And
> > aren't serious teachers supposed to point out their pupils' weaknesses
as
> > well as their strengths?
> >
> > None of this would matter if Harvard were alone in taking the name of
> > excellence in vain. But grade-inflation is almost universal in American
> > education. Outstanding students are compared with Einstein. Abject
> > failures are praised as "differently abled". Even the hard sciences have
> > started diluting their standards in order to compete with the
humanities,
> > where cheating is so much easier. Why have academics allowed their
> > standards to become so debased? Mr. Mansfield provoked an outcry when he
> > put some of the blame on affirmative action, the policy of providing
> > places to some people on the basis of their race. University
> > administrators accused him of making "divisive" charges without a "shred
> > of evidence" to back them up. The divisive bit is certainly true, but
Mr.
> > Mansfield could hardly provide the proof when the university
> > administration keeps the relevant student transcripts under lock and
key.
> > He
> > was simply relying on the only tools at his disposal: personal
experience
> > (he has been on the Harvard faculty since 1962) and circumstantial
> > evidence: grade-inflation followed the introduction of affirmative
action.
> >
> > The debate about affirmative action is arguably a red herring. Three
less
> > controversial but much more pernicious things probably matter more. The
> > first is the cult of self-esteem. For years fashionable educators have
> > been arguing that the worst thing you can do to young people is to
damage
> > their sensitive egos with criticism. "If a child lives with criticism,
he
> > learns to condemn," goes a popular screed handed out to the parents of
> > pre-schoolers. "If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate;
if
> > a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself."
> >
> > This might be defensible when applied to the kindergarten. The trouble
is
> > that this therapeutic philosophy is spreading throughout the educational
> > system. The idea is at the heart of "constructivist maths", which
> > emphasises the importance of feeling good about maths, rather than
> > mastering basic techniques. It is at the heart of "Ebonics", which
argues
> > that black children should not be penalised for adopting "black speech
> > patterns". And it is at the heart of the "I love me" sessions that
> > proliferate in American elementary schools, in which children complete
the
> > phrase "I am..." with words such as "beautiful", "lovable" and "great",
> > when "spoilt", "bored" and "violent" often seem more accurate.
> >
> > Resisting this claptrap is made no easier by the fact that so many
leftish
> > university professors routinely argue that traditional standards are
> > little more than tools of western oppression. But the second mighty
force
> > behind grade inflation is something conservatives normally praise: the
> > marketplace. American universities are big businesses which can charge
> > students in excess of $20,000 a year for the privilege of attending
them.
> > Students naturally gravitate towards institutions that are going to give
> > them a return on their investment-the sparkling academic resumé that
opens
> > the doors to Wall Street banks or prestigious law firms. Professors who
> > resist the demand for grade-inflation may find themselves embarrassed by
> > empty classrooms. Student course guides provide plenty of details about
> > how generously
> > teachers grade.
> >
> > The third force is the lack of interest that high-flying academics show
in
> > the humdrum business of teaching. People who care a great deal about
> > something are obsessed with making precise judgments of quality: listen
to
> > the average sports fan, for example. But the road to success in modern
> > academia lies through research rather than teaching. All too many
> > academics are content to hand out A-grades like confetti in return for
> > favourable teaching ratings and more time to devote to research.
> >
> > Fixing grade-inflation will not be easy in a system in which professors
> > rightly value their autonomy. On the other hand, there are some signs of
> > change. Graduate schools such as Harvard's Business School have manfully
> > maintained their use of a rigorous grading curve. Some universities have
> > experimented with putting two grades on report cards-the individual
> > student's grade and the average grade for the class as a whole. But
> > perhaps the simplest argument for Mr Mansfield's cause is that anybody
who
> > has ever been well taught knows that he is right. People who work under
> > demanding taskmasters usually learn to respect them. People who are
> > coddled with unearned A-grades despise the system they are exploiting.
> > Living on a diet of junk grades is like living on a diet of junk food.
You
> > swell up out of all decent proportions without ever getting any real
> > nourishment. And you end up in later life regretting your disgusting
> > habits.
> >
> > Copyright © 1995-2001 The Economist Newspaper Group Ltd. All rights
> > reserved.
> >
> >
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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