Grade Inflation
Christian McCracken
English 112
Deborah Heatwole
September 15, 2016
Brent Staples’s Essay Analysis
Your degree may not be worth what you think it is. Throughout the country, grade inflation is spreading rampant like an unforgiving plague, effecting students of community institutions as well as the big dogs of elite, IVY league schools. Writer Brent Staples, a member of the New York Times editorial board, explains in his essay, Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s, why so many colleges are “simply issuing more and more A’s, stoking grade inflation and devaluing degrees.” With every example of disastrous situations Staples gives as to why grade inflation is rapidly increasing, the not so obvious underlying truth begins to appear from …show more content…
Staples proposes “The evidence suggest that students and parents are demanding -and getting- what they think of as their money’s worth.” Schools are making it easier to complain about or appeal a bad grade because they treat students as a customer whose needs have to be met by the school’s product. The problem is, a school isn’t a store you can walk into and pick up a diploma of your choosing off the shelf and expect to get a shiny new job with it the next day. They are a credential that you must earn by proving yourself in your work in order to have credibility. The leniency of allowing the unjustified alterations to improve grades make grade inflation more plausible than ever …show more content…
Some schools seem willing to implement new weighting regulations but progress is slow due to fear of abandonment of courses and scrutiny from critics. Staples states, “Valen Johnson, a Duke University Professor of statistics, came under heavy fire from both students and faculty when he proposed recalculating the grade point average to give rigorously graded courses greater weight.” And that “Other universities have expressed interest in adopting the Johnson plan, but want their names kept secret to avoid backlash.” If the grade point average system were to be revised in a way that allows a fair advantage to attend more difficult classes, students wouldn’t be so reluctant to spend their money on intimidating courses. It would convince them that they are getting their money’s worth and they would be less likely to complain about poor
English 112
Deborah Heatwole
September 15, 2016
Brent Staples’s Essay Analysis
Your degree may not be worth what you think it is. Throughout the country, grade inflation is spreading rampant like an unforgiving plague, effecting students of community institutions as well as the big dogs of elite, IVY league schools. Writer Brent Staples, a member of the New York Times editorial board, explains in his essay, Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s, why so many colleges are “simply issuing more and more A’s, stoking grade inflation and devaluing degrees.” With every example of disastrous situations Staples gives as to why grade inflation is rapidly increasing, the not so obvious underlying truth begins to appear from …show more content…
Staples proposes “The evidence suggest that students and parents are demanding -and getting- what they think of as their money’s worth.” Schools are making it easier to complain about or appeal a bad grade because they treat students as a customer whose needs have to be met by the school’s product. The problem is, a school isn’t a store you can walk into and pick up a diploma of your choosing off the shelf and expect to get a shiny new job with it the next day. They are a credential that you must earn by proving yourself in your work in order to have credibility. The leniency of allowing the unjustified alterations to improve grades make grade inflation more plausible than ever …show more content…
Some schools seem willing to implement new weighting regulations but progress is slow due to fear of abandonment of courses and scrutiny from critics. Staples states, “Valen Johnson, a Duke University Professor of statistics, came under heavy fire from both students and faculty when he proposed recalculating the grade point average to give rigorously graded courses greater weight.” And that “Other universities have expressed interest in adopting the Johnson plan, but want their names kept secret to avoid backlash.” If the grade point average system were to be revised in a way that allows a fair advantage to attend more difficult classes, students wouldn’t be so reluctant to spend their money on intimidating courses. It would convince them that they are getting their money’s worth and they would be less likely to complain about poor