Grade Inflation In The United States
College English
19 December 2013
Grade Inflation in United States of Missouri What is grade inflation and why is it that it’s frequently discusses in relation to education in the United States as opposed to other countries, like Europe? Wikipedia defines grade inflation as “ the tendency of receiving higher academic grades for performing a work that would have received lower grades in the past.” In European schools, fewer than 10% of students get A’s, contrary, American students get more A’s. Why is there grade inflation in the United States? And how does it directly correlate to student’s motivation for learning and preceding education? Educations in English speaking countries are a lot more subjective to the concept of grade inflation. …show more content…
“There is a ton of reasons as to why this is, but it most likely emanates from parents, students, schools, exam boards of politicians. Grade inflation may reflect underlying credential inflation” (Cheol). “Academics in English-speaking countries are no more collaborative than their colleagues in non-English speaking countries (Cheol). The reason to this is that English-speaking countries have a mountain of options over the non-speaking countries. There’s regular and advanced classes, including English, there’s the choice of going to college, and scholarships which amount for a lot of money, which helps the student, where as you wouldn’t technically see that in a non-English speaking country. Contrary to popular belief, “Academics in European countries are far more collaborative internationally than their colleagues in non-European countries” (Cheol). “One of the many ways that European countries are more collaborative is because of their extensive use of the Bolgna process” (Karran). The Bologna process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries designed to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications. Through the Bologna Accords, the process has created the European Higher Education Area, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention. All European universities are encouraged to use the norm-referenced European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Its advocates claim that “ the tools it uses are tried and tested and have been shown to be effective…The principle on which it is based are sound” (Karran). In the end, although we might have more options over our non-English speaking countries, other countries, like Europe have a far more advanced system of education, and to top all of that off, their students go to school year round, and with all of their hard work and 110% effort no students, if any, get an A or above in a traditional classroom setting. That just shows you how even without grade inflation, they are driven even though no students get an A in a class, were as we taken it upon ourselves to convince the teacher to curve our grade, hence grade inflation. There are many reasons as to where grade inflation comes from, and why.
In this paragraph I will address all the topics of grade inflation and the causes of them. The reasons for the appearance of grade inflation include: teachers, students, grades, sports, life in general, exam boards etc… On the part of the professors for higher student scores are: “fear of student evaluations, avoidance of bad reactions with students, below average teaching skills, lack of experience, a lack of clearly stated objectives and job security” (Caruth). On the opposite of professors, some causes of grade inflation are due to “student evaluations of professors, student teacher dynamics, merit based financial aid and student expectations” (Caruth). Both teachers and students need to get a grip on reality and realize that being a good student means trying very hard in class and doing your homework, and teachers should not worry as to being a nice and free will teacher as they shoukd be worrying about getting their students a 100% completely honest grade, and if they have a problem with it the teacher needs to sit them down with their legal guardian or parents and explain to them why their student received that grade and explain to them that your job is to teach not cater to their student’s every …show more content…
need. Glade inflation is either really good for the student or really bad for the student. Either way no one really benefits. “The good student will go on to believe that life will be easy, and the bad student will believe that it’s really hard and may not experience some things that they would’ve done if their experience in high school was completely honest.” (Yang). “Most teachers fear that students weren’t getting graded fairly due to grade inflation” (Trombley) and they should be worried because they can either help the student or give them false information. “Faculty should not have to fear that honest grading may result in job loss” (Paulsen). It is the faculty’s job to prepare the student for life after high school and to prepare them for the real world. “Faculty perceived grade inflations existence while students did not.” (Paulsen). Students might actually believe that they were doing really well in a class, where as in reality they were getting graded on a curve, and a not really beneficial one at that. Grade inflation is merely caused more by teachers than by students, I just reviewed all the reasons why in the page and paragraphs above. “Our system of grade inflation is dishonest. It hides the truth of a student’s performance. Everyone feels good. That should not be. Nobody complains. That should not be. The instructors who tend to give high grades tend to receive high evaluations from their students” (Kay). Nowadays teachers are more concerned with evaluations than accurate teaching. “Grade inflation impacts university credibility, student courses of study, choices of institution and other areas” (Caruth). “There has been an upward shift in grades without a corresponding upward shift in knowledge gained”(Caruth). Students want to have good grades but they do not want to work for them. Bell shaped curve is a good reasonable substitute. “Bell shaped curve= giving grades according to the normal distribution curve regardless of the quality of students in the class” (Tombley). The curve benefits smarter students who test well, but not so much the other students. “Bell shaped curves do not work on the students who don’t test well, in a matter of fact, it gives them a lesser score than anticipated” (Tombley). In the end, “even the term “Grade Inflation” is subjective. However, each university instructor needs to be accountable and fair in giving grades to students” (Tombley). Students who are willing to work hard and do well get lower scores on their tests in order to benefit the bad students who are not willing to work and are bad at taking tests. Although, there are solutions, I believe teacher’s result to grade inflation so they don’t get bad reviews and want to be reviewed as awesome and the best teach ever by every single one of their students.
Works Cited
Caruth, Donald L., and Gail D.
Caruth. "Grade Inflation: An Issue For Higher Education?." Turkish Online Journal Of Distance Education 14.1 (2013): 102-110. ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Cheol Shin, Jung, Soo Jeung Lee, and Yangson Kim. "Research Collaboration Across Higher Education Systems: Maturity, Language Use, And Regional Differences." Studies In Higher Education 38.3 (2013): 425-440. Academic Search Elite. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Grace, Andre P. "The Decline Of Social Education And The Rise Of Instrumentalism In North American Adult Education (1947-1970)." Studies In The Education Of Adults 44.2 (2012): 225-244. ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Karran, Terence. "Pan‐European Grading Scales: Lessons From National Systems And The ECTS." Higher Education In Europe 30.1 (2005): 5-22. Academic Search Elite. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Kay, Magdalena. "A New Course." American Scholar 82.2 (2013): 36-43. Academic Search Elite. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Laitinen, Amy, and Foundation New America. "Cracking The Credit Hour." New America Foundation (2012): ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Paulsen, Morten, et al. "Web-Education Systems In Europe. ZIFF Papiere." (2002): ERIC. Web. 2 Dec.
2013.
Trombley, William H., Todd Sallo, and Education National Center for Public Policy and Higher. "American Higher Education: Journalistic And Policy Perspectives From "National Crosstalk." National Center For Public Policy And Higher Education (2012): ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Walsh, Patrick, and Education Working Paper Archive University of Arkansas. "Does Competition Among Schools Encourage Grade Inflation?." Education Working Paper Archive (2010): ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Young, Carol, and Washington, DC. ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education. Grade Inflation In Higher Education. ERIC Digest. n.p.: 2003. ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
19 December 2013
Grade Inflation in United States of Missouri What is grade inflation and why is it that it’s frequently discusses in relation to education in the United States as opposed to other countries, like Europe? Wikipedia defines grade inflation as “ the tendency of receiving higher academic grades for performing a work that would have received lower grades in the past.” In European schools, fewer than 10% of students get A’s, contrary, American students get more A’s. Why is there grade inflation in the United States? And how does it directly correlate to student’s motivation for learning and preceding education? Educations in English speaking countries are a lot more subjective to the concept of grade inflation. …show more content…
“There is a ton of reasons as to why this is, but it most likely emanates from parents, students, schools, exam boards of politicians. Grade inflation may reflect underlying credential inflation” (Cheol). “Academics in English-speaking countries are no more collaborative than their colleagues in non-English speaking countries (Cheol). The reason to this is that English-speaking countries have a mountain of options over the non-speaking countries. There’s regular and advanced classes, including English, there’s the choice of going to college, and scholarships which amount for a lot of money, which helps the student, where as you wouldn’t technically see that in a non-English speaking country. Contrary to popular belief, “Academics in European countries are far more collaborative internationally than their colleagues in non-European countries” (Cheol). “One of the many ways that European countries are more collaborative is because of their extensive use of the Bolgna process” (Karran). The Bologna process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries designed to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications. Through the Bologna Accords, the process has created the European Higher Education Area, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention. All European universities are encouraged to use the norm-referenced European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). Its advocates claim that “ the tools it uses are tried and tested and have been shown to be effective…The principle on which it is based are sound” (Karran). In the end, although we might have more options over our non-English speaking countries, other countries, like Europe have a far more advanced system of education, and to top all of that off, their students go to school year round, and with all of their hard work and 110% effort no students, if any, get an A or above in a traditional classroom setting. That just shows you how even without grade inflation, they are driven even though no students get an A in a class, were as we taken it upon ourselves to convince the teacher to curve our grade, hence grade inflation. There are many reasons as to where grade inflation comes from, and why.
In this paragraph I will address all the topics of grade inflation and the causes of them. The reasons for the appearance of grade inflation include: teachers, students, grades, sports, life in general, exam boards etc… On the part of the professors for higher student scores are: “fear of student evaluations, avoidance of bad reactions with students, below average teaching skills, lack of experience, a lack of clearly stated objectives and job security” (Caruth). On the opposite of professors, some causes of grade inflation are due to “student evaluations of professors, student teacher dynamics, merit based financial aid and student expectations” (Caruth). Both teachers and students need to get a grip on reality and realize that being a good student means trying very hard in class and doing your homework, and teachers should not worry as to being a nice and free will teacher as they shoukd be worrying about getting their students a 100% completely honest grade, and if they have a problem with it the teacher needs to sit them down with their legal guardian or parents and explain to them why their student received that grade and explain to them that your job is to teach not cater to their student’s every …show more content…
need. Glade inflation is either really good for the student or really bad for the student. Either way no one really benefits. “The good student will go on to believe that life will be easy, and the bad student will believe that it’s really hard and may not experience some things that they would’ve done if their experience in high school was completely honest.” (Yang). “Most teachers fear that students weren’t getting graded fairly due to grade inflation” (Trombley) and they should be worried because they can either help the student or give them false information. “Faculty should not have to fear that honest grading may result in job loss” (Paulsen). It is the faculty’s job to prepare the student for life after high school and to prepare them for the real world. “Faculty perceived grade inflations existence while students did not.” (Paulsen). Students might actually believe that they were doing really well in a class, where as in reality they were getting graded on a curve, and a not really beneficial one at that. Grade inflation is merely caused more by teachers than by students, I just reviewed all the reasons why in the page and paragraphs above. “Our system of grade inflation is dishonest. It hides the truth of a student’s performance. Everyone feels good. That should not be. Nobody complains. That should not be. The instructors who tend to give high grades tend to receive high evaluations from their students” (Kay). Nowadays teachers are more concerned with evaluations than accurate teaching. “Grade inflation impacts university credibility, student courses of study, choices of institution and other areas” (Caruth). “There has been an upward shift in grades without a corresponding upward shift in knowledge gained”(Caruth). Students want to have good grades but they do not want to work for them. Bell shaped curve is a good reasonable substitute. “Bell shaped curve= giving grades according to the normal distribution curve regardless of the quality of students in the class” (Tombley). The curve benefits smarter students who test well, but not so much the other students. “Bell shaped curves do not work on the students who don’t test well, in a matter of fact, it gives them a lesser score than anticipated” (Tombley). In the end, “even the term “Grade Inflation” is subjective. However, each university instructor needs to be accountable and fair in giving grades to students” (Tombley). Students who are willing to work hard and do well get lower scores on their tests in order to benefit the bad students who are not willing to work and are bad at taking tests. Although, there are solutions, I believe teacher’s result to grade inflation so they don’t get bad reviews and want to be reviewed as awesome and the best teach ever by every single one of their students.
Works Cited
Caruth, Donald L., and Gail D.
Caruth. "Grade Inflation: An Issue For Higher Education?." Turkish Online Journal Of Distance Education 14.1 (2013): 102-110. ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Cheol Shin, Jung, Soo Jeung Lee, and Yangson Kim. "Research Collaboration Across Higher Education Systems: Maturity, Language Use, And Regional Differences." Studies In Higher Education 38.3 (2013): 425-440. Academic Search Elite. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Grace, Andre P. "The Decline Of Social Education And The Rise Of Instrumentalism In North American Adult Education (1947-1970)." Studies In The Education Of Adults 44.2 (2012): 225-244. ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Karran, Terence. "Pan‐European Grading Scales: Lessons From National Systems And The ECTS." Higher Education In Europe 30.1 (2005): 5-22. Academic Search Elite. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Kay, Magdalena. "A New Course." American Scholar 82.2 (2013): 36-43. Academic Search Elite. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Laitinen, Amy, and Foundation New America. "Cracking The Credit Hour." New America Foundation (2012): ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Paulsen, Morten, et al. "Web-Education Systems In Europe. ZIFF Papiere." (2002): ERIC. Web. 2 Dec.
2013.
Trombley, William H., Todd Sallo, and Education National Center for Public Policy and Higher. "American Higher Education: Journalistic And Policy Perspectives From "National Crosstalk." National Center For Public Policy And Higher Education (2012): ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Walsh, Patrick, and Education Working Paper Archive University of Arkansas. "Does Competition Among Schools Encourage Grade Inflation?." Education Working Paper Archive (2010): ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Young, Carol, and Washington, DC. ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education. Grade Inflation In Higher Education. ERIC Digest. n.p.: 2003. ERIC. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.