According to speculators, one of the leading causes of grade inflation is that students expect higher grades because of ever increasing tuition costs.
As the Washington Post states, they “...attribute today’s inflation to the consumerization of higher education. That is, students pay more in tuition, and expect more in return — better service, better facilities and better grades” (Rampell). This expectation is unjustified. Instead of attempting to purchase success, young scholars should insist on getting graded according to their quality of work, thereby receiving useful assessment from knowledgeable teachers. In this way, they could hope to better themselves and fulfilling
achievement.
Furthermore, a common assumption made by students is that they simply deserve A level grades. Rather than accepting C’s as average and A’s as exceptional, many feel their efforts should always warrant high marks and are upset when they do not get the results they desire. One professor expressed this problem by, “...attribut[ing] those complaints to his students’ sense of entitlement. ‘I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed to do and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C,’ he said. “That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A’” (Roosevelt). Unfortunately, students degrade the quality of their education by doing this. The standard by which professors teach and evaluate pupils lowers as obstinate learners protest fair grading. Another negative effect is “students who do exceptional work are lumped together with those who have merely done good work, and in some cases with those who have done merely adequate work” (Roosevelt).
Some authorities hypothesize that higher grades are the product of instructors who assign better grades to get positive feedback from their classes. In pursuit of tenure positions and more pay, it seems teachers succumb to the pressure “to give higher grades in exchange for better teaching evaluations” (Rampell). Not only unfair, this process is vaguely corrupt. It rewards mediocre students and reinforces their belief that they should be handed recognition for less that satisfactory work.
Despite the evidence of rising grade inflation, some individuals insist that there is a simple explanation for the phenomenon. Instead of assigning blame to human error, they credit the development of the human mind. Proponents of the belief that grade inflation does not exist say that students are becoming more intelligent with each passing year. There is statistical evidence that can be used to easily dispute this claim:
At both Texas and Duke, GPA increases of about 0.25 were coincident with mean SAT increases (Math and Verbal combined) in the student population of about 50 points. At Wisconsin, ACT increases of 2 points (the equivalent to an SAT increase of about 70 points) were coincident with a GPA rise of 0.21. The above mentioned studies indicate that student quality increases cannot account for the magnitude of grade inflation observed. The bulk of grade inflation at these institutions is due to other factors. (Rojstaczer)
Grade inflation in US due largely to the unrealistic expectations of students and the unfair evaluation of some teachers and professors. Due largely to the belief that anything less than an A is unacceptable, scholars express discontent with low marks and force instructors into debating between the merits of fair grading and maintaining student favor. Also, because of the consumer nature of the education industry, students expect to exchange large tuition fees for high grades. Some dismiss the notion that grades are on the rise and say that students are becoming more intelligent, but studies indicate that averages are indeed growing due to other elements.
In order to rectify the problem, the grading system needs to be modified so that hard working, bright students can have the chance to stand out. Too many have become grouped with average achievers. To ensure that employers can obtain an accurate indication of how a prospective employee might perform, only the best students should get perfect grades. C’s should be established as the average grade, and scholars and their parents should be accepting of fair assessment. By doing so, the grading system can accurately fulfill its intended purpose.