Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

A’s for All!

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by

James A. Bacon
in

by James A. Bacon

Grade inflation in American universities is a well-documented phenomenon. Nearly half of all grades handed out at Harvard are A’s. The average Grade Point Average (GPA) at the University of Virginia, having drifted steadily upward over the past 30 years, is moving higher at an accelerating rate. One possible explanation — in defiance of the downward trend in standardized test scores in K-12 education — is that the kids are just so darn smart! They deserve the A’s!

Another explanation points to the obsession with equality and self-esteem, and to the attendant collapse in standards that would differentiate between excellence, mediocrity and failure.

The question arises in a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education which profiles a controversy at James Madison University. Six economics professors told the Chronicle that their annual evaluations have been penalized because they are handing out too many D’s and F’s.

Kirk Elwood, professor of economics, received correspondence from the administration that stated the following:

You have received low evaluation scores on some sections. There are too many Ds and Fs and overall GPAs are too low. …

Please work to meet students where they are in terms of skills and preparation and provide remedial and extra assistance as need in order to reduce the number of D and F grades. Continue to adjust course material and delivery to improve grades and evaluation scores.

“There was no attempt to evaluate what was going on in my classrooms,” said Scott R. Milliman, an economics professor. “The point was, my GPAs were too low, period. And it didn’t matter whether there was integrity to those grades or not.”

My take: Administrators are consistently setting lower expectations, and students are fulfilling them by studying less and whining more. Professors who set high expectations suffer in student evaluations and are pressured to give students what they want — better grades with less effort.

But that’s just me. Read the article and decide for yourself.

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28 responses to “A’s for All!”

  1. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    Can we take some solace because this was in the Econ department, and not in an area where it could ever have an impact on the real world?

    1. kls Avatar
      kls

      NO YOU CAN NOT!!!!!
      Of 50 tests submitted fully a quarter usually have a little squiggly line under at least one word — Telling the student the word is misspelled….. and they don’t correct it. Stupidity? Laziness? Or a combination of both?

      I give them a ‘Penalty Sheet’ showing how many points will be deducted for each mistake… and they don’t use that to proof read.

      I teach them a specific type of writing I want on the tests and they are always surprised when the average grade on the first test is 65-68.

      I found this to be true when I was a team lead in the USG too.

      1. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        Appreciate your efforts. I was being snarky about Econ as a field, not taking lowering standards lightly. Sorry, I should have added the identifier.

      2. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        It took me one test to go from raging guilt (“Oh geez, what have I done to them. I knew it was too hard. How do I curve this mess.”) to flaming blame (Wait! I reviewed this exactly. This was a homework question for God’s sake. No one asked any questions. Screw ’em Fs for them all”).

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          but then they get to evaluate you!

          1. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            That’s not as big a deal as you think. I only got one really stinging review in 23 years.

            “Professor Naive is extremely helpful and willing to work with you to improve your grades, if you’re a girl.”

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            ah… yes….

  2. Carter Melton Avatar
    Carter Melton

    No surprise here.

    For my entire 30 years at the hospital, we were literally next door neighbors to JMU. It was facinating watching Ron Carrier, and later Lin Rose, take a sleepy womens teachers college and turn it into a dynamic, high quality university. Both Ron and Lin had the insight and ability to create value in both the student experience and high performance academics.

    When Dr. Alger arrived…to take the reins from Lin Rose…. he stated that his higest priority was….drum roll, please…..diversity.

    So it was no suprise when random articles began appearing about JMU’s almost-draconian dei program.

    It is amazing how long it takes to build something special…and how quickly you can fly it into the base of a mountain.

    It will take a while for JMU’s slide to show up in the numbers, but slide it will.

    Where in the hell are these college Boards of Visitors ?

    1. Nathan Avatar
      Nathan

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dbbe6a051c2a60ca1d320086c801255593f3514e7a2d1028189ace28c2b319df.png

  3. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    “Professor Naive’s class is too hard. It’s difficult for the average student to make an A”

  4. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    In all seriousness James, it was a shift in the 80s from thee school model (students are here to learn and perform) to a business model (students are customers). Administration attitudes changed from the faculty are the assets to the students are the assets. Faculty donate to their alma mater, but students? Money in the bank.

    1. Bubba1855 Avatar
      Bubba1855

      easy student loans changed the paradigm coupled with the relentless liberal mass media telling everyone that they needed a college degree…regardless of your major…aka, get the easiest major. just my 2 cents.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        I totally agree with both parts. The loans are way too easy, and unless one is taking a STEM or true “professional” path, that college degree ain’t worth much these days… and employers find out pretty quick if your degree is a piece of paper and not really who you are.

        but not sure it was the media that did it.

        For decades, people who had the money would send their kids to “good” schools to get solid degrees in STEM and other professional degrees
        and others would emulate it if they could get the loans.. and now they can…

        1. Bubba1855 Avatar
          Bubba1855

          Larry & Nancy…in the late 90’s I had 2 kids in college. Back then the tuition,etc for public univ’s was manageable so my wife and I paid. Both of the kids had part time jobs during the school year and summer jobs. My daughter was a whiz in liberal arts…but she was also a whiz in math. (hey, I was a BS math major) When she went to college I impressed upon her to pursue her BS math degree. It changed everything for her compared to her friends who pursued liberal arts degrees. My son pursued a BS STEM degree and it turned out well for him. But keep in mind that these two kids were dedicated to learning and getting good grades. again, just my 2 cents.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I had a lawyer friend, who went into the marines as a grunt. Got out, and used his GI benefits and a day job to go to night school and become a lawyer.

            I’ve known others, who did this and others who got merit scholarships… worked in a Navy Lab where they wanted a math degree with a B average, from any College that had a decent reputation..

            Like a lot of other things these days, folks want an “easy” path to a degree to a good paying job and don’t worry about the loans….

            There’s a difference if the parent is College Educated with a significant/substantial degree and a parent that is not in terms of advice and motivation in learning, getting good grades and not get burdened
            with huge debt.

            A family with a generation of college grads becomes a “culture’ where the kid is expected to do the College thing from the get-go.

            A kid with a Doctor or Engineer for a dad or mom or both is going to get a better path than one without.

            Thing is, even familes with generations of college, had to start somewhere…

          2. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Good for them. But it’s still best that they are happy with their choices.

      2. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        It’s money. Two cents or not, they’ll take it. But surely, you have more, right?

    2. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      ” …. it was a shift in the 80s from thee school model ….”

      You managed to misspell the word “the”.

      I will have to mark your comment down accordingly.

  5. Bob X from Texas Avatar
    Bob X from Texas

    If every student gets an “A” then an “A” is nothing more then a participation trophy.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      At some point, after your schooling, others including your employer, will decide if you really are an “A”, though,

  6. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    OTOH, it IS Harvard. Every last one of them would score a combined 1600 on the SATs if they lowered themselves to take it. Technically, they should have only two grades; A+ meaning “Way smarter than the rest of you but polite about it”, and A “Still way smarter than the rest of you.”. In either case, UVa was never even considered.

  7. Fred Costello Avatar
    Fred Costello

    In K through college, there is a disincentive to give low grades. Giving low grades causes complaints from parents, students, and the administration. Giving high grades makes a teacher’s life easy.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Yes. AND, it’s the reason why we cannot toughen standards… all heck would break lose!

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