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A gentleman's B
That average college grades have been steadily rising over the years, no one questions. The data, from both public and private universities, reveal a nationwide rise of roughly 0.1 in GPA's per decade. The average GPA at American colleges in the 1950's was 2.52. Today it's 3.0 at publics and 3.3 at privates. In other words, B is the new C.
There isn't much doubt either that the flurry of A's and B's is not to be attributed to increases in student achievement. As Stuart Rojstaczer and Christopher Healy note in their latest paper on grade inflation: "Students' entrance test scores have not increased, students are increasingly disengaged from their studies, and the literacy of graduates has declined."
The real question then is what to do about it?
Some will view this as one more reason to get rid of grades. They are mistaken. Grades are not only important to indicate to potential employers a student's abilities, they are also an important motivator for students and a fitting recompense for a job well done.
Others will say to heck with it and further boost grades to remain competitive with their peers, as Loyola Law School in Los Angeles recently announced it would do. Such a course is unsustainable in the long run. We will eventually reach a point where everybody gets A's, thereby rendering grades meaningless.
The real answer, as we outline in Measuring Up: The Problem of Grade Inflation and What Trustees Can Do, is for trustees to address the issue and work, in concert with professors, to rein in grades. There is no one size-fits-all approach to putting the lid on grade inflation and in our guide we outline several different solutions that have worked elsewhere.
Schools that do get a handle on grades might even make into the newest March Madness bracket: the Sweet Sixteen of schools that don't dole out A's too liberally, courtesy of Professor Rojstaczer.
Posted by David Azerrad on April 08, 2010 at April 8, 2010 03:11 PM
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