Grading is a farce
I’ve had it and you’ve had it. Grade inflation sucks for everyone involved.
Grade inflation is when substandard work gets too high a grade. Strictly speaking, below-average papers should get a D, above-average should get a B, and only the truly stellar work should deserve an A.
In theory.
If you’ve ever been a student anywhere, you know this theory never sees practice. Professors have pity on the art major — she might get more of a bye in life science.
I fabricated the specifics, but I dare you to deny the statement’s truth.
I wish teachers at all levels, especially those at Fresno State — we have enough image problems —realized that low standards have horrible long-term effects that will last the rest of a student’s academic life.
Dr. Rosy woke me up pretty well last night, and grade inflation is to blame. For a lesson plan assignment in Dr. Rosy’s curriculum and instruction class, I was first up, and I figured I’d get a little slack for my gumption.
Not at all. I earned an 86 out of 100.
I was incensed.
Incensed is the sort of mad that you only hear about when people talk about politicians. Incensed, though, isn’t politicians’ fake posturing or show of bravado — incensed is the real, soul-disintegrating deal.
Then I reflected.
My lesson plan was good, but it wasn’t that good. It was unique, but a little unorganized. I didn’t even follow all the directions, and I didn’t think about the rubric in the month before my presentation.
My last decade’s worth of teachers would say they used the A to F scale, but this is the first time anyone’s actually used it correctly.
Isn’t that worth a try?
Giving someone an A for effort, or a B for a good attempt doesn’t help anyone. It only ruins student confidence in the grading system.
It’s not unusual for me — or anyone else in all but one of my classes — to get an easy A on the worst Power Point presentation in the history of the universe.
Because our credential program requires a 3.0 grade point average, projects that are somehow even worse get the B.
Of course, because of these falsely high standards, our B is the kiss of death. On an actual grading scale it should instead be the above-average grade.
Because of grade inflation, students obsessed with grades find it easier than ever to get straight As, given a little elbow-grease or whine. Because of grade inflation, these students — often just plain stupid — get false impressions of their incredible academic prowess.
The A-letter grade should be saved for the brilliantest work of the brilliantest students, not to the students who tended to follow most of the directions.
****
In other news: setting the women’s movement back 80 years, one wife at a time; I wonder if books titled “Ending the Spending” top the sales; and something most Americans probably don’t care much about.
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24 Responses to Grading is a farce
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The Collegian Staff Comment
Don’t be hating on the straight-A students. We can’t help it if you’re jealous of our brilliance.
The Collegian Staff Comment
Don’t be hating on the straight-A students. We can’t help it if you’re jealous of our brilliance.
I agree. But super-geniuses who have no business attending a state college shouldn’t ruin it for the regular geniuses.
But yes, it definitely cheapens the experience when you do a crappy paper and get 100 on it, like the instructor didn’t even read it or just checked off a few requirements.
I agree. But super-geniuses who have no business attending a state college shouldn’t ruin it for the regular geniuses.
But yes, it definitely cheapens the experience when you do a crappy paper and get 100 on it, like the instructor didn’t even read it or just checked off a few requirements.
“super geniuses who have no business attending a state college?”
___________________
Three problems with that statement: state colleges are taxpayer supported and the brighter the students who choose to attend—the better for the rest of us—-adds value to the degree. The Smittcamp program is a godsend. The best and brightest students are most likely do be the future donors.
Only geniuses are attending Stanford, USC, or the Ivy League institutions? Hardly. You’d be surprised at some of the mediocre students on those campuses.
Finally, nobody is ruining anything for anyone—-save for those students who are getting B’s and C’s without being able to write a single coherent thought, let alone short essay. It’s not the better students who are devaluing the university degree—-it’s the partially qualified students who need to pick up the fundamentals before they are allowed into the system. The assembly line degree ties the hands of the professor who wants to provide a more realistic grade but has to provide a passing grade to a less than quality student.
“super geniuses who have no business attending a state college?”
___________________
Three problems with that statement: state colleges are taxpayer supported and the brighter the students who choose to attend—the better for the rest of us—-adds value to the degree. The Smittcamp program is a godsend. The best and brightest students are most likely do be the future donors.
Only geniuses are attending Stanford, USC, or the Ivy League institutions? Hardly. You’d be surprised at some of the mediocre students on those campuses.
Finally, nobody is ruining anything for anyone—-save for those students who are getting B’s and C’s without being able to write a single coherent thought, let alone short essay. It’s not the better students who are devaluing the university degree—-it’s the partially qualified students who need to pick up the fundamentals before they are allowed into the system. The assembly line degree ties the hands of the professor who wants to provide a more realistic grade but has to provide a passing grade to a less than quality student.
You’re taking my measley sentence too literally.
I agree with what you’re saying but if you got Stephen Hawking in your class making everyone else look stupid, it sucks.
I’m just saying there’s an A-level paper and there’s far above that, so I’m sure it’s hard for instructors to gauge.
And in response to your USC and IVY league statement, you think everyone in Smittcamp has brains? I don’t dispute your point but saying Smittcamp students are the best and brightest is a similar assumption.
You’re taking my measley sentence too literally.
I agree with what you’re saying but if you got Stephen Hawking in your class making everyone else look stupid, it sucks.
I’m just saying there’s an A-level paper and there’s far above that, so I’m sure it’s hard for instructors to gauge.
And in response to your USC and IVY league statement, you think everyone in Smittcamp has brains? I don’t dispute your point but saying Smittcamp students are the best and brightest is a similar assumption.
The Collegian Staff Comment
I have known many Smittcamp students. Many of them have brains. Many of them, nonetheless, don’t.
The Collegian Staff Comment
I have known many Smittcamp students. Many of them have brains. Many of them, nonetheless, don’t.
man you sure know how to pick your fights. are you going to next say that low gas prices are bad? that parking spaces are too much of a pleasure for students? about how you had to walk in the snow 15 miles, uphill both ways in order to go to school for 8 hours work for 20 more hours afterward in order to pay for your dying grandmothers surgery? (i know that the previous sentence is illogical btw). point is you need to find something better to talk about than something that bugging you through your daily scary encounters with life. grade inflation is a matter of life, and those who cannot rise above the occasion and stand out from their peers will be left behind in opportunities. as a matter of fact, i believe thats what college was about BEFORE you started ranting and raving. stop being such a whiner.
man you sure know how to pick your fights. are you going to next say that low gas prices are bad? that parking spaces are too much of a pleasure for students? about how you had to walk in the snow 15 miles, uphill both ways in order to go to school for 8 hours work for 20 more hours afterward in order to pay for your dying grandmothers surgery? (i know that the previous sentence is illogical btw). point is you need to find something better to talk about than something that bugging you through your daily scary encounters with life. grade inflation is a matter of life, and those who cannot rise above the occasion and stand out from their peers will be left behind in opportunities. as a matter of fact, i believe thats what college was about BEFORE you started ranting and raving. stop being such a whiner.
The Collegian Staff Comment
I agree, Scooty. Academic bottom feeders help all of us.
The Collegian Staff Comment
I agree, Scooty. Academic bottom feeders help all of us.
Academic bottom feeders do help us. they show us the HUMAN side of being a person. life is not a strict protocol; you’ll find that out quickly when you realize that your boss doesn’t like you because you’re not showing up to the “kiss @$$” parties that he holds every sunday afternoon.
Academic bottom feeders do help us. they show us the HUMAN side of being a person. life is not a strict protocol; you’ll find that out quickly when you realize that your boss doesn’t like you because you’re not showing up to the “kiss @$$” parties that he holds every sunday afternoon.
The Collegian Staff Comment
Then, when the company folds because a complete incompetent got the promotion and drove his division into the ground, we’ll all have a good, hearty, bitter laugh.
That’ll be on Monday.
The Collegian Staff Comment
Then, when the company folds because a complete incompetent got the promotion and drove his division into the ground, we’ll all have a good, hearty, bitter laugh.
That’ll be on Monday.
I’m not sure you have the experience to talk much about the work world.
The world is full of morons and they all need jobs. People don’t get fired, they just hire another incompetent to help pick up the slack.
I’m not sure you have the experience to talk much about the work world.
The world is full of morons and they all need jobs. People don’t get fired, they just hire another incompetent to help pick up the slack.
I fabricated the specifics, but I dare you to deny the statement’s truth.
I’d give you a D for that alone.
I fabricated the specifics, but I dare you to deny the statement’s truth.
I’d give you a D for that alone.
The Collegian Staff Comment
You’ve earned an F.
The Collegian Staff Comment
You’ve earned an F.