Grade inflation

[Hyena Dandy]

It annoys me when teachers are judged entirely on what grades their students get. It motivates teachers to fudge the numbers to be seen as 'better'. I don't know how to judge if a teacher is a good teacher, and the grades their students get is certainly a part of it. But it shouldn't be the entirety of it. Some students deserve bad grades, and there shouldn't be a motivation to up the grades so you look better.

I want to be able to judge teachers objectively. But I don't have any idea of how to do that. I just know that the 'no child left behind' way of judging schools and teachers on the grades they give is counter-intuitive.

[Racket_Man]

then add in the scandel down in Atlanta (and potentially other major US cities) with the standardized test answer changing so the tests scores "look better and better each year" just so the district can keep up with the "every child left behind" and "race to the top" crap. it seems there is no actual teaching allowed anymore, just cramming crap into heads for the TEST.

[AdminAssistant]

Some students deserve bad grades, and there shouldn't be a motivation to up the grades so you look better.

You're exactly right. Now these precious snowflakes have become used to having grades handed to them and they're coming to college. For people like me, who still depend partially on student evals, it's a tricky situation. I try to ride the line between lenient and tough, offering some amount of understanding but slamming down the hammer (with faculty support) when needed. Tenured faculty have no such need, and can therefore be complete hardasses. In either case, "Damn No Child Left Behind Bullshit" is frequently heard in the hallways of colleges across this great land.

[HYHYBT]

The worst of it, if I understand rightly, is that they up the level needed for a school to pass every year, with penalties for schools which do not.... and by 2014 or so passing will require perfection.

[ExRetailDrone]

My husband had to deal with the consequences of that shit, as well. A couple years ago he was a TA while he finished up his Master's degree, and this past year he scored a temporary one-year full-time teaching gig at another university. He saw some abysmal students in his composition classes. Just the fact that in his first semester last year, 3 out of his 4 classes were remedial composition says a lot. I'm sorry, but if a student has to take a remedial class, then they are not ready for a university setting in my opinion (I am not including those with documented learning issues in this, because they have a valid reason for needing some additional assistance). They should attend a community college and get some of their pre-reqs out of the way while at the same time learning how a college setting is laid out, and how different things are from what is done in so many high schools around the country.

My husband couldn't give some of his students the grades they earned because he had to be wary of how it would look to the higher ups in the university. He would have failed more than he did because they simply didn't earn a passing grade, but instead he had to be lenient to cover his own ass. That's a sad state of affairs if you ask me. People shouldn't be coddled, because then for some of them they come to expect it, and throw a fit when things don't go their way. Some of the stories I heard from my husband about the reaction of some of his students to the grades they had earned were sickening >.< Not fit-throwing, per se, but asking and genuinely expecting special accommodations so they could pass the class, even if they hadn't turned in a single paper all semester

[AdminAssistant]

Ugh, English Comp, your husband has my sympathies. We only require a handful of written assignments, and due to the volume we grade only on content. (We simply don't have time to check and mark every misspelling, grammar misstep, and misplaced punctuation.) But if the papers I'm getting are atrocious, I can't even imagine how the folks teaching English Comp deal. Hell, any mandatory class is going to have that. My friends who teach Western Civ have the most sadly hilarious stories; I love to hang out with them while they're grading. "Hey guys, did you know that Noah received the Ten Commandments and Moses wrote the New Testament?"

[Greenday]

In PA, education majors have to graduate with at least a 3.0 GPA. If kids don't graduate on time because they didn't get enough A's and B's, it makes the department look bad. So they punish the teachers who are giving out grades lower than B's, putting them on probation and such. Doesn't matter if people deserve the grades, they just get B's or higher.

[AdminAssistant]

Retention and time-to-graduation rates *are* a problem, but grade inflation isn't the way to fix it. Stricter admissions policies would be a start. There's also the problem of students getting halfway through a degree program in, say, engineering, then realizing, "I don't want to be an engineer! I want to dance!" and switching to a modern dance major. Some pre-reqs are the same, but not all. There's even a term for it, "Super Senior," meaning someone in their 5th or 6th year of college. Most colleges could stand to cut down on the pre-reqs a bit. There still need to be pre-reqs, and they should still cover a wide variety of arts, humanities, and sciences, but the sheer amount could be cut down. Also, cut out the nonsense classes. Bowling should not be a valid alternative to Phys. Ed.

Another option would be to eliminate the 'beer and circus' atmosphere rampant especially at larger institutions. Streamline athletics, eliminate social fraternities and sororities, and put the focus back on gaining an education and learning how to be adults. I imagine this will happen sometime after hell freezes over and pigs fly.

Time-to-graduation is even more ridiculous at the graduate level, but that's an institutional problem. I'm ready to start work on my dissertation, but I have to go through an overly complicated, completely bullshit comprehensive exam process before I can do so.

[insertNameHere]

I have always tired my best to play the system the only C I ever got was in English 112 (Aka comp 2 elsewhere), I had a sexist male teacher who used to teach honors and didn't believe in grade inflation. I read the essay of friends roommate who was in honors english and got an A, I have always sucked at english and I could point out numerous mistakes and what not and it was easily a D in my class.... of course I'm willing to bet the girl sucked as good as her paper because there was NOWAY she was giving A level work in an honors program.

Most people have NO idea how to play the system and bitch when they get a bad grade. I always made a point to work my ass off and have the prof know I'm working my ass off, that way I could coast at the end of the semester because, I needed to get a 54% on my final exam in calculus to end up with an A. If I got showed up and wrote my name on the exam and walked out I would get a B, but I'm sorry when the prof gives 15 quizes only counts 10, 5 tests and only counts 4, along with 15 homework only counting 10, and 2 exams. Being an advanced math class you would have thought the people in there would be capable of seeing you try hard on the first tests and do well, when it comes to crunch time, your not in a panic.... About 25% of the class skipped the first test because "well he drops the lowest one".

Same deal in Physics 2 gives four tests, only 3 were counted.... guess how many people AGAIN miss the first test that is essentially a very EASY review?

[HYHYBT]

About 25% of the class skipped the first test because "well he drops the lowest one".

That's a dangerous way to play it. Even if you are certain you will do well on all the tests you show up for, dropping the lowest grade is almost always, from what I've seen at least, paired with no make-ups, no excuses. Meaning if you skipped the first test because it was a freebee, you've used that up when it comes time for the last one and you have a car accident on the way to class.

[Greenday]

The first test is almost always the easiest one too.

[Andara Bledin]

That's what I was thinking. Wouldn't you want to go in for the first test, the one you'd most likely ace, and be able to tank on one of the ones that actually requires thought?

^-.-^

[Racket_Man]

The first test is almost always the easiest one too.

yeah that is what happend to me in second semester college calculus. the teacher averaged all of the semester tests and the final though given was not give all that much weight. I ended up with a 70 average for the semester tests ((just barely a C) and he said I could skip the final and take the C grade

[mikoyan29]

Some of my favorite teachers were also some of the hardest graders. Their classes may have been tough but at least you learned the material.

[HYHYBT]

Some of my favorite teachers were also some of the hardest graders. Their classes may have been tough but at least you learned the material.

The opposite works... maybe. I'm still not sure if a class I took last quarter fits or not: I learned essentially nothing, and got a B. I would assume it's because of easy testing/grading... except the class average was a high F.