The Perils Of Grade Inflation
The New York Post is reporting on a lawsuit filed by an NYU prof who says he was fired for giving actor James Franco a "D."
At my daughter's school, top marks are exceedingly difficult to earn. The kids seem more or less fine with it. They understand that As are only given for mastery of the material. The parents? That might be another thing.
And I get it, I really do. The first time I saw my daughter's report card, I practically cried. And this is before she gets to letter grades, which begin next year in Kindergarten. I was somewhat prepared from an incident a few years ago. I was sitting next to one of our teachers while we manned the Lutherans for Life booth at a local conference. Now, this woman is brilliant. She has a degree in Russian from Bryn Mawr. She's fastidious in all she does. Including grading. Here she was with a red pen, a lot of ink getting on the papers. I asked her what grade she taught. First. First grade! I might have coughed or something in response. She explained that, according to the Classical model we follow, there's no grade inflation or pretending that things are better than they are.
The New York Times commented wrote about it this summer:
Most recently, about 43 percent of all letter grades given were A’s, an increase of 28 percentage points since 1960 and 12 percentage points since 1988. The distribution of B’s has stayed relatively constant; the growing share of A’s instead comes at the expense of a shrinking share of C’s, D’s and F’s. In fact, only about 10 percent of grades awarded are D’s and F’s.
What's difficult, though, is to practice accurate grading in a world where most kids get As for showing up to class. And yet it's so important to teach kids the value of mastering their material. I'm glad we have that at our school, even if it is a bit of a punch to the gut when those report cards come home!
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Feb '11
Re: The Perils Of Grade Inflation
I teach Jr. High at a Classical Christian school, and I am considered "old school" in my grading. When my students earn an A, they are so pleased that their hard work paid off. Notice that I said that my students earn their grades; I do not give them grades. Anyway, even the C students are so proud of the difficult materials that they study.
When I listen to these student apply their faith, as well as the Logic, History, Latin, and Literature to current events/life issues, I am so proud of them. This is the best job ever! (This isn't Alan, it's his wife, Carolyn!)
Edited on December 19, 2011 at 11:35pmRe: The Perils Of Grade Inflation
*My First Comment*
I think that part of the problem is that teachers give way too many grades, as mentioned before. Additionally, participation is often part of a student's grade, and I think that it is really difficult to subjectively determine this, particularly with teachers often using this as a "cushion" for under-achieving students. The goal of testing is assessment, to see what the learner has mastered or needs to work on. I am a big advocate of letting the student know exactly what is anticipated of them and using criteria to assess them - without giving them the exact questions and answers beforehand. With many old-school teachers, testing was used a means of classroom management, which is a huge mistake, and may be why grades were lower in the past. I also think that teachers need to work on giving more feedback before a test, so as to see which areas the students are struggling with and focus on those.
These are simply my experiences from my field experiences (over 300 hours, and more to come!) and reading professional literature on the matter. I'm a Senior in Social Sciences & Education, grades 7-12.
Apr '11
Re: The Perils Of Grade Inflation
Mollie and Alan: you are blessed to be a part of classical school communities that are faithful to their mission and understand that to be classical means to emulate excellence. I wish the same could be said of all schools that appropriate the appellation. Here it comes: caveat emptor! I would recommend that parents looking to enroll their children in a classical school do their homework before making an assumption based on the school's claim to be "classical." Talk with current parents; ask administrators what the average grades of their graduating class are. Are students required to take Latin? If so, is it a dumbed down, "fun" course using Cambridge or some such inductive method? Can administrators defend their requirements articulately and with conviction? Speak with teachers, if you can. Ask about their qualifications, expectations, and how student performance is measured. I commend parents who make the choice to educate their children in the old ways. Like all good brands, "classical" is misappropriated by lower quality competitors. Progressive assumptions are most dangerous when they are disguised.
Edited on December 20, 2011 at 11:12pm