I read that Princeton University is going to start a campaign against grade inflation by restricting the number of “A” grades that can be awarded. The UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) has been doing something similar for years. Having been on the faculty end of the demand for good grades, I sympathize with their predicament.
I gave an exam to my business law class asking them to regurgitate the elements of a valid contract, and then to apply that to a hypothetical situation. Two or three people got “A” on the exam, the rest got an “F.” This happened even though I had reviewed the information with them the week before and warned them that this was a standard law exam question. (When I was a student, a hint like that would have led to the information being underlined in red and written in CAPS) Well, I went over the problem in class, again. Three or four weeks later, it was time for mid-terms. I went over the elements of a valid contract, again. I reminded them it was important information, again. I gave the same question as in the first exam. Same wording and everything. Two people got an “A.” The rest failed. On the FINAL exam, I gave the same question again. Same wording as the previous ones. Not just the same concept, or the same problem, but the same wording. SAME result. At the end of the semester, I ended up giving an “F” to about half the class. (That was the half still present - another half, seeing the handwriting on the wall, had dropped out)
So why am I telling this story, other than that my time to be a blogger is almost gone and I hate to give up the soap box?? It’s because it was ME who was called on the carpet by the school administration and told that I could not flunk so many students even though they had not learned the material. Most of the students ended up taking the course again from an easier grader and my career teaching soon ended.
Did this happen because I am such a poor teacher? I certainly don’t believe so. So stick by your TV sets, folks, because the Princeton faculty has yet to discover the storm their new policy will bring on them, not from the administration as it was for me, but from the parents who will react the same way.
Oh my. My understanding about grades is that you should do a fair bit in EARNING them. But, whatever. I like things the hard way.
well, an ARBITRARY restriction on grades is sure to start a huge controversy. i’d prefer to hear that the problem was too many kids were EARNING them. what would you have done when you were teaching if the majority were actually getting the stuff right? excelling, even?
i live in fear that those people who dropped your class to take it from someone who was “easier” are the people i rely upon to help me. people, it seems, are all about expecting more from others than from themselves. would they want to have a lawyer who, when given 4 opportunities to demonstate knowledge of the elements of a contract, couldn’t do it? no, but that isn’t enough of a motivator to actually be worth your salt. it’s downright scary.
If 40 students out of 40 earned an A, then 40 students would receive an A. However, students would come to me and say, “I get “As” in all my classes. You can’t give me a D, or F. I’m an A student.” And others would say, disregarding the test results and classroom performance, “If you give me an F, I’ll lose my financial support,” or “My family will make me quit and get a job.” I was the bad guy for insisting that an A, or even a passing grade, go only to those who earned them.
And it’s an old joke: Do you want your heart attack treated by someone who got only 70% of the answers right on his final exam?
Gah—that takes me back to grad school, where I was called on the carpet for taking points off for misspelling. Since this was a science class (rocks for jocks), many students protested that spelling shouldn’t count—it should only count in English classes. I kept marking misspelled words (partly) wrong, and finally got hauled into the department chair’s office. Specifically, because a certain star football player was in danger of failing. I was “urged” to give him a passing grade. this little incident was certainly a factor in my leaving academia, and choosing a nice, quiet life as a freelance editor (where I get PAID to correct spelling)…
This drives me crazy. I went to an undergrad institution that relegated grades REGARDLESS of what had been earned. So by stating that when completed, the class average would be an 84%, it ended up being an 87% (since imagine that, people worked hard), we all got poorer grades than we’d earned - scaled down to the previously established average. This happened to me three times, receiving lower grades than I had ACTUALLY EARNED, and made me switch career paths due to its ridiculousness.
I agree though - if you don’t do the assignments / perform well on the tests, regardless of how easy the questions subsequently become, then you deserve the F. That’s why they often base Financial Aid packages on merit - you don’t deserve the money TO GO TO SCHOOL if you’re not going to actually, you know, go & do the work.
I thought the old joke was
Q: What do you call a guy who was last in his class in med school?
A: Doctor.
here at the university of toronto there’s a grading policy in place which states that in any class with over forty students (well over ninety percent of all the classes offered), the average has to be between 68 and 71 percent.
anything above or below, and the mark gets belled.
Darn. Yaser just took my point. :D. Now I’m gonna have to think again. Brain so not used to such overwork.
As someone who graduated from Princeton with a barely-B average, I sure am glad they waited this long.