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Colleges address grade debate
By Emily Stack
Collegian Reporter
After commencement ceremonies were over in
Cambridge, Mass., 90 percent of seniors at Harvard University
graduated on the honor roll in 2001.
Harvey Mansfield, professor of political science
at Harvard, admitted to giving students two grades: One was
the grade they actually earned, and the other was a higher grade
for the school's official transcript.
This situation has re-opened the debate over
grade inflation.
In an Associated Press article, Bradford Wilson,
executive director of the National Association of Scholars and
Part-Time Teachers at Princeton, said, "What goes on at
the premier institutions sets the standard of quality for every
institution in the country."
Last year at Princeton, 47 percent of grades
were As, compared with only 31 percent 30 years ago. Princeton
is attempting to create a more accurate grading system by rationing
how many As are given out in each class. By limiting professors
to 35 percent of the class receiving As, the institution wants
to reduce grade inflation and maintain accurate grades to reward
deserving students.
Yet with all of these factors, many schools
have remained consistent in their grading practices.
Hillsdale College has consistent results with
the all-school grade point average remaining a steady 3.0 since
1991. Similarly, Reed College in Oregon ranks third nationally
in the percentage of students who go on to earn doctorates and
has more than 30 Rhodes Scholars and 50 Fulbright Scholars.
Yet the college's grade point average has held at 2.9 for almost
20 years.
However, a large percentage of high grades
does not necessarily mean grade inflation exists.
The use of Standard Achievement Test tutorials
and Advanced Placement courses has increased tenfold, and getting
into top-notch colleges is harder than ever.
"Increasing numbers of students are being
bred like racehorses to breeze through standardized tests and
to write essays combining Albert Einstein's brilliance with
Mother Teresa's compassion," according to a New York Times
article by Karen Arenson.
With record numbers of students competing
for admission into top academic institutions, there is a growing
trend toward spotless resumes and perfect test scores. This
competition and race for perfection continues through college
and later into the job market.
"If everybody's getting As, then you
have to make sure you do, and the slightest defect on your record
can look like a horrible stain," Mansfield said.
This consumerism affects the college department
as well. Students evaluate professors, a trend adopted here
at Hillsdale College. Good grades result in happy students and
positive evaluations. Evaluations may impact how a professor
teaches and what sorts of grades he gives, especially when these
evaluations play a role in tenure.
To solve their grade inflation dilemma, Princeton
Dean of the College Nancy Weiss Malkiel found that departments
were willing to lower grades on the condition that the departments
acted in unison. Pomona College in California routinely sends
professors notices of how their grading scales place schoolwide.
Surprisingly, performance before attending
Hillsdale is not an indicator of output while in college. Though
the grade point average of incoming freshmen has changed dramatically,
ranging from a 1991 low of 3.2 to a 2002 high of 3.58, the freshman
class average is consistently around 2.7.
These median levels on the grading scale are
attributed to the standardizing effect of the Great Books and
Western Heritage courses and objectivity of the professors.
"There's an exerted effort not to give
away degrees," Registrar Rich Moeggenberg said. "There's
not the easy As and 'cake courses' here."
The constant pressure from two semesters of
core requirements tends to challenge even the best high school
students, he said. The all-school grade point average rises
only slightly in the spring, when disinterested or unprepared
students leave.
"There's a lot of sensitivity to grade
inflation," Moeggenberg said. "It's policed intentionally
by the provost's office and the professors themselves."
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