Grade Inflation

Paper Summary:

The paper explains why it is difficult to statistically quantify that the inflation of the grade 'earnings' of students at high schools and institutions of higher learning across America are going up. The paper shows how grade inflation on an anecdotal level reveals the subjective and arbitrary nature of the grading process in general, while it is also getting harder to compare the quality of education across institutions in general. The paper comes to the conclusion that it is almost impossible to set a rigid standard for all classes without impinging upon academic freedom in the classroom. The paper suggests that a better solution may be the end of grades altogether or for employers to consider not grades, but other factors such as extracurricular activities or student engagement with research-based activities.

From the Paper:

"Turn on the news today, and you'll here a great deal of talk about price inflation, whether at the pump, or as exhibited on the shelves the grocery store. What can be so bad, you might ask, about a few extra cents here and there, when you fill up your tank with a gas, or when you buy a loaf of bread at the local bodega? The problem is that as prices go up, salaries tend to remain the same. This means that what you have earned with your blood, sweat, toil, and tears at your job buys less, whenever you make a purchase, even though you are working just as hard. But unfortunately, while grade inflation as a concept may be equally destructive to the quality of life and education at American instructions of learning, it is difficult to statistically quantify that the inflation of the grade 'earnings' of students at high schools and institutions of higher learning across America are going up as stratospherically as the price of eggs and butter."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kohn, Alfie. (2002, Nov 18). "The dangerous myth of grade inflation." The Chronicle of Higher Education. 49.1: B7. Retrieved 15 Mar 2008 at http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/gi.htm
• Merrow, John (2007). "Grade inflation: It's not just an issue for the Ivy League." Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Retrieved 15 Mar 2008 at http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/perspectives/sub.asp?key=245&subkey=576
• Rojstacze, Stuart. (2002). "National trends in grade inflation, American colleges anduniversities." Last update, March 17, 2003. Retrieved 15 Mar 2008 at http://www.gradeinflation.com/

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• Article Review # 15355 : "Grade Inflation"
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