Aydan Lopez/Staff
America’s grading system is inflating faster than balloons at Party City.
Southwestern College’s grading policy justifies an A, or “Grade of Excellence,” as achieving exceptional mastery of all course objectives and being a student that shows initiative, imagination and self direction well beyond that required by the instructor.
Blasted by the highest amount of A grades in the history of American education, what qualifies as mastery of objectives has blurred and is more open to instructor interpretation.
Increasing leniency in grading is shaping a dumbed down future.
Grade inflation is an example of overprotecting feelings. Coddling students by giving easy grades reduces motivation and diminishes reward for the truly superior performance. This makes it almost impossible to differentiate between average and superior students because they are not being ranked accurately.
All students should follow a syllabus and be explicitly informed of what is expected in order to be graded correctly. Any slack in grading could skew their permanent record. Through high grades, we delude students into thinking that they know more than they actually do.
Dishonesty is not the only issue. With students being duped into thinking they have a higher ability than they actually do, they are not prepared for universities and real-world situations.
Some students and educators are not aware of the issues that come with grade inflation or that it is even an issue at all. College grade point averages have risen from a 2.3 in 1930 to almost 3.1 in 2006. Standardized testing in math showed that 54 percent of high school seniors could not do seventh grade math and only 5 percent were truly college ready.
Although they are not ready for college, higher grades delude them into thinking they are. With a larger pool of applicants for universities to choose from, those who are capable and deserving of getting into colleges and receiving degrees are camouflaged by slackers.
Those who come from schools or have taken teachers that give grades that are real reflections of earned grades are disadvantaged next to students who have all “As” that were not earned.
Fortunately, some colleges have caught on and are looking at supplemental activities such as club participation and community service. Unfortunately, this does not help busy “A” students who have outside responsibilities that have hindered them from participating in extracurricular activities.
Some argue that it is stressful for a student to receive a lower grade. Lame. If they can not handle the stress, they are not ready for college.
