A Quest to Explain What Grades Really Mean

[Elmore Furth]

In the age of 'Everyone Gets a Blue Ribbon', A's don't mean as much.

Do they mean anything?

“An A should mean outstanding work; it should not be the default grade,” Mr. Perrin said. “If everyone gets an A for adequate completion of tasks, it cripples our ability to recognize exemplary scholarship.”

As part of the university’s long effort to clarify what grades really mean, Mr. Perrin now leads a committee that is working with the registrar on plans to add extra information — probably median grades, and perhaps more — to transcripts. In addition, they expect to post further statistics providing context online and give instructors data on how their grading compares with their colleagues’.

With college grades creeping ever higher, a few universities have taken direct action against grade inflation. Most notably, Princeton adopted guidelines in 2004 providing that no more than 35 percent of undergraduate grades should be A’s, a policy that remains controversial on campus.

At U.N.C.(University of North Carolina), the average G.P.A was 3.21 in the fall of 2008, up from 2.99 in 1995. A’s have become the most frequent grade, and together, A’s and B’s accounted for 82 percent of the 2008 grades. Last spring, the faculty called for the creation of Mr. Perrin’s committee to help the registrar give context to undergraduate grades by providing statistics on what percentage of students got each letter grade, what percentage are majors in the department and what percentage are seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen.

A Quest to Explain What Grades Really Mean

[happyslug]

1. Why don't there just accept the observation of W. E Deming, you either know something or you don't

Deming was a statistician, and as such saw most "A" "B", "C", and "D" more the product of random chance then anything real. Or as one of his followers pointed out, how do you make a "A" ditch, A "B" Ditch, a "C" Ditch or a "D" Ditch when all you want is a ditch?

In the early 1950s he took his observations to Japan, which embraced them throughly (While the US rejected his observation, wanting to go with the "Best and Brightest"). At that time (the 1950s) Japanese cars were junk, as were most Japanese products. The Japanese embraced his concept and within 20 years had so improved their quality that "Made in Japan" stop being a mark of Junk, but high quality items. Why? Deming had told the Japanese you can NEVER be better then your worse input, so work on improving "D"s and "C"s not "A"s and "B"s.

When he taught Collage, his course were always pass-fail, for he could NOT determine how much better one student over another except by statistical error once BOTH students have mastered what was being taught.

In many ways, grade inflation is do to the fact most people can NOT determine how to use a "A" Student when the system is geared to the worse input i.e. "D" Students. Thus an "A" is more product of repeating whatever the grader wants to hear OR statistical error. Thus once hired, a "D" Student has as good a chance of doing the job well as an "A" Student.

My point is abolish the grading system entirely, go to a Pass-Fail system, that is what grade inflation is heading to for Employers want "A" and "B" Students NOT "D" students, just to do "D" work. As long as that is the case (and it always will be, employers want people who can do the work, and under a normal grading system a "D" student can) you will have grade inflation for image is more important then reality.

http://deming.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming

[jody]

2. IMO grades should separate students as a minimum into quartiles so additional education can be

effectively and efficiently allocated.

We need more scientists and mathematicians to lead us into the 22nd century.

We also need more skilled technicians to maintain the complicated equipment and systems that make 21st century living so comfortable.

IMO we already have enough lawyers, financiers, realtors, and similar jobs! :shrug:

[Pholus]

3. I've often contemplated just rankings. 3rd out of 125 or the like.

More information than a letter grade, less worries about curves.

The downside would be encouragement of competition between students.