If a professor and one of this year’s freshmen were to sit and have a deep discussion over how times have changed, both would learn much new information about the other. One issue they would learn about is grade inflation.
According to “The 2011 Mind-Set of Faculty,” “Faculty members who have been teaching for more than a decade remember when C was an average grade students received in courses, because it represented an ancient concept called ‘satisfactory’.” The average grade students now receive is no longer a C. Most students receive either high Bs or a low As. These grades might not be what the student deserves.
One reason might be that professors do not enjoy spending hours grading paper after paper. They may read a couple papers then just scan the rest. More mistakes are caught when a paper is thoroughly read instead of just scanned. At times, a teacher may bump up a grade if the person is just a few points below the cut off for the next letter grade. It is not unheard of for a professor to raise athletes’ averages so they can continue to play. Sometimes grades are also given for only attempting an assignment, not completing it. In freshman seminar classes, students are required to attend the school-sponsored functions and they even receive grades for doing so. Getting easy points for attending football games is how so many students have a higher grade than what their academic work has earned them.
Students expect to achieve higher grades. They might not earn the grades but they still believe they should receive nothing lower than an A. Some of the work turned in is only thrown together at the last minute. It is not fair for every paper to get an A when only a few really deserve it. Student athletes believe they should be treated differently than their fellow classmates. They know they must maintain a certain grade point average to remain eligible to participate but that does not make a difference to some. Those slackers plan to get by with the lowest grade average that they are required to have. If they fall short of that, they expect the professors to help them out because of school spirit or out of sympathy. When student athletes learn the bare minimum required, they will take advantage of the situation. If the quality of the work is not what earns the grade, then they will just make stuff up as they go instead of putting real thought into it.
Each year, the differences between the new freshman and the older professors increase dramatically. During a discussion between the two, it would be easy to see how times have changed. They would learn about the issue of grade inflation which is becoming more popular.
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