Grade Inflation: the Silent Snake of Education Slowly growing in size and destructive power, grade inflation is the educational equivalent to the snakes of the Everglades. The more and more it is neglected, the bigger, more powerful, and destructive it becomes. Harmless at first, it grows, and the power and threat it poses becomes more and more evident until it is too late to fight back. It has been about 50 years since the term first appeared, and yet few know it even exists. Grade inflation is real, and it has harmful effects on colleges, students, and the general public. We should do all we can to cut down on grade inflation in schools. Originally coined in the 1960’s, grade inflation is defined by the ACT organization as “an increase
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Grade inflation gives students a false sense of success and preparedness. It also gives them a distorted view of their achievements. As well as give them a distorted view of their achievements, it gives them a distorted view of their abilities. By causing students to develop a false sense of security, grade inflation can damage students’ emotions.
Grade inflation can really distort ones views on their achievements, and when they realize the truth it can cause mental pain. When the student realizes they are not as good as once believed, their self-esteem drops. It can also cause one’s value to drop when they get a similar grade to a student he knows is not on the same level of achievement. Eventually the student becomes lazy and works less and less. This eventually leads to depression (Edwards).
By devaluing students, grade inflation can cause depression. When the good students see themselves as good as the bad, they can become depressed. There has been an increase in depression rates in recent years, and many attribute it to grade inflation. There has also been a decrease in the average age depression normally sets in (Edwards). This depression and lower emotions can send the wrong …show more content…
Grades are similar to money; it is a representative value of the student. When the average grade rises, the value of high grades drops. To compensate for this drop in value, many college students go on to get higher degrees to set themselves apart from the not so good. This decreases the time that they are working and earning money, and increases the time they are spending money. Jennifer Dirmeyer said “The most important function of grades is to signal others about your potential, messing with this signal can have disastrous results” (Are Some Bad Grades Good?).
Some of the most damaging effects of grade inflation begin to appear once students enter the work field. Often the students are hired because of their good grades, or so they appear. Due to grade inflation, the new employees seem as if they were good students, and therefore be good workers, they are not necessarily good workers and need extra training. Not only do they need extra training but they also are not as flexible or willing to expand their abilities. Many employers are not willing to tolerate this for long and will soon fire the employee. Grade inflation not only causes damage in school, but also after
Grade inflation gives students a false sense of success and preparedness. It also gives them a distorted view of their achievements. As well as give them a distorted view of their achievements, it gives them a distorted view of their abilities. By causing students to develop a false sense of security, grade inflation can damage students’ emotions.
Grade inflation can really distort ones views on their achievements, and when they realize the truth it can cause mental pain. When the student realizes they are not as good as once believed, their self-esteem drops. It can also cause one’s value to drop when they get a similar grade to a student he knows is not on the same level of achievement. Eventually the student becomes lazy and works less and less. This eventually leads to depression (Edwards).
By devaluing students, grade inflation can cause depression. When the good students see themselves as good as the bad, they can become depressed. There has been an increase in depression rates in recent years, and many attribute it to grade inflation. There has also been a decrease in the average age depression normally sets in (Edwards). This depression and lower emotions can send the wrong …show more content…
Grades are similar to money; it is a representative value of the student. When the average grade rises, the value of high grades drops. To compensate for this drop in value, many college students go on to get higher degrees to set themselves apart from the not so good. This decreases the time that they are working and earning money, and increases the time they are spending money. Jennifer Dirmeyer said “The most important function of grades is to signal others about your potential, messing with this signal can have disastrous results” (Are Some Bad Grades Good?).
Some of the most damaging effects of grade inflation begin to appear once students enter the work field. Often the students are hired because of their good grades, or so they appear. Due to grade inflation, the new employees seem as if they were good students, and therefore be good workers, they are not necessarily good workers and need extra training. Not only do they need extra training but they also are not as flexible or willing to expand their abilities. Many employers are not willing to tolerate this for long and will soon fire the employee. Grade inflation not only causes damage in school, but also after