Former professor of geophysics at Duke University, Stuart Rojstaczer is a notable author and coauthor of many studies, books, and articles in his career. He has a PhD in applied earth and sciences and has also created a website on grade inflation, which he has done much research on. Rojstaczer wrote “Grade Inflation Gone Wild”, an opinion editorial in the Christian Science Monitor, which is particularly focused on grade inflation in the United States. Rojstaczer claims that many people, professors, and administrators turn their backs on the ongoing grade inflation at universities and colleges which must be addressed and fixed. Rojstaczer highlights the impact that grade inflation has on students and their education level but does not give adequate
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This, in essence, is the foundation of why Rojstaczer wrote his op-ed. He argues that getting a B+ or better is achievable for students with only minimal effort. Students can go through the motions, not prepare for class, and limit studying to a minimum to achieve a high letter grade. Students today “study less than 10 hours a week-that’s less than half the hours they spent studying 40 years ago” (68). Rojstaczer tries to back up his claim by looking at the average GPA of universities and schools today. He explains that the GPA at many schools has risen. Brown University, for example, is an elite school and “two-thirds of all letter grades given are now A’s” (68). This evidence seems sufficient when proving that it is normal for students to receive an A, but he only names one school where this is occurring and does not provide any further information on other schools. Not only does Rojstaczer argue that the quality of education has gone down, he also believes that because students don’t have to spend their extra time studying or learning, they instead turn their interest towards drinking. Although in some instances this could true, it cannot be accurate to conclude that all college students in the nation turn to alcohol to fill in their time. Rojstaczer believes that not solving this problem will lead to “a generation of poorly educated college graduates who have used their four years …show more content…
He includes the appeal of pathos by using a sense of nationalism, pride, and hard work, which is successful when speaking to this specific audience. Yet, he fails to support his claim on grade inflation, then makes an even bigger claim that inflation leads to drinking problems which is completely irrelevant, inaccurate, and cannot be supported with the evidence provided. Rojstaczer, in the end, is unsuccessful in providing logical information to support his argument in an accurate
This, in essence, is the foundation of why Rojstaczer wrote his op-ed. He argues that getting a B+ or better is achievable for students with only minimal effort. Students can go through the motions, not prepare for class, and limit studying to a minimum to achieve a high letter grade. Students today “study less than 10 hours a week-that’s less than half the hours they spent studying 40 years ago” (68). Rojstaczer tries to back up his claim by looking at the average GPA of universities and schools today. He explains that the GPA at many schools has risen. Brown University, for example, is an elite school and “two-thirds of all letter grades given are now A’s” (68). This evidence seems sufficient when proving that it is normal for students to receive an A, but he only names one school where this is occurring and does not provide any further information on other schools. Not only does Rojstaczer argue that the quality of education has gone down, he also believes that because students don’t have to spend their extra time studying or learning, they instead turn their interest towards drinking. Although in some instances this could true, it cannot be accurate to conclude that all college students in the nation turn to alcohol to fill in their time. Rojstaczer believes that not solving this problem will lead to “a generation of poorly educated college graduates who have used their four years …show more content…
He includes the appeal of pathos by using a sense of nationalism, pride, and hard work, which is successful when speaking to this specific audience. Yet, he fails to support his claim on grade inflation, then makes an even bigger claim that inflation leads to drinking problems which is completely irrelevant, inaccurate, and cannot be supported with the evidence provided. Rojstaczer, in the end, is unsuccessful in providing logical information to support his argument in an accurate