“Grades are given more leniently today than when I was in college.” Visit any major university today and you’re bound to hear a professor say something of the sort. Many professors claim that grade inflation has corrupted our colleges. Students are being rewarded highly for simply adequate work, they proclaim. The truth is grade inflation has never actually been proven; it is more of a theory than a fact. Ask for sources on the subject and you’ll find isolated studies that proudly report college grades rising over the past few decades, but is grade inflation the only explanation? In this paper I will attempt to prove that grade inflation is an age-old myth concerning a flawed system that fails to properly motivate and educate students.
Despite …show more content…
There are many inherent flaws in the grade-oriented system currently used in colleges across the United States. Perhaps the greatest fault is the way it affects students’ interests in subjects. When the importance is placed on passing or failing a subject rather than learning it, students often lose sight of the actual topic’s value; I have experienced this in my own academic career. I took three Spanish courses in high school. During these classes, I met all of the requirements in order to receive the optimal amount of points. After I graduated, I decided to spend a year in South America; I thought my Spanish courses had adequately prepared me for my assimilation into South American culture. Upon my arrival I realized that I could not communicate with the natives whatsoever. Once I discovered the importance of learning the language, partly because I needed it for everyday activities, I began to learn at a rapid rate. After living there for six months I could speak fluently. This is just one example of how the learning process can be enhanced when one focuses on actually learning a skill. In my life, grades seem to have been an ineffective motivational tool. Grades also seem to have little impact on a person’s successfulness in the work …show more content…
Learning is not something that takes place exclusively, or even primarily, in the classroom; anyone who has worked a job knows that the workplace requires effective learners. I am currently being trained by my employer to do the tasks required of those in my position. Yesterday I began computer simulations that teach what I should do in a variety of different situations. Since grades gauge one’s learning abilities, they should be a valid indicator of how someone will fare in the workforce. Evidence proves otherwise. After researching forty-six studies on the very subject, Daniel Hoyt concluded, “present evidence strongly suggests that college grades bear little or no relationship to any measures of adult accomplishment.” (Hoyt, 1965) I’ve found this true in my own life. I hold a 3.9 GPA here at Liberty University and failed, despite a copious amount of effort, to secure an internship in my area of study this summer. However, one of my colleagues whose grades are mediocre at best acquired a lucrative internship due to his work experience. (We actually applied for the same internship at the same time.) I realize this is an isolated event, but there are countless stories of college dropouts who were tremendously successful in the real world. The world-renowned innovator Steve Jobs, for example, was a college dropout. (Isaacson, 2012) The simple fact is grades do not always accurately predict the achievement of
Despite …show more content…
There are many inherent flaws in the grade-oriented system currently used in colleges across the United States. Perhaps the greatest fault is the way it affects students’ interests in subjects. When the importance is placed on passing or failing a subject rather than learning it, students often lose sight of the actual topic’s value; I have experienced this in my own academic career. I took three Spanish courses in high school. During these classes, I met all of the requirements in order to receive the optimal amount of points. After I graduated, I decided to spend a year in South America; I thought my Spanish courses had adequately prepared me for my assimilation into South American culture. Upon my arrival I realized that I could not communicate with the natives whatsoever. Once I discovered the importance of learning the language, partly because I needed it for everyday activities, I began to learn at a rapid rate. After living there for six months I could speak fluently. This is just one example of how the learning process can be enhanced when one focuses on actually learning a skill. In my life, grades seem to have been an ineffective motivational tool. Grades also seem to have little impact on a person’s successfulness in the work …show more content…
Learning is not something that takes place exclusively, or even primarily, in the classroom; anyone who has worked a job knows that the workplace requires effective learners. I am currently being trained by my employer to do the tasks required of those in my position. Yesterday I began computer simulations that teach what I should do in a variety of different situations. Since grades gauge one’s learning abilities, they should be a valid indicator of how someone will fare in the workforce. Evidence proves otherwise. After researching forty-six studies on the very subject, Daniel Hoyt concluded, “present evidence strongly suggests that college grades bear little or no relationship to any measures of adult accomplishment.” (Hoyt, 1965) I’ve found this true in my own life. I hold a 3.9 GPA here at Liberty University and failed, despite a copious amount of effort, to secure an internship in my area of study this summer. However, one of my colleagues whose grades are mediocre at best acquired a lucrative internship due to his work experience. (We actually applied for the same internship at the same time.) I realize this is an isolated event, but there are countless stories of college dropouts who were tremendously successful in the real world. The world-renowned innovator Steve Jobs, for example, was a college dropout. (Isaacson, 2012) The simple fact is grades do not always accurately predict the achievement of