Pros And Cons Of Grade Inflation

Grade inflation is a debate with two distinct sides: students and faculty. Naturally students will have no opposition to receiving an A. It also reflects well on the university if graduation rates are higher. Professors, on the other hand, are the source of this inflation whether they realize it or not. Some professors give more A’s to secure their job or maybe they just feel like their students deserve A’s, so they hand them out. If teachers try to fight inflation they risk harming themselves and their students in the process. Many top universities and critics claim that grade inflation is a big problem. Others argue that it doesn't have much affect on anything. Jordan Ellenberg why it isn't a big deal in an article titled, “Don’t Worry About …show more content…
He also then goes into detail to disprove the fact that grade inflation makes it more difficult to distinguish between great and good students. He does this by using the statistical concept of standard deviation. He uses the example of two students on a five grade scale, showing that the standard deviation of the scale can differentiate between students when looking at all of the courses and not just within each class. The five grade scale does just fine distinguishing between students when looking at overall course work after graduation. One of the main reasons people are angry about grade inflation is because it makes it hard for employers to choose from GPA’s. However, his explanation using standard deviations prove that you can see differences in GPAs after all the coursework is complete using a five grade system, which is when employers see the GPA …show more content…
It allows students to be compared for their future in careers or scholarships. Grades serve as a goal for students to work towards, keeping in mind that employers will be basing acceptance on your work. In an article written by Ben Krop, studies show that “students are motivated only to receive a grade because of the intrinsic value this judgment holds for their future and not for the possible knowledge that is suggested by this level of assessment.” I believe this to be true, if you took a random poll of college students across America, I believe a majority of them would respond saying that the only reason GPA matters is for their future careers and whatever they apply for after college. If there was no added pressure most students would be just fine with just barely passing classes to be able to