Whenever students complain about the amount of material in my classes I tell
a joke about a professor who never gave an A in his class. One semester a
student was going to do whatever it took to get an A. She read all the
required and recommended readings. Read the references in those readings did
every assignment participated in class and at the end of the semester she
only got a B. When she went to the teacher and asked for an explanation the
teacher said "there is only a B's worth of material in the course."
Gary J. Klatsky, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Oswego State University of NY http://www.oswego.edu/~klatsky
Oswego, NY 13126 Voice: (315) 312 3474
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Pisacreta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 1:45 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Fwd: Grade inflation
I thought that some of you would find this interesting.
Rip Pisacreta
>Teacher Fights 'Grade Inflation'
>The New York Times
>February 7, 2001
>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>BOSTON (AP) -- Harvard University professor Harvey C. Mansfield's
>reputation of being a tough grader earned him the nickname ``Harvey
>C-Minus.''
>Now he is getting attention for his one-man stand against what he calls
>grade inflation.
>The government professor is giving students who take his class this
>semester two grades: an official grade that will go on their transcripts,
>and a separate mark he thinks they really deserve.
>``I'm trying this out as an experiment ... to address the grievous decline
>in academic standards at American colleges,'' Mansfield said.
>Grade inflation started during the Vietnam War when professors gave
>students higher grades because those with low grades ``could lose their
>deferment and be sent to war,'' Mansfield said. The practice is now based
>on the ``notion that education must make students feel good about
>themselves,'' he said.
>Mansfield is using the two-grade system in his undergraduate ``History of
>Modern Political Philosophy'' course. He said it will allow him to evaluate
>student performance without unfairly damaging their grade-point averages,
>often used by graduate schools to determine admission.
>``People laughed when he first announced it,'' said Roman Martinez, a
>senior in the class. Students stopped laughing when they realized they
>would benefit, he said.
>``In the past, Professor Mansfield has been giving tougher grades and that
>punished students who took his class,'' Martinez said. ``This will affect
>us in that we will get the inflated grades on our transcripts.''
>Mansfield's official grades will be based on the average grades of all
>Harvard's undergraduate classes last year. Citing information from the
>registrar, Mansfield said 51 percent of undergraduate grades at Harvard
>last year were either A's or A-minuses. ``And that is ridiculous,'' he
>said. This semester, he will give that percentage of his students A's or
>A-minuses.
>``His actions are an example to the academic community of a teacher taking
>his responsibility seriously,'' said Bradford P. Wilson, executive director
>of the National Association of Scholars. The group was founded in 1987 to
>fight perceived declines in higher education standards.
>Wilson said studies have shown that while the number of A's given by
>colleges has increased in the last 30 years, the number of C's has
>decreased.
>Not everyone agrees with Mansfield, a tenured professor who has been on the
>faculty since 1962.
>``Harvey Mansfield is one of the nation's leading political scientists, but
>this is a stunt to draw attention to his pet peeve,'' said Terry Hartle,
>senior vice president of the American Council on Education.
>Hartle said students today are more prepared for college than they were 40
>years ago.
>``Baloney,'' Mansfield said. ``Even if students are getting better, we
>should be applying higher standards.''
>While some of Mansfield's colleagues may agree with his position, it is
>unlikely to lead to a grading revolution, said Roderick MacFarquhar,
>chairman of Harvard's government department.
>``It is fair to say quite a few people agree with him, but I think most
>people will not follow his lead,'' he said.
>Even Mansfield is not sure his stand will help. ``It's not a situation that
>can be cured by one person alone,'' he said.
>^------
>On the Net:
>Harvard University government department: http://www.gov.harvard.edu
>American Council on Education: http://www.acenet.edu
>National Association of Scholars: http://www.nas.org
>
>
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