My reactions to various comments are interspersed throughout.
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Pisacreta [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 12:45 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Fwd: Grade inflation
>Teacher Fights 'Grade Inflation'
>The New York Times
>February 7, 2001
The scare quotes should be around the word "fights". He is doing nothing to
fight grade inflation and is actually contributing to it by his actions. He
gets to have it both ways by saying he is against grade inflation while
giving students the higher grade.
>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.
Translation: He was actually taking a stand against grade inflation when he
was giving grades he thought appropriate to the work. He has now caved in
and it is ironically only now that he is being lauded for his "courageous"
stand.
>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.
If he cared about grade inflation he would record the grade he thinks they
deserve and tell them the grade he thinks they would get in other classes.
>``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.
In what sense is this an experiment of any kind? It doesn't even seem to be
a naturalistic observation. What data is he going to collect?
>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.
He claims grade inflation is about making students happy and then he turns
around and provides his alternate rationale: it is all about fairness in
grad school admission. If grade inflation is really a national problem, grad
schools must certainly recognize it and place more weight on standardized
tests etc. in setting admissions criteria. It is interesting he provides a
rationale to defend grade inflation while supposedly striking a blow against
it.
>``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.''
It shouldn't surprise anyone that students would think this way. (Does
anyone doubt that you would not receive a single complaint if you told
everyone on day one in a class that they would all receive A's regardless of
their performance in the class?) It is unfortunate that a professor would so
obviously give in to the pressure (and ironic that he would be praised as
taking a courageous stand against the very thing he is now contributing to).
>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.
That statement is just a joke. This is an example of a teacher who has caved
to the pressure (from whatever sources) and totally disregarded his
responsibility to grade fairly.
>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.
Thank goodness. Whether grade inflation is currently a problem or not, if
everyone followed his lead, we would have nothing but grade inflation.
>Even Mansfield is not sure his stand will help. ``It's not a situation that
>can be cured by one person alone,'' he said.
I can tell him right now, his "stand" will only contribute to the very thing
he claims to be against. It is appropriate that he is a political science
professor since the publicity surrounding this stunt is a textbook
application of the use of spin: up is down, left is right and cowardly
caving in to pressure is actually a courageous stand against grade
inflation.
Rick
Dr. Richard L. Froman
Psychology Department
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.jbu.edu/sbs/psych/froman.htm
