Heidi wrote:
> I can't recall the citation, but I remember reading
> a study which indicated that grade inflation was
> highest amongst adjuncts. It might have been either
> at the national education statistics or dept of ed web site.
Not surprising.
If most institutions are like the one I teach at, the decision
to offer an adjunct a contract for the following term is often based
very strongly, or even exclusively, on student evaluations (at my
institution, full-time faculty don't have to be evaluated, but adjuncts
must be evaluated in every class they teach). While most of us would
(hopefully) not take that into account when establishing grading
criteria, it's inevitable that it will play SOME part in grading. One or
two complaints about grading in circumstances where any doubt at all
exists can easily result in an adjunct never again being offered a
contract, no matter how good an instructor s/he actually is. In
addition, because adjuncts aren't paid for their time grading, writing
tests, etc., there is a serious tendency to favor test-bank based
quizzes (which can be quickly written and graded) instead of more
time-intensive approaches such as essay questions, project reports, or
term papers. There are a few of us who still require them (I require 9
quizzes [dropping the low quiz], four substantive essays [4-6 pages plus
works cited] a final and a term paper--but I'm considered a slave driver
or a dinosaur), but most of the adjuncts I know just use a few multiple
choice quizzes (graded on a scantron) instead, hardly the best way to
insure learning has taken place.
Rick
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