An article by Nancy Mitchell, called “Thousands of students victims of ‘grade inflation’”, expresses the concern of grade inflation in different schools. Grade inflation is when teachers give students higher grades than they deserve. Teachers may do this to give their student’s higher self-esteem and confidence. Another reason may be the course is not challenging enough and does not present advanced students with new material. Even though it may look beneficial, in the long run, students will not be prepared for strenuous college education. “Grade inflation establishes the expectation for students that low quality work will suffice when, in reality that doesn’t cut it”. This quote from the writing speaks a lot of truth. What is the point of being a 4.0 honor roll student when you do not have the knowledge and life skills needed to achieve in the real world?
In some cases, I have noticed that some classes at Lima Senior suffer from grade inflation. I especially noticed it in my underclassman courses, where the criteria was aimed at students who do not try. Just by completing my work at mediocre level, I could easily pull off a high “A”. Even though I noticed grade inflation in some cases, not all classes at Lima Senior suffer from it. In the more advanced classes that I have been taking the past couple of years, I had to work hard for the grade I received. I was forced to learn more material and think in abstract ways. The reason my recent classes have been different from those in previous years, is probably because the students who don’t try are weeded out. Instead of automatically being the smartest in the class, I have to work hard to get a decent grade.
Because of my earlier classes affected by grade inflation, I was worried about if I was truly ready to succeed in college. This past year, I took classes at Ohio Northern. I did really well in them and pulled off two “A’s”. It is only because of my more advanced classes that I was able to do this. If all of my classes were like the ones I had freshman year (ex. Physical Science, Algebra 2) I would not have done so well in my college classes. Like it states in the article, grade inflation may give students a higher GPA and confidence, but they will not be prepared for
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Sadly, much of what you speak is the truth. Average level classes at Lima Senior do typically suffer from grade inflation. And the worst part is that it tricks students into thinking that they can slack off and procratinate and still do well in school. College will definitely be a wake up call for these individuals.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do believe that Lima Senior suffers from grade inflation in certain subjects, generally I think they are pretty straight forward. I also have taken college classes (with you haha!) and I got A's in those classes and worked really hard, so I personally don't think I have been a "grade inflation victim".
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