I’ll be the first person to complain about the unequal distribution of grades but I really don’t think of grade inflation being as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
Yes, us young uns nowadays have supposedly ‘inflated’ expectations of what we deserve in class. The old uns (read: professors) have what they consider ‘normal’ expectations of what a student deserves in class. The two sides do not agree. War.
But the thing with inflation is that just as prices readjust to an influx of paper money, so does the value of grades in the eyes of the beholders (read: employers, admission officers, and donkeys.) People say 50 is the new 40, well, B is the new C. ‘B’ and ‘C’ are just symbols, mere alphabets, endowed with their meaning by society. And since society was the one that defined their initial value, society then too will redefine their value as needed.
B and Cs are not stagnant in time. Meaning, B will not forever mean ‘almost made it not quite.’ It is flexible as time progresses in its meaning and that’s what the old stooges seem to forget.
If more people get A’s and B’s, employers will readjust their valuation of A’s and B’s accordingly. Not to mention the interview counts more anyway.
However, there is a set of eyes of the beholders that do not readjust as quickly as employers might. Information in this market is not as quick flowing as in the employment world. Oh those stodgy ole admissions officers. Most graduate schools not only look at grades but also take certain soft qualities into consideration, like the ability to make a bake sale sound like a solution to world peace. So we’ll ignore those grad schools for a bit.
Now, med school. Yes, has a GPA cut off. So grade inflation is unfair to its applicants right? I don’t think so. If you can’t get decent grades with grade inflation, which as the word inflate might imply is usually an increase upwards, then you probably wouldn’t get good grades without grade inflation. If there are too many people with good grades, I’m sure the med schools have a way of choosing the ones they like best. We don’t really have to worry about varying inflation rates across the humanities and sciences since most pre-med students have majors in the sciences and have to take the same basic core classes anyway. No worries about varying rates across major universities since studies have shown (people actually spend money on these studies? Grah) that grade inflation in most universities is about the same. Of course there are grade giving discrepancies amongst professors, but meh, life isn’t always fair.
Law school. Mmm… law schools care about LSATs and GPA and the end. Law school applicants come from a variety of majors since law school doesn’t really impose any restrictions on required undergraduate courses, therefore one could argue that varying inflation rates between the humanities and sciences could be a problem. But I still don’t see that as an issue. First, one assumes that lawyers are ambitious and manipulative, cause honestly if you can’t manipulate words to suite your goals then why bother being a lawyer. Secondly, since they are ambitious and manipulative, one would think that someone considering a law career early on in his/her undergraduate experience would put some thought into they types of courses and activities that would best benefit them in terms of getting into a good law school. If you choose to focus on a “harder” major and then find yourself having a lower GPA than someone in an “easier” major, then clearly you have played your cards wrong. Grade inflation is not a new thing. It’s basically institutionalized and part of the system. Manipulate the system why don’t cha. It’s only unfair if you entered the undergraduate system with no inclination of the existence of grade inflation.
Finally, grades are alphabets we’ll probably forget in about 10 years. Good gosh. I didn’t realize tests and quizzes amounted to the end all and be all of evaluation a person’s worth in life.
I mean, I dislike the fact that a humanities major probably has a higher GPA than I do, and that someone taking the same class with an easier professor would walk out with a higher grade than I would, but those are consequences of the choices I’ve made. I can control how much effort I am willing to put into work in return for a certain level of grade. I can admit that I’m not the brightest and that sometimes, people get higher grades because they are just smarter than I am. The end.
Though I have to say, I’m still pissed at myself for blowing off a class and walking away with a grade that is far below what I wanted. But I deserved that one, my GPA will mourn for now. But lesson learned, tomorrow is another day.
