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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1976)
r One-third of all University grades A's Grade inflation: a 'dilution of student worth' By ROBERT REVELEY Of the Emerald If you jump for joy whenever you "ace" a course, you'd better stop patting yourself on the back and prepare for a shock: almost one third of the grades awarded at the University during a recent three term period were A's, according to the current Academic Standards Committee (ASC) report. Even more startling may be the disparity in grading practices among schools and departments at the University. According to the report, the per centages of A's awarded ranged from 16.7 in the marketing, trans portation and business environ ment department to a high of 81.5 in military science. Only in business administra tion, journalism and liberal arts did the overall percentages of A's fall below 30. Departmental figures in liberal arts ranged from 16.8 per cent (nursing) to 56.8 per cent (women's studies). The report calls the disparity ‘‘clearly unfair to students who en roll in courses where high grades are unusually hard to achieve." The ASC blames "those depart ments which have relaxed their standards rather than those which have maintained traditional stan dards " Most University administrators agree grade inflation—the devaluation of the critena by which the student s per formance is judged—presents a serious problem, primarily for the student. Journalism school Dean John Hulteng believes grade inflation and disparity in grading create a "dilution of student worth.” The ASC agrees: "Grade infla tion penalizes better students be cause a premium grade effec tively no longer exists in many classes." Dean James Kelly, whose Community Service and Public Af fairs' faculty awarded A's to 59.6 per cent of its students, says, "People are giving away grades. I find it difficult to believe that 60 per cent of the students in this school are doing excellent work." Disparate grading practices create problems for students who are competing for scholarships. "People in departments and col leges with easy grading policies will pick off all the scholarships," says Stoddard Malarkey, as sociate liberal arts dean. Major Michael Vasey, assistant professor of military science, is one instructor who believes the issue is exaggerated. Vasey feels that 81.5 per cent of the students in his department are in fact doing excellent work. He also believes that "an A in our department means as much as anywhere else." Donald McCarty, director of the University’s Career Planning and Placement Service, also dis misses the phenomenon as basi cally insignificant, at least as far as prospective employers are con cerned. McCarty says most emp loyers are unaware of the facts surrounding grading disparities and the recruiting process is rela tively unaffected by grade inflation because "everybody's got the problem.” He also warns, however, that if a student has an excess of undif 19rentiated grades in a major field, there would be "some suspicion of the student’s real ability" on the part of the recruiter As McCarty suggests, grade in flation is a nationwide phenome non and has been attributed to the general upheaval in educational practices which took place during the 60s Many educators trace it to the rise in egalitanan sentiment and the heightened interest in al ternate mekns of education during that decade More specifically, the problem has been blamed on the Vietnam war, during which many instruc tors were reluctant to expose male students to a possibly deadly draft by handing out low grades Vasey, however, says he has "heard everything attributed to Vietnam," and does not think it is a factor. Spencer Carlson, University registrar, says the phenomenon of grade inflation and grading dis parities developed here in the mid and late 60s and blames "a lack of common viewpoint on the part of the faculty." Another University adminis trator feels the strong tradition of HAIR ICRAT 561 E. 13th Awe. — Across from Max’s — 344-1714 FERMO A concentrated acidic shampoo 6 oz. size only $2" offer expires 7-13-76 Complete quality hair care products and equipment including blowers, hot combs, and curling irons. SKEDKEN - rim i w iwbumhij ' i >* :.wxrv*^» n. T ^rrv^^ 2%;-rZZr7HmB Drawing by JoAnne Fahlgren faculty power and the difficulty deans have in influencing their faculties are at the root of the prob lem at the University. Student evaluations, which are used at the University in awarding promotions and tenure to faculty members, may also play a part in rising grade levels. Carlson sees "some relationship between ex pected grades and evaluations," but believes student evaluations are "not necessarily a factor. What's a university to do? Workable solutions to these problems seem as elusive as the causes. Universities across the country are, however, beginning to take steps to turn the situation around. Yale, for example, has reinstated the D grade, and the University's faculty senate has voted to do the same thing. The senate will also consider a motion next fall to bring back the F as well. University administrators disagree on what else might be done to moderate the problem. Kelly sees the need for "explicit criteria for judging student per formance.” Without these criteria, he says, "the University's credibil ity is questioned.” Malarkey, however, sees diffi culty in imposing a uniform for mula. “Make public the grading patterns," he suggests. Such pub lication, he feels, would reveal any school or department that was out of line and exert pressure for cor rective action. Aaron Novick, dean of the University’s graduate school says he "would like to see more consis tency in grading practices. But how do you achieve it?” he asks. One answer, he says, might be a separation of the teaching and examination functions, each being handled by an independent staff. Despite differences in opinion on how grade inflation and grad ing disparities are to be reversed, general agreement exists among University administrators that the problems will be acted on. Education Dean Robert Gil berts sees "more conservatism in education,” and Kelly believes that when the matter is closely ex amined, "What students are really after is a good education. 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