We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Voluntary Conscription: Enlisting the Children of Lake Wobegone in the Battle Against Grade Inflation.
- Authors
King, Mark
- Abstract
Anecdotal evidence and statistical evidence indicate that undergraduate grades have risen over the past several years. Examination of this upward movement has resulted in an increasingly polarized and unpleasant grade inflation debate occurring both within the academy and in the mainstream media. Despite the belligerent tone of this grade inflation debate, little progress has been made in realigning undergraduate grades to a more realistic standard. This essay seeks to begin that realignment process, not by vilifying students, instructors, or the media, but rather, by promoting a classroom level, student-centered activity that seeks to form a more accurate consensus on the nature of (and relative scarcity of) true excellence. By using students' innate sense of scarcity of excellence and encouraging them to evaluate the work of their peers, the instructor may create conditions under which he or she feels comfortable evaluating undergraduate student work realistically.
- Subjects
GRADING of students; EDUCATIONAL tests &; measurements; UNIVERSITIES &; colleges; COLLEGE teachers; COLLEGE students
- Publication
College Literature, 2005, Vol 32, Issue 1, p127
- ISSN
0093-3139
- Publication type
Essay
- DOI
10.1353/lit.2005.0009