grade-inflation

A recent study on leave of absence policies at Ivy League universities gave Columbia a D grade, criticizing the University’s lack of guidelines surrounding the duration of leaves and the absence of a contact person for students who go on leave.

For students who want an easy A, a new website will help them pick into classes with more generous grading curves.

As I was studying for a midterm last Tuesday, Columbia College Student Council and Engineering Student Council candidates knocked on my door and promised, among other things, that they would make the grading curves at Columbia more fair.  Unaware of any grading curve problem, I turned to a popular new grade-distribution website for answers: gradesatcu.com.

Spectator has hosted much discussion lately on the POTUS project and the prospect of President Obama speaking at Commencement this year. I have a slightly irrelevant question: If Obama does speak here this year, what will his Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score be?more Flesch-Kincaid is a readability score that uses mathematical formulae to compute the difficulty of a given text based on factors such as average sentence length and average word length. A grade-level score of five, for example, suggests that the text is comprehensible to fifth graders. Flesch-Kincaid is hardly an infallible determiner of reading difficulty, but it's kind of a fun toy. For example, I copied-and-pasted Spectator's pro-POTUS editorial from Oct. 19 into this readability calculator, and it got a score of 13, which means that it is intelligible to the average college freshman. And then I copied everything up to the previous sentence in this blog post, and it got a score of 15. So apparently freshmen and sophomores cannot understand this post. Anyhow, it seems that people who actually matter also enjoy calculating Flesch-Kincaid scores. Language analysts blasted Obama's oil spill speech earlier this summer because it scored a 9.8. His "Yes, We Can" victory speech, in contrast, scored a 7.4. This is kind of a problem. If the president of the United States is criticized for being "elitist" when he speaks 10th-grade-level English, what does that say about the state of education in America? After all, Obama was speaking about an oil spill and alternative energy, topics that necessarily demand language more sophisticated than that of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This isn't a commentary on whether or not President Obama is "elitist." It is, though, a defense of the English language. The president of any country, or the leader of any society, should be a model, in every sense of the word. That means using good English (or whatever the national language is). If people have difficulty understanding that English, the onus to change (no pun intended) is on them, not the speaker. Maybe this argument is politically impractical. But I'm a college student, not a politician, so that's what I think. Of course, how well one speaks English, or how well one is educated, is closely linked to a host of factors, including economic or social status. I, too, could be accused of being "elitist" in making the argument I make. But still, I think we can all agree that it'd be nice to live in a society where 10th-grade English isn't "elitist." So, Mr. or Ms. Class Day/Commencement Speaker, whoever you may be, here's my request: I hope your Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score doesn't come out to something like a 6.7.

At least 8 percent of Columbia's 5,934 undergraduates received straight As or A-pluses last semester, according to a document leaked to Spectator on Wednesday. The spreadsheet, which was leaked from an advising dean to his advisees in an apparent email gaffe, listed 482 students in Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science who received at least a 4.0 during the fall 2010 semester. The spreadsheet included students' names, GPAs, UNIs, years, the names of their academic advisors, and majors. According to the document, 372 of the students were in CC and 110 were in SEAS. Spectator verified information with several students on the list. The document also indicates that the more senior the class, the more straight As reported. The highest number came from the class of 2011, which had 156 students on the list, followed by the class of 2012 with 147, the class of 2013 with 101, and the class of 2014 with 75. Two students had 4.33 GPAs, which means that they earned grades of A-plus in each of their classes last semester. A plurality of the students listed are "undecided" on a major. However, of the students who have declared majors, those majoring in economics form the largest bloc, with 39 students. That category encompasses all of the economics majors, including students participating in joint degree programs with mathematics, operations research, philosophy, political science, and statistics. It was followed by political science with 20 students, and then English with 17 students. Mechanical engineering, a relatively large department in SEAS that 43 students majored in, last May, only had one student make above a 4.0. Several students who received the email said they were not worried about their GPAs being released because of the relatively low number of students who received the list as an accidental attachment from their adviser. "I am not particularly concerned with others knowing my GPA for last semester. If GPA actually meant something, then maybe I would be," Justin Vlasits, CC '11, wrote in an email. "As it is, there are really no grounds for complaint." Sarah Ferguson, CC '11, said she also did not have any hard feelings about the error. "I'm not much bothered by 'the leak.' It was clearly a mistake, and I can't imagine anything coming of it," Ferguson wrote in an email. "To me, it just was further proof of huge grade inflation." abby.mitchell@columbiaspectator.com

A simplified view of ambiguous data, the Spectator's initial report on the number of students earning A-level grade averages last term was regrettable. The strong thrust of the article, "Beyond Straight A's," is that the quality of A-level work must have declined for so many undergraduates­—482 at Columbia College and SEAS—to have earned these grades. Hence, the article ends by quoting a CC student, "To me, it was just further proof of huge grade inflation." That day's front-page graphic, a long list of tiny "A's" illustrating the abundant supply of the grade, added an implicit echo to the quote. But this picture of the data is presumptuous—the fact that so many people get certain grades says nothing conclusive about the meaning of those grades until the actual courses and the larger academic context are considered as well. The Spectator article shows how such sensationalized and sound-byte renderings like "grade inflation" both conceal the nuance behind academic life at an institution like Columbia and carry an even greater risk of marginalizing whole sections of our community. For example, a scandal about "grade inflation" may forget the large majority of students who strangely missed getting A's. We might forgive a B-level student who came away from Spectator's shiny graphic of A after A after A with a more diffident and uncertain sense of his status at Columbia. "If the A is easy, why did I have such trouble getting a B?" Questions and doubts like these should find no occasion in genuinely educational settings where exploration, risk-taking, and imperfection are the accepted prerequisites of intellectual growth. The hasty inference that an abundance of high marks can only mean low standards is dangerously insensitive to students who did not attain these marks. We should not be surprised to find that the source of "grade inflation" laments is so often an academic super-elite. It is the Ivy League's translation of Ayn Rand: "We're on strike against your creed of unearned duties...I ask for nothing less than what I earn." The problem with the "grade inflation" charge is that its underlying desire for a single, common, "gold" academic standard is at odds with the diversity of a large elite American university like Columbia. All of the adjectives in that description­—large, elite, American—contribute to the diversity of Columbia students and the many academic backgrounds they bring with them. Students come from competitive feeder schools, under-performing public schools, and international programs with entirely different academic systems. Multiply this level of diversity by the fact that many classes at Columbia include students from different colleges within the university—CC, SEAS, GS, and BC—each which has its own mission, constituency, and admissions process with varying emphasis and competitiveness. So asking a professor and his or her TA's to impose one uniform and meaningful grading "currency" is like trying to set a common currency for the economies of Greece and Germany. There's bound to be some inflation or deflation. At a certain point, shouting "grade inflation" is just a divisive way of saying the obvious: we are a happily diverse and complicated community. None of this is to say that in any particular class, the grades may not be determined more or less fairly. But that question must be referred to the courses themselves. A statistic like the one above may mean many things including and besides "grade inflation." And whether or not it means grade inflation may not be the most pressing question to ask. Alternatively, does it mean that all students, regardless of their background, find a sufficiently wide outlet for their potential here? Does it acknowledge the value of taking risks? Does so much attention to students getting A's represent a community that acknowledges that value? At the very least, we should be sure that our interest in the issue is consistent with the inclusive and nurturing premises of undergraduate education. This is just some, and definitely not all, of the essential context that must be considered before a discussion of academic assessment at Columbia will bear ripe and edible fruit. The author is a senior in Columbia College majoring in history.

When the information regarding Columbia's possible grade inflation was "leaked" to the public, we expected scandalous breaking news. The fact that eight percent of SEAS and CC students received straight A's does not come as a shock. While that figure may be larger than those of the past, it does not signify a vast problem with Columbia's grading system. The leak and the response highlight only what we already know—that grades are a profoundly important part of our student culture and self-esteem, and inform our academic expectations and anxieties. Whereas in the past a degree from a well-regarded university was enough to secure a job, students now must have stellar grades, demonstrate extracurricular leadership, exude personal flair, and communicate a sense of style, too. Given the terrible state of the job market, it makes sense that students both want and need high GPA's. Many competitive internships require a minimum GPA for consideration, which may give students from less-competitive colleges a leg up. With these pre-professional anxieties in mind, grades are arguably more important than ever. We must, however, resist such arguments. Though it is tempting to give way to fears about inadequacy in the job market, we must remember the purpose of a Columbia education. We do not come to Columbia solely to get a high-paying job—we matriculate because we want to become better students, thinkers, and people. We should be uncomfortable with the notion that the goal of a Columbia education is to make us competitive amid other Ivy League graduates. Students take pride in their hard work and hours spent in Butler, so to reward everyone equally is to devalue the achievement of above-average students. But this problem is not generated solely by uptight students, the job market, or irresponsible teachers. As students, we do have control over one of the factors contributing to the GPA craze—ourselves. We must bear in mind that Columbia should leave us with more than a GPA. So the next time you're jealous of your friend in that easy Lit Hum section, remember that he's not much better off.

As spring 2012 rolls in with 40 new faces on my CourseWorks student roster, the blue books from fall 2011 still sit on my desk, reminding me of the intense and dreadful week of grading before Christmas. I look forward to meeting another group of brilliant young minds, but I am also dreading the unavoidable question: "How do I get an A in this course?" Please don't get me wrong. It really is great to hear that everyone wants to excel and get an A! But, unfortunately, not everyone can ace my course. In fact, the average grade for most courses at Columbia is B or B+, which by definition indicates a solid understanding of the course material. The grading system is not perfect, and neither are the exams. But I think there are some merits to this system. For me, the purpose of assigning grades to work is to promote diligence and raise alarms when someone is off track. I think most professors want students to do well in their classes. But more importantly, we want to share our knowledge and enthusiasm with the students, to stimulate new ideas, and to prepare them for the uncertain future with something useful. But here is the dilemma: If we were to give everyone A's, then I'm afraid very few students would actually receive the highly-priced college education they came here for. And here is why: Without the pressure of grades, it is all too easy for the mind to wander in class and for the knowledge to slip by you without leaving much impact in your life. I had to learn this myself. When I was in college in China, we didn't have websites like Yelp or CULPA. But gossip did go around. We figured out that a few professors were very lenient, and as long as you showed up and turned in a report you would probably get an A. I took a few of them to fulfill my college credit requirement. Ask me now, what did I learn from them? I remember nothing. It's strange to think that hours of lectures by renowned professors from one of the best universities made absolutely no difference in my life, all because I was too relaxed to learn. So what DO I remember from college? To tell you the truth, my most vivid memories are the times when I answered questions wrong in class, which was quite often; and secondly, from a few assignments and exams for which I worked really hard to get a good grade. I am certain that students today, especially at Columbia, are more driven than I was. But, from time to time, I see my old self in them when someone starts playing games in the back of the lecture hall, knowing that the lecture will be available on podcast—or, when someone writes a diary entry on the homework, because he or she doesn't think I will grade it. Thus, as much as I hate grading, I will have to continue to use grades, to encourage and to alert. Having just praised the grade-based educational system, I have to admit that grades are over-emphasized in today's society. A math professor friend, who recently decided to become a Wall Street banker, told me that a company that interviewed him asked for his high school transcript. As ridiculous as this story sounds, this grade mania is invading and polluting our classrooms, so much so that the most important question becomes, "Is this going to be on the exam?" So here comes my second dilemma about grades: Being able to show your achievement in coursework is important, but that should not be the only measure of your success at Columbia. I feel that student life is way too precious to be wasted in doing everything according to the book (or the professor). Within the scope of a solid college education, why not test your own hypotheses, debate about your own opinions, or find something new to challenge yourself? The best part is that you are in good company. If you happen to fail the first time around, you will be backed by an amazing group of people, some of whom might have made the same mistakes as you. They will be able to show you how to do things better next time around. After all, the faculty is what makes Columbia great. They are professionals at asking questions and struggling for answers. So why waste this golden opportunity by only asking how to get an A in the course? I hope these same inner voices are what really motivate the students today, and I hope that this semester I will get more questions like "Why isn't the universe shrinking?" or "Why can't we store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain?" Because in the end, curiosity and critical thinking are what matter when you face the challenges of the future, not the ability to squeeze the last point out of each assignment and test. The author is a lecturer in discipline for Frontiers of Science and a postdoctoral research scientist at the department of earth and environmental sciences.