Harvard asks faculty to justify grading methods

Boston Globe ^ | 10/23/2001 | Patrick Healy

[grimalkin]

For the first time, professors at Harvard University have been asked to justify the grades they give students as the university launches its toughest examination yet of grade inflation.

Susan Pedersen, dean of undergraduate education, gave faculty members a January deadline to explain their grading practices in writing. A committee will review the data and recommend whether changes to grading should be considered.

[mywholebodyisaweapon]

Yeah, you're right. But EDUCATION people say that student evaluations have no relationship to grades. Those of us who teach bonified academic subjects know otherwise, but it's still almost impossible to get another professor or an administrator to come sit in on one's class to directly evaluate one's teaching.

[twigs]

At my husband's college, other teachers and administrators are required to sit in all faculty's classes at least once a year. But, their evaluation does not count toward promotions and raises. My husband has been department chair for 20 years and is not yet a full professor, one reason being that he has just never taken the time to pull it all together for the academic committee. He says that now he will have to step down from his chairmanship and spend all his time on his classes to get the evaluations he needs (basically all excellents) to become full professor.

[GunsareOK]

Even if I had the raw intelligence of these Harvard undergraduates (1450+ SAT, 135+ IQ) I would apply to Hillsdale and Grove City College instead. An undergraduate at these schools would have more contact with the faculty as opposed to teaching assistants. Also, even if a student were not as conservative as the average Freeper, the exchange of ideas of all viewpoints is freer at these schools than it is in the politically correct atmosphere of Harvard.

In short, Harvard is vastly over-rated except possibly for graduate school.

[freefly]

This explains a LOT of what we see in government...

[freefly]

Hmmmm.
GOOD points.

[Henry F. Bowman]

Good points on the logic of high grades.

Also:

"He said he believes Harvard should adopt an anti-inflation strategy used by Dartmouth College and some other schools: Students receive transcripts with two grades for each class: the grade earned by the student and the median grade in the class. This way, graduate schools, corporate recruiters, and professors themselves know when an A is a common grade or a rare one."

This technique at least offers truth in advertising. However, it can still be abused. A prof can make half the grades (plus one) a "B", and have 49% of the grades "A's", with no "B+" or "A-". Thus half the students will show an "A" compared to the median "B", and the other half will be right at the median, leaving it like Lake Wobegone, with "all the children above (or at) average."

Tell me the Dartmouth profs haven't already figured this one out.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Grade inflation was considered a problem at least as far back as 1965. I remember hearing about the problem at big schools then.

My teaching experiences were mostly at a small state college. We had to admit anyone who had a high school diploma or equivalent. Usually on entrance exams about 1/3 of the students couldn't read at eight grade level and 1/3 read at better than college level with the rest in between. We used to joke that the natural triage was: those who couldn't learn in spite of all you did, those who would learn in spite of all you did, and those who you had to teach.

[pikachu]

I taught for a semester at a University in Southern California. Had one young lady who crashed the class on the fist meeting, never showed up again, and was failed. Her dad was a dean from another school at the University and 'revised' the grade to an A. A buddy in the Registrar's office showed me the paperwork and then the 'review' on me by her dad stating in no uncertain terms I was never to be allowed to teach again. BTW the young lady went to law school and is now working for the Democrats.

[xzins]

Students receive transcripts with two grades for each class: the grade earned by the student and the median grade in the class.

Let's go all the way and make them rank ordered numeric scores on on a numeric average of all tests, papers, etc.

That way all who view the class know that some kid had a 94% average, but ranked only 40 out of a hundred. The good news for recruiters is that this kid has averaged only one missed answer per 20 question test. Like in the baseball draft, they'll be getting awfully good material at a bargain rate, and probably getting to avoid prima donna wages asked by the yokum at the top of the heap.