[summer]

the result of grade inflation carried on by teachers

And, yes, there is a problem in some schools with grade inflation -- check out all the recent articles about grade inflation at Harvard! Seriously. :)

[Theodore R.]

In many institutions of lower and higher learning, an instructor simply cannot keep his job if he does not engage in grade inflation. But the public hasn't a clue about such pressure to award high grades for mediocre and even failing work. It's the politicization of education. Harvard's grade inflation merely proves my point -- one can get good grades by paying sufficient tuition and fees. Harvard students are placed in the position of the institution prostituting itself to obtain the funding that the students bring forth. All the "reform" in the world won't restore basic integrity to a failing system.