Grade Inflation
Academic Standards in Higher Education
Published on 1. July 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
250 pages
978-0-7914-7498-3 (ISBN)
Description
An authoritative and provocative discussion of the key issues surrounding grade inflation and its possible effects on academic excellence.
This book provides a provocative look at the issues and controversies surrounding grade inflation, and, more generally, grading practices in American higher education. The contributors confront the issues from a number of different disciplines and varying points of view. Topics explored include empirical evidence for and against the claim that there is a general upward trend in grading, whether grade inflation (if it exists) is a problem, which ethical considerations are relevant to grading, and whether heavy reliance on anonymous student evaluations of teaching excellence has a distorting effect on grading practices. Finally, the contributors offer contrasting perspectives on the prospects for reform.
This book provides a provocative look at the issues and controversies surrounding grade inflation, and, more generally, grading practices in American higher education. The contributors confront the issues from a number of different disciplines and varying points of view. Topics explored include empirical evidence for and against the claim that there is a general upward trend in grading, whether grade inflation (if it exists) is a problem, which ethical considerations are relevant to grading, and whether heavy reliance on anonymous student evaluations of teaching excellence has a distorting effect on grading practices. Finally, the contributors offer contrasting perspectives on the prospects for reform.
Reviews / Votes
"As state and federal agencies begin to talk about accountability for universities, the topic of grade inflation could become even more politicized. This timely book addresses a topic of significant public interest and does it well. The fact that the contributors disagree, take different approaches, and address different aspects of grade inflation is a virtue." - Kenneth A. Strike, author of Ethical Leadership in Schools: Creating Community in an Environment of Accountability"This book encourages academic communities to engage in constructive debate over their professional responsibilities as evaluators of student academic work. Its greatest strength is that it presents disparate perspectives on the complex topics of grading and grade inflation. The contributors are in a real sense engaged in a discussion on the subject, which makes the book refreshing and intellectually stimulating." - Matthew Hartley, University of Pennsylvania
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
2 Figures; 10 Tables, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 224 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7914-7498-3 (9780791474983)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
07/2008
1st Edition
State University of New York Press
€35.99
Available for download
Person
Lester H. Hunt is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the author of Character and Culture and Nietzsche and the Origin of Virtue.
Content
Foreword
John D.Wiley
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation
Alfie Kohn
2. Undergraduate Grades: A More Complex Story Than "Inflation"
Clifford Adelman
3. Understanding Grade Inflation
Richard Kamber
4. Grade Inflation and Grade Variation:What's All the Fuss About?
Harry Brighouse
5 From Here to Equality: Grading Policies for Egalitarians
Francis K. Schrag
6. Grade "Inflation" and the Professionalism of the Professoriate
Mary Biggs
7. Fissures in the Foundation:Why Grade Conflation Could Happen
Mary Biggs
8. Grading Teachers: Academic Standards and Student Evaluations
Lester H. Hunt
9. Combating Grade Inflation: Obstacles and Opportunities
Richard Kamber
10. Grade Distortion, Bureaucracy, and Obfuscation at the University of Alabama
David T. Beito and Charles W. Nuckolls
Afterword: Focusing on the Big Picture
Lester H. Hunt
List of Contributors
Index
Contents
John D.Wiley
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation
Alfie Kohn
2. Undergraduate Grades: A More Complex Story Than "Inflation"
Clifford Adelman
3. Understanding Grade Inflation
Richard Kamber
4. Grade Inflation and Grade Variation:What's All the Fuss About?
Harry Brighouse
5 From Here to Equality: Grading Policies for Egalitarians
Francis K. Schrag
6. Grade "Inflation" and the Professionalism of the Professoriate
Mary Biggs
7. Fissures in the Foundation:Why Grade Conflation Could Happen
Mary Biggs
8. Grading Teachers: Academic Standards and Student Evaluations
Lester H. Hunt
9. Combating Grade Inflation: Obstacles and Opportunities
Richard Kamber
10. Grade Distortion, Bureaucracy, and Obfuscation at the University of Alabama
David T. Beito and Charles W. Nuckolls
Afterword: Focusing on the Big Picture
Lester H. Hunt
List of Contributors
Index
Contents