Grade inflation has become an increasingly, curious issue among different schools and especially colleges. Student grades have been improving in recent years and scholars and professors cannot decide whether the students actually deserve the grades they are receiving or not. Alfie Kohn argues in his essay “The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation” that the idea of students’ grade point averages increasing without achievement is a bad thing is a myth. Kohn provides a series of evidence and research that shows how it is almost impossible to effectively track why students do well in school and whether they deserve the grades they are getting, thus showing that grade inflation is a myth and the real issues involving grades are being ignored.
Teachers teach differently and students are learning differently and even easier. If grades are improving over time it does not necessarily imply that they are inflated. It could have a number of reasons, relating to the material being covered, the desire students have to learn, etc. “Maybe students are turning in better assignments. Maybe instructors used to be too stingy…” (Kohn 63). The educational system continues to change over time, thus there it is difficult to trace if the same work will get the same grade in different time periods. Also, because education is becoming increasingly important, students are being encouraged more to study and learn earlier and more effectively which could relate to the increase in higher grades.
Overall, Kohn provides different reasons for why grades could be inflated and then refutes it by providing evidence as to why the grades are not being inflated, which increases the effectiveness of his argument. For example, he includes the idea that because SAT scores are low, students cannot deserve higher grades. “ But this is an inapt comparison, if only because the SAT is deeply flawed…the claim that scores dropping is poor basis that grades are too high…those who regard SAT results as a basis for comparison should see higher grades…”(Kohn 63-64). Grade inflation is or is not true depending on the teacher. If a teacher is simply handing out high grades for undeserved work because they are not taking the time to adequately grade them, that the grades are inflated. However, in prestigious institutions, where instructors provide challenging requirements, grade them appropriately, and students still receive high grades then the grades are not inflated, but deserved.
Kohn’s extensive research and validity of his evidence and analysis of that evidence effectively delivers his purpose. He claims that it is too difficult to prove that grades are inflated, provides opposing arguments, and refutes through proving his own argument. I agree with his argument because there are simply too many reasons as to why students are receiving and deserve higher grades than in the past. Over time, grades will continue to increase because students want to succeed.
After reading your introduction I thought measuring grades does seem impossible to measure because everyone is different. The examples you provided from Kohn's article about SATs and student performance in school are issues I connect to personally. Because how well students do well on the SAT does not mean they get good grades overall. They may be just slacking in school so they have more time to study for the SAT. And it is true for students who work hard because they want a good grade in their classes. As students continue to higher education they want to pass their classes. The use of logos in both body paragraphs provided logical evidence that made me think about how grade inflation really is a myth and impossible to measure.
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