Grade Inflation Article

Here's a research article of mine about grade inflation, which appeared in the March 20th issue of my school newspaper, The Signal. It can also be found here on the paper's website:

http://www.tcnjsignal.net/2012/03/20/according-to-studies-gpas-are-rising-steadily-in-schools/

The day the freshman was dreading had finally arrived — the day she was to receive the grade of her freshman seminar paper. English and secondary education double major Blaire Deziel wrung her hands nervously and squirmed in her seat as she asked herself: “Why did I leave this paper until the last minute? Why didn’t I do enough research? What am I going to do about this awful grade?”

After receiving her paper, she searched for the “C” or “D” she thought would be scribbled on the back page. She did a double take, however, when she saw the letter grade. Now she asked herself a different question: “How in the world did this paper earn a ‘B’?”

This was not the first time at the College that Deziel had asked herself this question.

“The grading standards of my teachers at college are definitely easier than those of my high school teachers,” she said. “College is a lot easier than I expected, for sure.”

According to many freshmen at the College, their high school teachers prepared them to expect much more work in college than they have actually encountered. It’s not just at the College that students are making these claims. There has been an increasing amount of national research supporting this claim — research suggesting that as time goes on, college grade point averages are climbing steadily higher for work that would have previously received lower grades.

“I have heard of grade inflation and believe it is an issue,” Peter Ulrich, a guidance counselor at Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, said in an email. Ulrich, who guides hundreds of junior and senior high school students through the college process, said he believes “most college instructors grade fairly and students get the grades they deserve — for the most part.”

The term “grade inflation” was coined in a 2003 Washington Post article by former Duke University professor Stuart Rojstaczer, who has since compiled a wealth of data on the matter on his website, gradeinflation.com. The site shows thataverage GPAs have steadily risen over time at 231 schools in the U.S., at an average rate of .15 points every decade since the 1960s. The average GPA of over 60 of the country’s top colleges and universities has risen from 2.93 in 1992 to 3.11 in 2007.

“If I sprinkle my classroom with the C’s some students deserve, my class will suffer from declining enrollments in future years,” Rojstaczer wrote in his Post article. “In the marketplace mentality of higher education, low enrollments are taken as a sign of poor-quality instruction. I don’t have any interest in being known as a failure.”

The College’s GPA records seem to follow this trend as well. According to its online index of reports and grades, the school’s average fall semester GPA has risen steadily from a 3.13 in 2001 to a 3.22 in 2007.

While some may argue this rise is simply an indication of an ever-improving College, other popular N.J. public and private schools follow this trend as well.

Rutgers University has risen from a 2.60 in 1968 to 3.01 in 2006, Monmouth University from a 2.91 in 2005 to 3.03 in 2007 and Princeton University from a 2.83 in 1969 to a 3.38 in 2001.

Freshman history major Bill Toth believed he was experiencing grade inflation in one of his liberal learning classes last semester.

“You couldn’t fail a test,” Toth said. “(The professor)gives you a grade, and then he’ll curve it to a passing grade if you fail … I got an 84 on my midterm and he gave me six extra points. He then decided to give everybody three points because ‘one of the questions was worded funny.’”

Some colleges have actually acknowledged the existence of grade inflation, and have taken steps to combat this trend. Princeton University, for example, publicly announced in 2004 that it would take steps against grade inflation by tightening its grading policy, and its average GPA has since decreased. In the 2008-2009 school year, “A” grades made up 39.7 percent of Princeton’s undergraduate grades, compared to nearly 50 percent in 2002-2003.

“I am aware of the phenomenon and that some institutions like Princeton have studied it more systematically than we (at the College) have,” said Stuart Koch, associate professor of political science, in an email.

When asked whether or not he saw grade inflation at the College, Koch said, “I think it is spread unevenly throughout the College with some faculty, departments and schools more prone than others.”

Koch also said he believes that some professors may give higher grades than students deserve to keep their reputations as competent teachers, “but probably more so to make life easier,” he said. “In our department, being seen as an easy grader would tend to hurt one’s professional reputation.”

Richard Kamber, professor of philosophy, has studied the phenomenon of grade inflation and has written or co-authored several articles on the subject. In an email, he said, “(Grade inflation) is a genuine phenomenon and it is national in scope. Yes, there has been grade inflation at the College for many years, though I stopped tracking it several years ago.”

Kamber also said that smarter incoming students are probably not the primary cause of grade inflation.

“There was a period in the college’s history when the rising academic caliber of admitted students may have been a key factor in grade inflation, but that was a long time ago,” he said.

Not everyone, however, believes grade inflation is a something to worry about, as other factors may be contributing to the steady rise in GPA.

“I think with the use of technology, the quality and scope of assigned papers and projects have improved over time,” Ulrich said. “Students can get more done in shorter hours if they work efficiently. However, I do not think that necessarily makes college life much easier.”

The idea of grade inflation itself is also challenged by skeptical students.

“I don’t think higher GPAs means grading should get tougher,” said Brian Perez, freshman health and exercise science major. “And I’m not saying that because I want easy A’s. I mean, I’m not afraid of a challenge. I just think that plenty of other unnoticed factors could be making GPAs higher — improved study habits, better education in high schools, higher college attendance rates.”

Conversely, Koch sees stricter grading as a possible combatant of grade inflation.

“The College has not figured how to handle grade distribution as part of the promotion process,” he said. “They are not presented.  I think they should be monitored as part of personnel reviews, to help insure that instructors have reasonably strict standards.”

Some opponents of combating grade inflation argue that stricter policies force professors to feel pressured to grade unfairly. Sophomore accounting major Jack Murray feels that this mentality caused one of his professors to unjustly lower his class’s grades.

“He refuses to give us grades we deserve just for the sake of keeping his class average slightly lower,” Murray said. “He also doesn’t believe in a homework assignment or paper that deserves 100 percent. A paper I can somewhat understand, but if I complete a 10-point question-and-answer homework correctly, I think I should get full credit for it.”

Despite the arguments about how to handle grade inflation, the fact remains that grades have noticeably risen over the years when looking at online College grade records. But whether or not it really is a problem is something up for debate.

“Grade inflation especially hurts very good students,” Koch said.

For now, however, Deziel doesn’t see any imminent problem in grade inflation.

“It’s encouraging for me when I get a good grade. It motivates me to keep doing just as well next time. Of course, the higher GPA doesn’t hurt either,” she said. “As long as I learn what I have to learn, I’ll deal with whatever cockamamie grade my professor wants to throw at me.”

Rare Beaked Whale Filmed for the First Time

Thursday, February 23, 2012 was an important day for cetacean studies! One of the rarest of all sea creatures, a shepherd’s beaked whale, was recorded on video for the first time ever. The sighting was the fourth time this elusive whale had ever been seen at sea (AFP).

Source: AFP

The 20-to-25-foot cetaceans are so uncommon because they live in deep waters, with depths between 1,150 and 11,800 feet, and only surface very briefly to breathe.  (ABC News).

I know you’re probably rolling your eyes, thinking, “Who cares about some weird-looking whale?” And I totally get it, these aren’t exactly the most exciting sea creatures.

But think more about how few times these whales have been seen in the wild, and how little we know about them. It’s not exactly the whale sighting itself that intrigues me the most, but rather what this rare whale stands for—how little we actually know about the ocean and its inhabitants. Just think of where that whale in the picture has been… it spends every day in a dark, alien world of crushing depths that we can’t even set foot in without submersibles and complicated machinery. To me, this beaked whale is one of many reminders that we humans don’t always know as much as we think we do.

So while learning more about this whale is exciting, in a way I hope shepherd’s beaked whale always largely remains a mystery. When I see it, and think about how it’s only been spotted four times in the wild, I ask myself… “What creatures have we yet to see at all?” It’s one of many symbols of the animals that we have never seen before, all hidden within the vast depths of the ocean. 

"I Like Sharks in the Ocean, Not in My Soup"

Shark.

When you read that word, you probably thought of one thing—an enormous great white shark, flashing its malicious, toothy grin, or perhaps attacking a surfer. Maybe you thought of a tiger or bull shark, or maybe even an oceanic whitetip, all of which can also be dangerous.

But I’m prepared to bet that you gave no thought about the other 436 species of sharks, which do not pose a threat to humans. Most of their populations, however, are on the decline, and a major reason for this is the practice of shark finning.

Shark finning, if you are unaware, is the practice of catching a shark and cutting off its fins, and often throwing the living, finless shark back into the water. (CNN). Scientists estimate that up to 73 million of these oceanic predators are killed annually to be sold for shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy denoting wealth and status (New York Times).

Because most people think of sharks as mindless eating machines, little has been done in the past to protect these apex predators—something that is necessary for the health of the oceans. Progress is being made, however, even if it is slow and long overdue. In the U.S. Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington have each banned the sale, trading, possession, and distribution of shark fins, and Florida, Maryland, Illinois, and Virginia have legislation pending (New York Times).

While there will, of course, be opponents of these bills, it is vital for them to be passed. Few people realize that stopping the trade of shark finning would actually help all other fishing trades, and therefore our country’s general economy. Being apex predators, sharks contribute to the environment by killing off weak and sick fish, and also by controlling all fish populations. If sharks were to disappear from the oceans—something that is rapidly becoming more possible—fish populations would become imbalanced and out of control, ruining the fishing industry.

Hopefully, the new proposal of an anti-shark fin bill in New York will help more people realize that these fascinating creatures of the sea are valuable, and should not be driven to extinction-especially in such a brutal fashion. Perhaps people will begin to stop viewing all sharks as the stuff of horror movies—though that discussion is for another time. 

Top Ten Books I've Read This Year: Part II

5. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

I started this series with a degree of skepticism, since I didn't believe it could be as good as my friends hyped it up to be. Though I was pleasantly proven wrong, I was slightly let down by the end of the trilogy. Despite these opinions, however, the fact remains that I simply could not put the books down. By three days I had devoured them. The distorted world Collins created is engrossing, a character in its own right. And Collins succeeded in capturing the horrors of war, successfully conveying that where there's violence and lust for power, there can never be a simple, happy ending.

4. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This historical work of fiction set in the 12^th century is the only book by thriller-writer Follett that I have read, and it convinced me to someday read the rest of his books. Pillars contains wonderful, multifaceted characters I hated to love and loved to hate, with a thick plot that is full of surprises. Pillars is one of those books that you are grateful for being long. As you speed through the pages, you watch with dread as the number of unread pages grows smaller and smaller, like sand in the top of an hourglass.

3. The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

This immense thousand-pager is a historical fiction novel taking place in the Late Republic of Ancient Rome. It is an account of the Marian Reform of the Roman army, and Gaius Marius's conquering of Numidia and the German barbarians. The subject sounds as dry as a textbook but it is written in beautiful prose, and McCullough breathes life into the immortal historical figures of Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. The scale and detail with which McCullough captures the enigma of Rome is truly fascinating and unprecedented.

2. Game of Thrones Series (1-4) by George R. R. Martin

This fantasy series is rife with adventures typical of its genre—magic, dragons, epic battles, and strange lands and peoples in a fantastic world. But the series has also been praised for excelling in what the genre is generally considered to lack—morally-ambiguous plots driven by complex characters, as well as a compelling power struggle for the throne.  Martin has been called “the American Tolkien” because every aspect of his series is massive in scope. From the detailed family trees to the various cultures and religions of his world; from the complexities of his characters to the rich symbolism of his writing, there is something for everyone to enjoy in these books (except perhaps readers under thirteen because of some gore and adult content).

1. The Wave by Susan Casey

Casey writes this work of non-fiction with inimitable passion, deep immersion into her subject, and flawless reporting. The Wave is all about giant waves of the ocean—their power and size, the mechanics behind them, the destruction they've caused throughout history, how climate change may affect their frequency, and, of course, big-wave surfers—the people who face these behemoths and live to tell the tale. Once I began the book I couldn't put it down, and soon I became unable to stop myself from spewing facts to my family and friends--"Did you know the East Coast is geologically long overdue for a tsunami? Did you know the biggest wave ever ridden is estimated to be nearly 100 feet tall?" Casey writes with a witty tongue-in-cheek style, yet the reverence she feels for these gigantic walls of water, along with the people who ride them, is obvious. I highly recommend this book for anyone remotely interested in the powers contained in our oceans.

Top Ten Books I've Read This Year: Part I

Just finished turning the last page of your latest page-turner? Here's a list of the top ten books I've read in the last year that I would highly recommend to my fellow readers. They come from all walks of genres and a myriad of writers. Some of them you might have never heard of, and some of them are so popular there's a good chance they're the book you just finished—but all are worth reading.

10. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

Here's a work of non-fiction that will take you with legendary explorer Percy Fawcett into the deepest jungles of the Amazon. Fawcett and his son (as well as countless people who went looking for them) disappeared in 1925 while searching for an ancient city supposedly untouched by civilization (labeled the "Lost City of Z"). The author himself journeyed into the Amazon to find out what he could about Fawcett's disappearance, and writes with the suspense of an action movie.

9. The Tempest by Shakespeare

I warned you that the list would be pretty far-reaching. I wanted to include this play because it's one of my favorites by Shakespeare, but it is often overshadowed by his other plays. The Tempest brings up one of my favorite themes in writing—the dichotomy of dreams and reality. It's also the last play Shakespeare wrote, and one of his wildest in terms of crazy magic and colorful characters.

8. How to Read Literature like a Professor by Tom Foster

This book was recommended to me by an old English professor. I picked it up and after an hour that felt like minutes, was surprised to see that I had already finished it. Funny and engaging, How to Read reveals the genius behind authors and how they write—how every word has a purpose, how every situation has greater meaning than you think. You will never look at a story the same way again.

7. In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

This work of non-fiction is an account of the whaleship Essex, which was rammed and sunk by a gigantic, enraged sperm whale. Sound familiar? It's the real-life event that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick. The book describes not only the whale’s attack on the ship, but also the lives of eighteenth-century whalers, as well as the grueling weeks of starvation and eventual cannibalism the surviving crew had to endure at sea.

6. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

At first, Portrait was a difficult book to begin—I suggest buying the penguin classic, which has footnotes explaining the story's setting and background—but I soon became fascinated by the religious and philosophical awakening of the main character as he progresses through school and becomes a young man. The characters and events are a fictitious representation of Joyce’s own journey to spiritual awakening