Doesnt Anybody Get a C Anymore?

By Phil Primack (write an introduction)

The student deserved a B-minus. Maybe even a C-plus, I had decided. One paper was
especially weak; another was late. But then I began to rationalize. The student had been
generally prepared and contributed to class discussion, so I relented and gave what I
thought was a very generous B. At least I wouldnt get a complaint about this grade, I
figured. Then came the e-mail.
Why such a low grade, the indignant student wrote.
Low grade?
Back when I attended Tufts in the late 1960s, a B in certain courses was something I
could only dream about. But grade inflation, the steady rise in grade point averages that began in
the 1960s, now leaves many students regarding even the once-acceptable B which has always
stood for good as a transcript wrecker, and a C that is, average an unmitigated disaster.
More and more academic leaders may lament grade inflation, but precious few have been willing
to act against it, leaving their professors all alone in the minefield between giving marks that
reflect true merit and facing the wrath of students for whom entitlement begins with the letter A.
Grade inflation is a huge problem, says former U.S. senator Hank Brown, who tried to
make it a priority issue as president of the University of Colorado in 2006. Under the current
system at a lot of schools, there is no way to recognize the difference between an outstanding job
and a good job. Grade inflation hides laziness on the part of the students, and as long as it exists,
even faculty who want to do a good job [in grading] dont feel they can.
Thats because many professors fear that tough grading will trigger poor student
evaluations or worse, which in turn can jeopardize the academic career track. In my early years,
students would say they liked my class, but the grades were low and the world level high, says
retired Duke University professor Stuart Rojstaczer. I had to get with the program and reduce
my own expectations of workload and increase grades in order to have students leave my class
with a positive impression to give to other students so they would attend [next year]. I was
teaching worse, but the student response was much more positive.
Harvard University is the poster campus for academic prestige and for grade inflation,
even though some its top officials have warned about grade creep. About 15 percent of Harvard
students got a B-plus or better in 1950, according to one study. In 2007, more than half of all
Harvard grades were in the A range. Harvard declined to release more current data or officially
comment for this article. At the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the average GPA in
2007 was 3.19 (on a four-point scale), up from 3.02 a decade earlier. That modest increase
simply reflects better students, UMass spokesman Ed Blaguszewski says in an e-mail. Since our
students have been increasingly well-preparedit makes sense that their UMass grades have
crept up. Essentially, the profile of the population has changed over time, so we dont consider
this to be grade inflation.
Thats certainly he most common argument to explain away grade inflation smarter
students naturally get higher grades. But is it that simple? Privately, many faculty members and
administrators say colleges are unwilling to challenge and possibly offend students and their
hovering, tuition-paying parents with some tough grade love. And without institutional backing,
individual faculty members simply yield to whining students.
But not everywhere. The most cited and extreme case of taking on grade inflation is
at Princeton University, which in 2004 directed that As account for less than 35 percent of
undergraduate course grades. From 2004 to 2007, As (A-plus, A, A-minus) accounted for 40.6
percent of undergraduate course grades, down from 74 percent in the period 2001 to 2004.

Closer to home, Wellesley College calls for the average grade in basic undergraduate
courses to be no higher than a B-plus (3.33 GPA). Its not that were trying to get grades down,
but were trying to get grades to mean something, says associate dean of the college Adele
Wolfson, who teaches chemistry. Wellesleys GPA, which stood at 3.47 in 2002 and was 3.4
when the policy was implemented two years later, fell to 3.3 this year, mainly because of more B
grades and fewer As. The A has really become the mark of excellence, she says, which is
what it should be.
The problem, says Rojstaczer, is that such policies are the exceptions, and that grade
inflation will be reduced only through consistent prodding and action by top officials. In truth,
some university leaders are embarrassed that grading is so lax, but they are loath to make any
changes, he says in and e-mail. Grade inflations in academia is like the alcoholic brother you
pretend is doing just fine. When someone calls your brother a drunk, you get angry and defend
him, although privately you worry. Thats where we are with grade inflation: public denial and
private concern.