Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin

Sunday, December 8, 2013

In Defense of Grade Inflation at Harvard

Credential-obsessed overachievers should focus on learning rather than beating out their classmates for a finite number of As.

By Conor Friedersdorf

The Atlantic - Dec 6, 2013

Elsewhere on this site, Roberto A. Ferdman notes that the most frequently awarded grade at Harvard College is an A, while the median grade there is an A minus. "That ought to dispel any notion that Harvard is tough on its students," he wrote. "Grade inflation may be a victimless crime, but what is the point of having a range of grades if half of them are A- or higher?" I think I have an answer.
Ivy League educational institutions attract a disproportionate share of grade-obsessed overachievers. These young people are extremely driven, aren't in need of external motivators to learn, but often react to the grading system by gaming it: that is to say, they engage in cut-throat competition with classmates rather than helping one another learn; they manipulate teachers; and they choose earning a higher grade rather than learning more when there is a tension between the two. Their compulsion to succeed as others define it and their sheepish failure to prioritize higher-order benefits with their time at college perhaps makes a grading system based on obvious inflation the best option available.

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