Rojstaczer's conclusion from the rise in average GPA is that college has become easier. He says, "The weed-out classes aren't weeding out like they once did. We've made college easier." He went on to say that students are actively picking the professors that are the easiest graders.
I doubt his idea of students picking the easiest professors has anything at all to do with the rise in GPA. This has always happened. It took place back in the sixties when I first entered college, and I'm sure it will always take place to a small extent. The fact is that there are easy teachers and hard teachers (and always have been). But over the four year period it takes to get a degree, all students will have their share of both kinds of teachers.
The colleges say there are other factors accounting for the rise in GPA, and college has not gotten any easier. I agree. I believe Rojstaczer has jumped to an erroneous conclusion without considering several factors that have a bearing on rising GPA. Among them are:
* Students entering college are generally better prepared than students in the past. This is backed up by the fact that there has also been a rise in SAT scores (college entrance test). They have risen from an average of 1183 in 2004 to an average of 1225 in 2009. Surely, Rojstaczer doesn't think the SAT has gotten easier also.
* Colleges today do a better job today of helping students with tutors and classes to help them achieve more, stay in college and make better grades. An excellent example is here in Amarillo, where Amarillo College's math program has both beginning and intermediate algebra courses (and tutors) to make sure a student is actually prepared before he/she takes college algebra. This undoubtably results in higher scores for college algebra -- and the college has equivalent programs in other areas.
* We are in the middle of a recession. Today's students know that even with a degree there will be stiff competition for available jobs -- and the people with the best GPAs have a better chance to get the available jobs.
* A larger percentage of today's college population is made up of older students. These students are not there to party, and they take their grades very seriously (and spend their time studying).
The fact is that the four reasons stated above should result in higher GPAs. It would be very odd if they didn't cause a rise in GPA. College is not easier today than in the past. To get a college degree requires study, and to get a high GPA still requires a lot of studying and effort. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's always been. To say that colleges are easier is to insult the students who spent many hundreds of hours studying very hard.
Frankly, I'm shocked that an educated person like Rojstaczer would take something like rising GPAs and jump to such a ridiculous conclusion without considering all the possible factors involved. It doesn't speak well for his own education (or the education he imparted to his students). I would expect better of a college professor -- even an ex-professor.
I think the teaching of high school and college is easier..they've dumbed every thing down.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty rare that I agree with Yellowdog Granny while disagreeing with Ted, but I do on this point.
ReplyDeleteCase in point #1: Check out this 8th Grade Graduation Examination, dated April 13, 1895. How many 21st Century college graduates could pass this exam, let alone 8th graders?
Case in point #2: Read this New York Times article, As School Exit Tests Prove Tough, States Ease Standards. By lowering the bar, the high school diploma ceases to mean anything.
Ted, you wrote, "To say that colleges are easier is to insult the students who spent many hundreds of hours studying very hard."
I disagree.
To say that colleges are easier is to state the obvious. To allow those standards to be lowered is to insult the students who spent many hundreds of hours studying very hard.
It used to be that a college degree indicated a certain level of education and perseverance that employers could use to predict future workplace performance. But with the egalitarian concept that everyone should earn a college degree came the necessity to lower the bar so that everyone could. As a result, employers have no way of knowing whether their college-educated applicants are those "students who spent many hundreds of hours studying very hard" or the ones who merely played the system.
You can count me as another college professor who thinks it is getting easier, although I wouldn't point to rising GPAs as the key factor.
ReplyDeleteLike you suggest, the top students are working hard, just as they always have. The only thing that has changed there is that I suspect the brightest feel even less challenged today than they used to. But it has become easier to get through college with Cs.
The expectations and demands placed on faculty have changed. I'll have to work on a post because I don't want to bog down your comments.
1) Read more than a newspaper article on a topic before you make judgments.
ReplyDelete2) Avoid ad hominem attacks.
3) Look at real data.
4) Try to avoid confirmation bias when looking at data.
Thank you.
Although I still don't agree with you Mr. Rojstaczer (aka fortyquestions), I am honored that you commented on my post.
ReplyDelete