Analysis Of Ken Bain 's ' What The Best College Students '

In his article “College Students Need to Toughen Up, Quit Their Grade Whining”, Robert Schlesingner addresses the emerging issue of grade inflation, and more specifically, the greater sense of entitlement that seems to prevail in the modern scholastic realm. Mr. Schlesingner begins his address by presenting his background and what standards and expectations were common during his time through both lower-level education and college. During his time [time in what?], a grade of C represented “adequate” or average work, B correlated with “an above average job”, and obtaining an A required “spectacular” performance by the student. [more concise] However, as cited by Mr. Schlesingner, an investigation by the University of California-Irvine seems to indicate that the values of each letter grade has changed, at least in the mind of the modern student with more students now believing that A’s and B’s should be more easily obtained and that the amount of effort put into a task should be considered when grading. Next, Mr. Schlesingner presents his opinions on this topic of grade inflation and the proper influence of student effort on grade. To conclude,

Schools and college professors, who give you a good grade for excellent productivity on assignments, allow students to perform poorly, but still benefit relative to a person with an A. Two articles that observe grade inflation, find the rising problems of grade inflation, and finding solutions for grade inflation. Stuart Rojstaczer, an author from Grade Inflation Gone Wild, is a professor of geophysics at Duke university, and created gradeinflation.com in regards for his concern about grade inflation. On the other hand, Phil Primack is a journalist and teacher at Tufts University, and published in the “Boston Globe” Doesn’t Anybody Get a C Anymore? While college students, who work with little effort and still attain easy A’s by working poorly on assignments and exams, Primack and Rojstaczer, develop a firm connection towards grade inflation and the solution that can regain control over real education.

When I entered into high school nearly four years ago, my motivations were purely academic. I was there to get the best education I could, and to maintain a standard of scholastic excellence. Of course, the only way I knew to measure my own “success” was through concrete and quantitative means; this led me to spend my Freshman and Sophomore years fawning over test scores, GPA points, and even fractions of percents in my grades. I know now that this strategy, while effective in getting me what I wanted (or at least thought I wanted), actually left me missing a huge part of what it means to be truly educated.

Historically, letter grades have served as a tool to rate educational intelligence. By looking at the progression of a student’s grades over time, people are able to determine whether or not the students are developing skills in certain areas. Using a one letter grade to determine progress has received many critiques as a common system used in America’s education. Critics claim letter grades cause students motivation and creativity to decrease because grades shift students focus from learning the material to obtaining a good grade.

Would you consider yourself as a grade junkie? Do you always strive for an A and take nothing less? In his essay “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System,” Jerry Farber argues that the grading system is not a good way of evaluating students academically. He believes that with the grading system the way it is, students’ do not try to learn; they only push towards getting a good letter grade. Though some may disagree, Farber's view on the grading system is true.

According to Alfie Kohn's essay "The dangerous myth of grade inflation," one of the most commonly-cited truisms in education today is that higher education is 'easier' than it was in the past. Critics contend that grades have become puffed up while student performance has actually weakened. Kohn believes this is a culturally-produced myth rather than a statistically justified reality. In fact, the notion that grades were less generously bestowed to students is a durable cliché which extends back to the 19th century, and is not merely relegated to our own era. Today, the perpetrators cited as the worst offenders are liberal professors from the 1960s who have lapped up a generally permissive attitude from that era. But "a report released just this year by the National Center for Education Statistics revealed that fully 33.5 percent of American undergraduates had a grade-point average of C or below in 1999-2000" (Kohn 2002: B7). Kohn sees the anxieties about grade inflation as indicative of a larger cultural anxiety of what it means to be an educated person, and believes that a fixation on grades is a fundamentally misguided way to improve the American educational system.

“What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s” written by Carl Singleton argues that our education system needs to enforce more failing grades to students who have not fully learned the required material. He believes that handing out failing grades in copious amounts to students will overall fix the issue of illiterate students among high schools and colleges along with draw attention to this issue and engage parents into their child's education. This argument could be fairly but is poorly executed and lacks valid evidence and supporting claims. Singleton fails to provide accurate benefits of this grading system he feels should be implemented. Carl Singleton overall expresses his concern of the grading systems deterioration and that the education system is not enforcing enough failing grades to students who have not fully mastered required material.

In an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education titled “What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s”, Carl Singleton argues that the key to American education is giving out more F’s. Singleton believes that giving out a greater amount failing grades will motivate students to learn the required material and push them towards achievement. He argues that the more failures teachers give out, the more students will have to deal with the reality that their lack of knowledge on the subject is the reason they failed to earn the passing grade. He also states that increasing the number of failing grades will force the students’ families to play a more active role in their child’s education. Singleton also believes that a rise in failure would result in more school funding to accommodate the failing students.

The concept of not having parents around to police almost every aspect of life may sound superb, but it isn’t all fun and games in college. In the article Your First Year of College: 25 Strategies and Tips to Help You Survive and Thrive Your Freshman Year and Beyond. Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D, the author, is a former marketing professor and writes articles such as this one to empower people. “While good grades could have come naturally to you in high school, you will have to earn them in college”(Hansen). This quote is key for the kids who just skated by in high school. For incoming freshman the workload may seem unbearable, but staying organized and focused are vital if you want to succeed in your first year. Feeling overwhelmed and stressed

One of the greatest things about early college in my opinion, is the level of difficult learning that comes along with it. Having taken an AP class I am now more familiar with the speed that a college course progresses, very fast. Along with these classes progressing very quickly, a college student is forced to take in a huge amount of information. These factors create an environment in which a student such as myself has to be very focused on what they are learning, and must study the material further in order to fully grasp all of it. Along with an AP courses, I have always taken honors classes, which leads me to believe that I am prepared to encounter the speed of college classes.

In “Grades and Money,” Steven Vogel explains some of his main concerns with the education system today, particularly focusing on how the view of grades has changed. Vogel tells us that when he was in college, no one talked about their grades, or even took them as seriously as many students do today. He states that everyone was more concerned about the actual learning of the class, rather than the grade they received. Nowadays, Vogel believes that students are obsessed over their grades, because better grades means a higher GPA, which ultimately leads to more money. He is concerned because students do not take risks, such as taking a harder but beneficial class, but instead take an easier class to maintain a higher GPA. I can definitely relate to the students that vogel is talking about, because, as a senior, I can see how important my GPA is when saving the optimum amount of money for college. After contemplating Vogel’s essay, I can relate to and have experienced three main problems that he describes, which include: most students nowadays care more about their grades than the learning itself, the majority of students and teachers relate grades to money, and, as a result, education is not serving the purpose it should be.

    It's June, and another graduating class is hoping, among other things, to achieve high grades. Of course, "high" is a subjective target. Originally a "C" meant average; today however, the expectations and pressures to give and receive "A's" and "B's" takes its toll on teachers and students alike. This nullifies the value of the traditional grading scale and creates a host of entirely new problems. The widespread occurrence of grade inflation seriously affects the credibility of secondary and post-secondary education in America.

For most incoming college freshman their biggest concern is the workload transition. In high school you’re used to being baby all time, unlike college which you are responsible for everything. High school and college both have major workload differences, but both require excellent time management skills in order to be academically successful.

In college, I started off pretty much like everyone else. At first, I felt confident and ready. I felt Confident that I was going to succeed in all of my assignments, wake up with determination, and not make bad choices. I felt ready for the long hours of writing papers, finishing homework, and studying for exams. After the first semester, I realized that things are easier being said than done. Before long, assignments were piling up, due dates were near, and my stress levels were out the roof. The cause that

Just when I thought I was done with one of the most stressful parts of my life, college happened and it got even more intense. School is stressful, but throw in an afterschool job and a social life, and studying is just hard to manage. Freshman year of college might be one of the most stressful years for students. The fact that they are living on their own for the first time is terrifying for most freshman. Parents are not there to do everything for them. It is a lot to handle when they are only eighteen. It takes a while to find a balance, but eventually they will find a solution. Everyone is different so there is a solution for everybody. It just depends on what kind of schedule he or she has. Students should