http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/the-history-of-college-grade-inflation/?hp
Go to the link above - the NY Times has some AMAZING graphs on how grades have gone up, up, up over the last 40 years. It is staggering.
ONE possible explanation, in my opinion:
1. Private schools offer more 1-on-1 instruction and greater access to the Professors, therefore allowing students more tutoring access. They also have smaller class sizes, therefore allowing more evidence-based teaching methods to flourish and allow students to understand the material better.
That's it, that's all I've got and that only explains why private schools may have higher grades than public. Why grades have shot up overall is a study in the pressures Administrators place on Faculty to keep the numbers up...and that's a whole post for another day! For now, check out the startling evidence in the graphs.
Okay, I didn't look at the link yet, but how is this for an explanation?
ReplyDeleteI found an old report card of my grandmother's. The grading scale was WAAAY different: A, 93 and higher, B 86 and higher, C 79 and higher, D 72 and higher. An F was anything 71 and below. That is a C- now!
I know I am guilty of that very thing sometimes too. If I have a few students who have a high F, I will occasionally lower the D- threshold by a percent or two.