Grade Inflation Today's Education Straight Research Proposal

Also, the value of critiquing popular culture should not be underestimated. Simply because a course's title sounds politically correct does not mean it is 'easy.'

What is, after all, a 'gut' course? It is true that professors today may use more subjective means of grading their students in some humanities classes. Some professors allow students to write essays and submit research, when before they would give students blue book exams. Even some computer classes may allow students to write their own code, instead of regurgitating textbook material. Composing web pages and wikis in the humanities is not unheard of as final projects requirements. Professors may feel more apt to reward hard-working students with an 'A' on such long projects, but because an 'A' is given does not mean that the 'A' was easily won. In other words, by giving students more open-ended and creative assignments and forcing them to think harder, professors create a process that is more likely to bring about 'A' work. This new type of 'A' work involves self-directed learning and independent thought.It is the antithesis of grinding out answers on multiple-choice exams or regurgitating chunks of lectures in a joyless fashion.

Reference

Kohn, Alfie. (2002, November 8). "The dangerous myth of grade inflation." The Chronicle of Higher Education. 49(11):….....