Grade Deflation, Alive as Ever at Top School(s)

[slippydubloons]

Just had to share this gem from my undergrad I found while cleaning out my e-mail inbox tonight. I will preface this by saying that I'm not at all a gunner, generally I care more about learning and the grades pan out how they do, but I e-mailed my professor with genuine confusion after seeing the raw score on my Blackboard and the letter grade he assigned me. This happened last year in a math class.

S**t like this is so stupid and why I sometimes regret going to the school I did. What's the general sentiment on this? Is it ok that I still feel a wee bit salty lol

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

That isn't really the definition of grade deflation. A 97.2% cutoff seems a calculated cutoff that is based on giving only a limited amount of students a certain grade. The professor either made the exams really easy or the students are very smart (or both) to result in such a high cutoff. Still, it's only 4% higher than a standard cutoff.

Anyways, the point is that this isn't really what grade deflation is. It may be grade deflation if the professor limits the amounts of A's that are given out... but you are at a top school so the students probably could all just be scoring very high

P.S. It's kind of insulting how you think this only happens at top schools......

 

[625233]

Agreed^ I attend a small LAC in the SE and experience severe grade deflation (I took several summer courses at other top 40 colleges). At least your school name gives you some weight....


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[WedgeDawg]

That isn't really the definition of grade deflation. A 97.2% cutoff seems a calculated cutoff that is based on giving only a limited amount of students a certain grade. The professor either made the exams really easy or the students are very smart (or both) to result in such a high cutoff. Still, it's only 4% higher than a standard cutoff.

Anyways, the point is that this isn't really what grade deflation is. It may be grade deflation if the professor limits the amounts of A's that are given out... but you are at a top school so the students all just score very high

No, I think it is essentially grade deflation. This happened in some classes in my school because it was entirely percentile based. You had to get above a certain percentile in that particular class to get an A, which effectively limited the number of As. It's the same concept, just implemented on a variable numerical cutoff. It's the same as saying something like "only 10% of people in this class will be given As". The cutoff isn't predetermined, it's calculated after final number grades for each student are set.

 

[yaka]

Wow that is the highest A- cutoff I've ever seen. Was that in the syllabus or did he just make it up based on the curve?

I also went to a university that is known for grade deflation, but a 96% A- is ridiculous.

Anyways, the point is that this isn't really what grade deflation is. It may be grade deflation if the professor limits the amounts of A's that are given out... but you are at a top school so the students all just score very high

If only the top 25% or whatever of students make an A isn't that grade deflation? That's limiting the number of students who get an A to only 25% of the class. (25% is what the cutoff was for a lot of my classes in undergrad, idk what OP's cutoff was). That's generally why if you grade on a curve you want to make the tests pretty hard so a situation like this doesn't happen.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

No, I think it is essentially grade deflation. This happened in some classes in my school because it was entirely percentile based. You had to get above a certain percentile in that particular class to get an A, which effectively limited the number of As. It's the same concept, just implemented on a variable numerical cutoff. It's the same as saying something like "only 10% of people in this class will be given As". The cutoff isn't predetermined, it's calculated after final number grades for each student are set.

Grade deflation is a relative concept rather than an absolute one. Simply limiting the number of students that can get an A isn't in itself grade deflation. But limiting it relative to what the average professor limits it to is.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Wow that is the highest A- cutoff I've ever seen. Was that in the syllabus or did he just make it up based on the curve?

I also went to a university that is known for grade deflation, but a 96% A- is ridiculous.



If only the top 25% or whatever of students make an A isn't that grade deflation? That's limiting the number of students who get an A to only 25% of the class. (25% is what the cutoff was for a lot of my classes in undergrad, idk what OP's cutoff was). That's generally why if you grade on a curve you want to make the tests pretty hard so a situation like this doesn't happen.

What? 25% of the class getting an A is relatively generous.....

 

[768730]

Yea my human physiology professor, for example, limited the class to 10 A's and A-s for a class of 142 students. Most of my science classes only gave 10%, one was generous enough to give 15%. I got 17% above the class averages on the exams and final and ended up with a B.. what are ya gonna do.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[WedgeDawg]

Grade deflation is a relative concept rather than an absolute one. Simply limiting the number of students that can get an A isn't in itself grade deflation. But limiting it relative to what the average professor limits it to is.

To me, grade deflation is a system that artificially lowers grades based on competition.

A class where a 97% was the cutoff for an A, but anyone who hit that 97% could get an A is not grade deflated because your grades are not based upon your classmates' performance.

A class where a 97% was the cutoff for an A, but determined based off percentile (95% happened to be the cutoff for top 10th percentile which was the arbitrarily decided percentage of students who got As) is grade deflation because your grade is artificially being lowered because people scored highly test.

 

[Frogger27]

I took a couple classes at an Ivy.. I got an 87% in the class and got a B-. At my state college that probably would have been rounded up to an A- in some classes.

 

[JustAPhD]

Without knowing how many people earned a true A (97+), it's hard to tell how harsh of a deflation it is. Could be 25% of the class scored that high, could be 5%. Regardless, I'd agree with Wedge that it does classify as deflation. But you'd be lying to yourself OP if you think only "top programs" use this form of grading.

 

[slippydubloons]

Without knowing how many people earned a true A (97+), it's hard to tell how harsh of a deflation it is. Could be 25% of the class scored that high, could be 5%. Regardless, I'd agree with Wedge that it does classify as deflation. But you'd be lying to yourself OP if you think only "top programs" use this form of grading.

I was told it was roughly 10% of the class, and it was decided at the end of term. This info was not in the syllabus. And I completely agree with you that this grading exists at many colleges, regardless of their "tier". My point in this was that I've seen premeds at top schools ridiculed for "paying for their As" which is simply not true in STEM classes because those inflated grades (at my university, at least) were mainly found in the more liberal arts majors.

 

[768730]

I was told it was roughly 10% of the class, and it was decided at the end of term. This info was not in the syllabus. And I completely agree with you that this grading exists at many colleges, regardless of their "tier". My point in this was that I've seen premeds at top schools ridiculed for "paying for their As" which is simply not true in STEM classes because those inflated grades (at my university, at least) were mainly found in the more liberal arts majors.

For what it's worth, BCPM majors are roughly 30% of my undergrad's student population, and at graduation were only 4% of summa's and 10% of magna's


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[ChymeofPassion]

I was told it was roughly 10% of the class, and it was decided at the end of term. This info was not in the syllabus. And I completely agree with you that this grading exists at many colleges, regardless of their "tier". My point in this was that I've seen premeds at top schools ridiculed for "paying for their As" which is simply not true in STEM classes because those inflated grades (at my university, at least) were mainly found in the more liberal arts majors.

Every class ive had at college has been no curve, no set amount of As, A is 93, average exam scores at around C+. Perfect imo

 

[slippydubloons]

Perfect imo

Completely agree, it should be based on individual merit

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Completely agree, it should be based on individual merit

Best of luck in the rest of your classes,

 

[deleted482591]

My point in this was that I've seen premeds at top schools ridiculed

Unless they go to Princeton, MIT, Caltech, UChicago, JHU, Cornell or Berkeley, they shouldn't be complaining. [Maybe missing one]

 

[Summerlax2016]

I got to a small university with most of the science classes having a 95 cut off, and a few general classes having a 97. But this is a small no name school not hys or a top100 so I don't even get name brand

 

[Turkishking]

I got to a small university with most of the science classes having a 95 cut off, and a few general classes having a 97. But this is a small no name school not hys or a top100 so I don't even get name brand

I go to a top 100 lol
It's funny how you still say a school is top
100, most people say T20
Anyway, at my school if depends on the curve. An A for my evolutionary bio course was 83.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

I go to a top 100 lol

Ay me tooo fam

 

[Havoc390]

I go to a no name public school and many of my BCPM classes were graded like OP's.... It sucks I feel your pain.

 

[Summerlax2016]

I go to a top 100 lol
It's funny how you still say a school is top
100, most people say T20
Anyway, at my school if depends on the curve. An A for my evolutionary bio course was 83.

Haha I say top 100 because most people have heard of all of them, unlike a small university of 2000 kids where when I said where I go to school I get looked at like I have 3 heads.

 

[wagonwheel23]

That professor needs some tips on how to spread out grades a bit more... That is, as I surmise, a huge cluster of students at the very, very top.