On the other hand, here is a prof who was suspended for giving out A+ to all of his students

http://www.globecampus.ca/in-the-news/article/should-a-prof-be-fired-for-giving-out-automatic-as/

I strongly agree on this quote mentioned above:

“I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed to do and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C…That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A.”

From my last term’s assignment on UML diagrams I recall the lecturer’s tip, “I expect to see diagrams that cover all the required processes described in the assignment notes. So long as your model works you are guaranteed a “Pass”, but extra details in the diagram will earn you a higher mark.”

A+ or 100% marks should be a rare case.

There should always be a room for perfection.

When I TA’d for a first-year political science class 2 years ago, most of my students were straight out of high school and were used to getting(mostly) all A’s. Getting a “B” on a paper usually incited a reaction similar to the ones you have listed.

I had one student who never spoke during tutorials, and only showed up for 3/4 of them. Since I had no participation grades for him, and he’d missed 1 out of only 4 seminars, I gave him a participation grade in the 50′s. He was very upset – his argument was that he’d been to 3/4 classes, and was therefore merited a “B” grade of 75% (lack of participation aside). He thought that it was unfair to “penalize” him more than 25% when he had only missed that proportion of class time.

These pampered students should try out the British system, where one’s work has to be truly exceptional to merit a grade in excess of 70% in a social science class. Mind you it’s somewhat relative because scoring 70% or more on average means that you graduate with “distinction”. My understanding is that only 5% of students actually manage to graduate with distinction.

Anthony:

Do you know if the 5% ratio is the same in maths and sciences where there is a “right answer”?

MD

As a current university student I would say that students’ sense of entitlement of grades based solely on hard work is absolutely the standard. I believe that this has come to be the case because (1) this is the component that students have complete control over, and (2) it is in the best interest of all primary stakeholders (students and professors). Giving out high grades limits student backlash and reflects well on a teacher (assumption: low grades reflect poor performance and low poor performance could be attributed to poor teaching). Although I would agree that grade inflation is occurring, I think that the role that professors have played in this transition has been largely overlooked.

Interestingly, the importance of these grades to secondary stakeholders (prospective employers and/or grad schools) has been overlooked. With grades becoming a poor indicator of performance, those who once used marks as a proxy for capability have to look to standardized tests; for example, the MCAT, whereby you are given a percentile grade indicating where you stand relative to your peers. The extent that standardized tests are becoming a key metric in evaluating performance capabilities is highlighted by the recent change in the McMaster Medical School admittance process. Previously one of the few medical schools in Canada that did not use the MCAT as an entrance metric will start using MCAT scores for admittance starting next year. Since secondary stakeholders will adapt to find new ways to evaluate capabilities, there will be no pressure to adjust this mark deflation and ironically marks might prove to become less and less important going forward.

Being a Net Generation university student myself, this article hits close to home. I’ve experienced both sides of the fence. I’ve had plenty of essays returned with a red B, despite having spent the past week in the library working on it. On the other hand, I’ve also witnessed classmates with exceptional participation marks (we learn by doing cases individually and discussing them as a class through verbal contribution) on the basis that they make an effort to speak, rather than the quality of their statements.

As attractive as it is to receive an A when we’ve put in our best efforts, this denotes that grades fall on a relative scale as opposed to an objective criteria. It’s hard to benchmark performance when one individual’s best effort is comparable to another’s mediocre attempt. This brings me to differentiate between working HARD and working SMART. Many students feel that they deserve an A simply based on the amount of hours that they’ve put into the project. This is the same as rewarding a student that meticulously calculates present values using pen and paper while punishing another student who finishes the task in 10 minutes using Excel.

Grades (as well as IQ and height, correlations aside) by nature fall within a normal curve distribution. By statistics, this means that the majority (67%) of students will get a B, with the lower tail receiving lower grades and the upper tail receiving higher grades. Thinking that the default grade is A contradicts the curve as most marking criteria are based on the average requirements and the minimum expectations of the curriculum.

Lastly, the pinnacle to education is that learning is subject to even more learning. There is always room for improvement and perfection is only a false ideal. Getting a B motivates me to change and seek improvements. Getting an A instils a sense of self-entitlement that inhibits the learning cycle.