Degree results obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show six out of 10 students were handed either a first or an upper second in 2010, compared with just one in three graduates in 1970...More at the Telegraph link.
The latest data shows that the criteria for awarding degrees has changed dramatically - despite complaints from many universities that grade inflation at A-level has made it hard for them to select candidates...
The universities awarding the highest proportion of firsts or 2:1s last year were Exeter, where 82 per cent of graduates received the top degrees compared with just 29 per cent in 1970, and St Andrews – Scotland's oldest university, where Prince William met fiancée Kate Middleton – where the figure was also 82 per cent compared with just 25 per cent in 1970. Imperial College London and Warwick both granted 80 per cent firsts or 2:1s last year, compared with 49 per cent and 39 per cent respectively in 1970. At Bath University the figure was 76 per cent last year compared with just 35 per cent in 1970...
"There has been compromise across the system and employers no longer fully trust degree results, and tend to look back to A-level results as a more reliable indicator...
Sadly, the only way to stop grade inflation is a unilateral change across the board. I had a few teachers in uni who felt they could reform the system all on their own-- fortunately one was Beowulf, where I got a first regardless. The other (differential equations) was not so cheery.
ReplyDeleteI think the only way to fix this problem is by government fiat (to offset the sudden damage to job applications etc, the law could mandate that all transcripts must state whethe they are before or after the law's implementation; and that all job applications requiring a posting of grades, must ask for said disclaimer).
However, I can't say I would be optimistic about the government's implementation. They would probably end up forcing universities to grade every single course (art studio classes, creative writing classes, courses with 4 students total, etc) on a strict cuve...
(also: this would have to be after several years. if the government messed with students any more, we would be in open revolt that very day)
ReplyDeleteThere are other considerations that preclude simple solutions like a mandated curve.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do about introductory courses with basic material that everyone is expected to master? If everyone does so, do you then artificially declare that the people at the bottom of an extremely tight curve are deficient?
And what about advanced courses full of "gunners" working their butts off. One of the hardest courses I ever took in graduate school involved neuroanatomy, and most of the class showed up, on their own accord, at night once or twice a week to review as a group the many carousels of slides [in the pre-computer era]. I'll bet the average score in the final exam was 95%. Should those who were 92% accurate get a low grade?
Indeed, you are correct. Simple solutions to complex problems rarely, if ever, function. :(
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