Failing Our Students: Moral Integrity and Grade Inflation

by A. Botein-Furrevig, Ph.D. In Garrison Keillor’s mythical town of Lake Wobegon, the men are strong, the women are beautiful, and the children are above average. Judging by college transcripts nowadays, it seems that our children are indeed Wobegonians. Our finest universities admit that an overwhelming percentage of their students are earning…make that “receiving”… A’s. The argument that Ivy League students are above the norm — and hence the abundance of A’s — does not ring true. When an overwhelming majority of students in any classroom achieves the highest grade, one must question whether the work and evaluative criteria are […]