Critical Response Essay

The content must come from “Inquiry to academic writing” fourth edition you can choose to use Stuart Rojstaczer “Grade Inflation Gone wild” or Phil Primacks “Doesn’t anybody get a C anymore?” I have attached a file that explains what needs to be done.

ANSWER

Critical Response Essay: Grade Inflation Gone Wild

Grade Inflation Gone Wild is an article produced by Stuart Rojstaczer to address the issue of higher education in the United States. In this article, Rojstaczer concentrates on a specific problem and issue facing the existing education system that is the quality of contemporary education in America.

The system of education in the contemporary world has become like any business industry that has been flooded with competition. Its primary emphasis is on achieving economies of scale instead of quality to attain satisfaction (Rojstaczer 3). According to Rojstaczer, in most schools, teachers are majorly concerned with alluring parents and students by awarding them good marks purposefully to create a reputation for themselves, thus attracting more admissions to improve their profit levels. ‘‘Grade inflation has contributed to the loss of quality and competency in today’s world since students and graduates are less fitted with useful information to make them professionals’’ (Rojstaczer 10).

Rojstaczer argues that one of the critical issues in current education is the challenge of inflation grade since the American education system continues to devalue grade rates. According to him, the devaluation of grades poses the question of the actual quality of the US education because high grades do not reveal the real academic performance of students since their knowledge and skills may not be as high as their high grade implies. The beckoning question is whether the current high grades that many students obtain, actually reflect their level of knowledge and skills, or merely a new practice in educational settings to offer high grades to students by lowering the standard of requirements for student academic knowledge and skills.

In the article, Rojstaczer contends that students in the current generation are doing very little in studying yet devoting more to drinking. He posits that grade inflation has become an enormous issue where students prefer to go into the classroom, believing they can get a B+ with minimal effort; hence, they avoid further studies (Rojstaczer 11). ‘‘…even more astonishing is the fact that students are spending less time studying and more time partying…’’. I’m afraid I have to disagree with Rojstaczer since I find his point as not very persuasive. Personally, for instance, I devote much time studying in our school library every single moment burning the midnight oil in the bid of putting extra hard work and effort into my grades. I do not find it that simple to achieve better grades in my classes. Most of these classes require ample studying to attain a good grade in the course. I do not think Rojstaczer uses sufficient evidence to back up his point, and he flat out professes that students no longer try at school, which is not something he can completely presume. Besides, he claims grade inflation is something that can be corrected and which has been resolved at a few universities, but he does not specify how it can be corrected.

Additionally, Rojstaczer bases his observations on the generalized growth of the average grade rate and high student expectations. He states that high grades are prevalent among college students when not expected to be.  Schools award high grades to those who do not merit them, diminishing the quality of education nationally, leading America to drop behind other world countries (Rojstaczer 12). I object to this argument since the author does not provide comparable data to show the real standard of education in America relative to other countries and does not disclose the connection between grades and academic rates of students in other countries that would improve the validity and reliability of their results. Because Rojstaczer has failed to provide any empirical evidence to show the correlation between the grade level adjustment and the American students ‘ academic performance, I render his argument vague. The grade-level growth may be indicative of the overall growth in educational quality. He also opposes this concept because he does not support the fact that most students will only have B+ grades.

Moreover, grade inflation contributes to a misinterpretation of students’ overall academic results, because it is not possible to accurately evaluate students ‘ actual results. When most students acquire high grades, their performance cannot be evaluated appropriately, since this high score does not reflect the real level of knowledge. If the grades are not evaluating students’ real academic achievement, then they are misleading and insufficient. Consequently, they cannot be used as metrics for determining the quality of American education. Besides, if students are not concerned in their grades because they are confident that without much effort they will gain high grades, then they are discouraged from studying and not inspired to work hard. The students’ disinterest and learning enthusiasm is one factor that often contributes to a decrease in the standard of education in the US.

In conclusion and objection to the Rojstaczer argument, I think it is good news that students obtain higher grades; however, this cannot be concluded that those grades were not worked for. Also, I am a hard-working student, and I receive good grades out of hard work; thus, this proves that Rojstaczer does not know about what he is arguing. I believe his argument is weak and does not have any strong stance on it.

Works Cited:

Rojstaczer, Stuart. “Grade Inflation Gone Wild,” From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. 2 nd ed. Eds. Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 69 -71. Print.