2/16/2010: KVAL has been doing a lot of good reporting on UO lately. From Todd Milbourn:
A study conducted by the Undergraduate Council found the number of A’s given increased 10 percent over a 12-year period. The school’s overall grade point average rose 5 percent. Meanwhile, the average SAT scores of the student body remained the same.
…
Members of the Undergraduate Council are now proposing that each field of study come up with its own grading standards, which are clearly conveyed to the faculty.
Obviously this problem is not specific to UO. I think the biggest problem is that standards are inconsistent across departments. So a freshman gets an A in some gut class and a C in Math (say) and thinks this means they have a comparative advantage (I think this is the phrase an economist would use) in the gut, so they major in it. They don’t realize an A in the gut major is as just as average as a C in Math is. I don’t know the details but it doesn’t sound like the Undergraduate Council proposal will address that.
A colleague writes about how discouraging the incessant whining and wheedling for grades is. I completely agree. We’ve set up a system where students have more reason to use our office hours to try to talk up their grade than to talk with us about the subject of the course. We should be able to do better at this, at least at Oregon!
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