As political pressures for equity—equality of outcome—have grown in recent years, traditional methods of evaluating college students have come under threat. As the proportion of the population going to college … Continue reading “Grading and Moral Hazard”
Many generations of young Americans have learned in school under the grading system. We took tests in subjects and would find out how well we had done when the instructor … Continue reading “Do We Need to Abolish Grading?”
I’m writing in response to the recent piece about UNCG, alleging that DFW rates were the primary reason for program discontinuations. This conclusion is false and misinformed. As we previously … Continue reading “UNC Greensboro Responds on Grading”
Earlier this year, the Martin Center’s Ashlynn Warta wrote convincingly that faculty opposition to academic cuts at UNC Greensboro was best understood as an act of self-preservation. We stand by … Continue reading “Did Hard Grading Spur UNC Greensboro’s Cuts?”
On January 5, 2024, Western Oregon University (WOU) announced a bold change to its grading regime: “The letter grades of D- and F” have been axed in favor of a … Continue reading “In Praise of F’s”
When I was in high school in the mid-1990s, we were all required to swim in gym class. This was before wokeness. Since then, concerns over “accessibility,” “inclusion,” “acceptance,” and … Continue reading ““Contract-Grading” and the War Against Academic Excellence”
I just finished a fascinating book, The Recovery of the West, by polymath Englishman Michael Roberts. Roberts became famous as a poet, but was trained as a scientist and spent … Continue reading “If All Men are Created Equal, Why Do We Need Grades?”
In July, I wrote about the pressure that University of Wisconsin officials have been exerting on the faculty for greater “equity” on campus.
A professor ruminates on the difficulties of grading.