Abolish Grades (A Modest Proposal) – Yascha Mounk:
The grading system at American universities is an embarrassment. The best solution would be to take the simple, if somewhat brutal, steps to end grade inflation. But if that is not in the cards, then it’s time for universities to admit that the emperor has no clothes. If reestablishing more demanding standards turns out to be impossible, then the second best option may be to put an end to the whole charade.
According to my “modest proposal,” universities would make all of their courses pass-fail, a practice that has already been adopted by some elite law and business schools. Students would still have to submit their assignments and meet the minimum standards that are now expected of them. But they would no longer be able to pretend that they had been recognized for exceptional achievements.
Abolishing grades is much worse than a grading system that makes real distinctions between students. But by the same token, it is much better than the status quo.
I’ve definitely become an easier grader in the past few years, simply because I’ve been worn down over the decades — I’ve been teaching for forty-two years! — by all the grade-grubbing, attempts to game the system, loophole-searchers, and sad stories about “what my parents will do to me if I don’t get an A.” I could teach until I drop, but the combination of grading and an ever-more-bloated administrative apparatus will eventually drive me into retirement.
