GRADE INFLATION

Hey Party People!


In light of it being Monday, I thought I would address a school issue today, but before you read on, you should probably read THIS article.


Alright, so I feel the need to address this article.  I admit that I am among the group of students who detests the grading policy at McGill, and I do agree that it is disheartening to be brought down from an A to an A- or lower.  If an entire class is intelligent (smarter than the average student), and their class average ends up being higher than the mandated average, it is unfair to bring down everyone's grade.


Having said that, I have to admit that this way of grading is effective in the grand scheme of things; it differentiates the above average, average and mediocre students.  


Here are some things that I did not like from the article:


-Yes; Princeton has adopted a similar grading scheme, but the article fails to mention that Princeton also puts disclaimers on transcripts to say that they are a "low grading school".  In my opinion, if McGill adopted this policy, students would complain a lot less about getting an A- rather than an A.


-Ummmm Concordia? What do they have to do with this article?  They are not subjected to mandated averages, and their average GPAs are lower, not because they have a "valid grading scheme" but because they have lower admission standards, hence the average student has a lower GPA to begin with.  IRRELEVANT to the article.  


-Grades are not everything.  McGill is a reputable school, and employers (in general) know about the "deflated grades".  At the end of the day, you will most likely be competing against other McGill students for internships/jobs that were exposed to the same grading scheme.  


What are your thoughts? :)