ipl-logo

Argument Essay: The Plus-Minus Grading System

553 Words3 Pages

College is hard enough already. The addition of the plus-minus grading system at LSU this semester is an unnecessary stress on a hardworking student’s shoulders. Over the past couple of years, it had been rumored that a plus-minus grading system would be used at LSU. Unfortunately for students this rumor became a reality. Plus-minus grading was voted on by the Faculty Senate and won with an overwhelming majority of 26-14 (WWLTV). In argument for this new grading system, supporters stated that it will assign more accurate grades to students. This system will clearly define which students are going the extra mile and which are merely scraping by. Another rationale of those who supported this change stated that it would help LSU stack up to other schools …show more content…

The gold standard of education holds true at LSU, however, pretending as a community that our education standards should be compared to those of the Ivy League is out of the question. With this new grading scale, it will inevitably be harder to achieve high grades, therefore lowering the overall GPA of undergraduates. When the campus wide GPA is lowered, it not only affects the lives of current students, but it affects prospective students. The change to plus-minus grading could deter a student from even applying to LSU. Prospective college students are terrified enough as it is already, but after hearing about plus minus grading, they just may run for the hills. Nationally, there is no specific status quo for a collegiate grading scale. However, because this new grading scale at LSU is more competitive, it will make LSU students’ GPAs not on par with their peers from other schools. Because a student can now graduate with all A’s at LSU without receiving a 4.0, an LSU student would be at a disadvantage as opposed to their peers from other

Show More
Related

Summary Of Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A's By Brent Staples

305 Words | 2 Pages

The essay of Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s by Brent Staples clearly mimics a problem solution essay that is very heavily focused on the problem. Staples takes a very assertive standpoint in insisting that over inflation of grades due to particular pressure on adjunct professors are devaluing degrees from collegiate institutions. Staples is convincing in this assertion as he uses generalized facts, “In some cases, campus wide averages have crept up from a C just 10 years ago, to a B-plus today.” This alarming quotation is used as evidence that supports Staples’ claim of a major problem facing collegiate institutions nationwide. The solution that Staples proposes, is a new grade point average formula.

Read More

Summary Of Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A's By Brent Staples

437 Words | 2 Pages

In Brent Staples “Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A’s”, he claims that professors in colleges in the 1990’s are changing their grading on students assignments so much where that they are just passing out good grades when students don’t even deserve them. Colleges have started to change the whole grading system over the years just to make it look like the students are doing better. For example, “In some cases, campuswide averages have crept up from a C just 10 years ago to B-plus today” (Staples 1). There are many reasons as to why they day this.

Read More

Summary Of Why Colleges Show Their Students With A's By Brent Staples

1045 Words | 5 Pages

Brent Staples wrote a beautiful, yet unconvincing article about colleges giving away “free” A’s to students. The article, “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,” appeared in 1988 in the New York Times paper (Staples 935). Staples himself has earned a PhD in psychology and is a member of the New York Times editorial board (935). The general purpose of this article was to inform the audience that over the past couple of years, university grading policies have become extremely lenient (935). The audience is a very limited to educational administrations and alumni of major universities.

Read More

Summary Of A's For Everyone By Alicia Shepard

669 Words | 3 Pages

Paragraphs 25 and 26 illustrate grade inflation at highly respected universities and what strategies are utilized to combat it. Without statistics and hard facts, Shepard’s argument would have been viewed as isolated issues instead of an epidemic. These hard facts provided a foundation for every claim made, and solidified the logicality of the professors’ statements. Her argument became reasonable because of the statistics provided, and proved grade inflation is a nation-wide problem in need of

Read More

Analysis Of Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A's By Brent Staples

198 Words | 1 Pages

Wouldn’t you be happy if you’re receiving an A in the class, instead of the D you’re expecting of getting? However, are you really learned enough to deserve an A? Or is just a simple letter grade that school is willing to giving it to you for free. In the essay “Why colleges shower their students with A’s” author Brent Staples argues that in the past couple years, due to the increasing in consumer demand and tough competitions among the society, university’s grade policies have become extreme lenient to the point that the school is basically giving students free A’s, though they don’t deserve the A. I was entirely shocked on the other hand, because what can possibly make universities lower their grading standards. Interestingly, Staples states,

Read More

Dont Send Your Kids To The Ivy League Summary

947 Words | 4 Pages

The incredibly challenging process of choosing a school based on GPA and standardized test score requirements is something that every college student has gone through; this procedure takes a lot of thought and motivation. The image of attending an Ivy League or perpetually referred to “big school” weighs on the minds of most students today. Will my education and effort be overlooked by future employer’s because of attending a less visible school? Colleges and Universities should be careful when accepting the students who are applying to a “reach” school category. “Reach” school, a known term, is a school on a student’s application list that is most likely beyond their GPA performance.

Read More

Don T Worry About Grade Inflation Jordan Ellenberg Summary

1120 Words | 5 Pages

However, because of grade inflation, a B at one school may be considered an accomplishment, whereas most everyone at another school may receive an A. This makes it very difficult for students at state schools to compete with students who have taken classes at community colleges, which are often softer with their

Read More

Why You Should Not Affect The Gpa Essay

507 Words | 3 Pages

However, even if the grading scale is consistent, it can often be sugar coated or graded on a curve. (Cicero) The GPA is the number that reflects upon your academic performance and can affect scholarships, college admissions, and job opportunities. (Liberman, 36) How fast you can run a mile does not have anything to do with academics. Even a college exam has nothing to do with gym class, the standard based college exam, called ACT, assesses English, math, science, and reading.

Read More

Grade Inflation Gone Wild Rhetorical Analysis

1070 Words | 5 Pages

Imagine blowing up a balloon, with every exhale of breath the balloon gets bigger. Similar to a balloon, with every year that passes grades inflate. In “Grade Inflation Gone Wild” by Stuart Rojstaczer, he discusses how the grading system has changed over the years. Rojstaczer’s overall purpose is to increase awareness of grade inflation and persuade his audience to take action. He argues that “changes in grading have had a profound influence on college life and learning” (2).

Read More

Standardized Testing Argumentative Essay

1229 Words | 5 Pages

This can ultimately equate to priority on-campus housing, tuition reductions, dream colleges, and jobs; aspects of college that are not always guaranteed without exceptional test scores. AP (Advanced Placement) exams can ensure college credit for a certain subject if the student performs well, preferably scoring a four or five out of five. “For example, if you score well on the AP English Literature exam, you may not have to take the college’s required freshman-level English course.” (Taking Required Tests) If every college did not consider standardized tests, then universities and employers would miss out on academically inclined prospects.

Read More

Optional Standardized Testing

1304 Words | 6 Pages

Currently, there are 850 test optional colleges in the USA and this number is slowly growing (Sheffer). William Hiss believes making standardized tests optional will allow more people to get a higher education (Sheffer). Optional testing creates a more equal opportunity for everyone. A Wake Forest study showed that the “average high school GPA of incoming freshman increased after the school stopped using standardized test scores as a factor in admissions” (Balf). It was also found that higher GPAs were maintained in college (Jaschik).

Read More

Argumentative Essay On ACT And SAT Scores

729 Words | 3 Pages

GPA’s a better representation on a student’s performance in school. A student’s high school grade point average is the reflection of a student’s academic performance through their four years (Sheffer, 2014). When colleges look at someone’s ACT or SAT score they only see how well the student is in a limited time frame. Many colleges and Universities do take GPA into consideration, but ACT and SAT scores seem to be more important. Colleges and Universities should focus more on a student’s grade point average for a better representation of the student’s

Read More

Unfair Standardized Testing

1776 Words | 8 Pages

No, the purpose of improving college admissions is twofold: to give less weight to a broken system that doesn’t accurately assess students’ abilities, and also to find top-notch students regardless of their test scores - particularly among the demographics that are put at the biggest disadvantage in standardized tests. Shifting the focus away from test scores helps level the playing field for lower-income and minority students by forcing colleges to look at less biased factors. As Geiser et al. argue (2007), standardized test scores correlate strongly with income level, whereas GPAs do not; thus, GPA is a far more equitable approach toward measuring success.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Pass Fail System

315 Words | 2 Pages

Should the grading system be replaced by a Pass/Fail system in American public schools? What effect does handing out grades have upon the student in terms of motivation and learning outcomes? The grading system is one fundamental aspect of US education. It is used in hundreds of thousands classrooms in determining how efficient the student is doing with the letter scaling from an “A” to an “F”. Since its inception, detractors have spotted many problems and perverse incentives they produce.

Read More

Longitudinal Chemistry Personal Statement

696 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout my upbringing, my parents and immediate family members were adamant about the prospects afforded by higher education. Above all, they portrayed higher education as the gateway to pursuing a career that I would be passionate about. I took their wisdom and sagacity to heart. I am now looking to advance my academic career through graduate-level scholarship and research focusing on drug discovery and medicinal chemistry.

Read More

More about Argument Essay: The Plus-Minus Grading System

Related Topics

Open Document