The phenomenon of grade inflation suggests that we're mistaking report cards for knowledge and growth.
 | By Vanessa Mobley Op-Ed Editor |
Each trimester the head of my daughter's school sends a personal letter to students who earn straight A's. There was a time last year my daughter didn't receive the letter — she had an A- in math. But no one in my house missed that letter except me. |
Maybe that isn't so weird: If getting an A once felt like an accomplishment, many students now take it for granted. As the teacher and writer Tim Donahue points out in his guest essay "If Everyone Gets an A, No One Gets an A," grade inflation has reached the point where "in 2016, 47 percent of high school students graduated with grades in the A range." |
Could our kids be getting smarter, or are their teachers getting worn down by grade grubbing and the obnoxious ambient anxiety of striving parents? |
The theories that Donahue, who teaches high school English, shares might surprise you. The one that most resonated with me is the idea that grade inflation is a measure of the extent to which we've mistaken grades logged for knowledge acquired. |
Even in a time when concepts like growth mind-set and resilience are parts of our vocabulary, a basic fear of failure is also part of how we live and raise our children. And that fear of failure, or what Donahue memorably describes as mistaking grades for "sheer commodities," could dampen students' desire to seek out harder-to-master material that carries the risk of lower marks. |
The habits that risk avoidance brings may not be good news for our kids' futures. As a teacher of 30 years and a parent himself, Donahue knows that learning is a lifelong process, even if being graded is not. |
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