June 08, 2005

Results Count

(This article is also posted on Lifelike Pundits.)

I read an interesting article in the Washington Post today (published on June 5). Written by college professor Alicia C. Shepard, itÕs called ÒA's for Everyone.Ó DoesnÕt that have a nice, feel-good ring to it? WouldnÕt it be great if everyone could get an A in everything?

Shepard has discovered that her students think so too. In a nutshell: students think that hard work automatically translates into top grades.

Hard work is important. Very few of us have the brilliance to put forth little effort yet yield results like EinsteinÕs theory of relativity. But what is hard work? Who is to judge who works hard and who doesnÕt?

Obviously an instructor can see who participates in class, who turns in well-written papers, who performs well on a test. These are what the teacher uses to compute grades. Student claims of Òworking hardÓ are subjective at best. How does Shepard know if a studentÕs concept of Òworking hardÓ means starting the paper weeks before the due date or the night before? In the world of academia, results are what count.

Shepard thinks part of the problem is grade inflation in high school, as well as parental expectations of getting what they pay for. ÒPure and simple, tuition at a private college runs, on average, nearly $28,000 a year. If parents pay that much, they expect nothing less than A's in return. "Therefore, if the teacher gives you a B, that's not acceptable," says [Arthur ]Levine [Columbia TeacherÕs University president], "because the teacher works for you. I expect A's, and if I'm getting B's, I'm not getting my money's worth."Ó

In the real world, if your performance at work is below par, you donÕt get the promotion, bonus or raise. You may even be fired. Higher education is not only supposed to prepare you with the skills to get that dream job, but also life skills regarding realistic expectations and that results, not subjective feelings about Òhard work,Ó prevail.

If everything in life was easy to attain, what would its worth be?

As for Shepard, sheÕs learned her lesson:

ÒA few hours after I entered my final grades, I got an e-mail from a student, at 1:44 a.m. She was unhappy with her B. She worked so hard, she told me. This time, though, I was prepared. I had the numbers to back me up, and I wouldn't budge on her grade. No more Professor Softie.Ó

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