Grade Inflation? Great article from christian Science Monitor. The article is in reference to colleges and universities, but as a K-6 teacher I wonder if it reaches down here, too? We use a standards based 1-4 scoring scale, which would not be as measurable as the university numbers to the right.What makes these grades go up? I asked my students today in class and their responses were.."Are we smarter?" Then they asked "Are teachers, just better?" I didn't know what to say to them. I believe that its a combination of many things. I think that maybe there's a lack of rigor in our classes from Grad school down to Kindergarten. I also think that there are some teachers who may be less likely;y to criticize because of perceived and real repercussions that an entitled generation could lay on them. Is this a genuine issue? I don't know. Then again, maybe we are smarter and teaching better? I don't know, but I know that this post stuck with me all day today as I thought more and more about it, and wondered if I m contributing to this or if I am challenging the students enough.
I love my job and I love the challenges that come our way...I hopoe this can spoark a good conversation for me.
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