Editorial

Author: [no author name found]

Importance of rising grades inflated

Inflated grade point averages at Middlebury College warrant investigation, but they should not be a cause for alarm.

It must be noted that grades are not the only numbers going up at Middlebury - so are the standardized test scores and the high school class ranks of applicants. That high-achieving students work hard and earn high marks is not surprising.

Studies such as those seen on GradeInflation.com demonstrate that Middlebury is not alone in fighting inflation, and that a "C" has not been the average grade for several decades at the nation's educational institutions. After a study revealed that 90 percent of students at Harvard University annually graduate with honors, Harvard promised to take action to combat soaring grades. As far as we know, "A's" are still readily dolled out in Cambridge, Mass.

A handful of colleges have taken drastic measures to fight inflation. Princeton University, for example, recently began implementing a process to cap the number of "A's" so that they are awarded to only 35 percent of each class, while Wellesley College follows a bell curve system.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Grading at Middlebury should continue to analyze trends in grades across the various academic departments, and should also investigate whether grade discrepancies are influencing student enrollment decisions. When the time comes to put forward a plan of action, however, Middlebury should avoid drastic changes.

Plans like Princeton's that force students to compete for a limited number of "A's" place too much pressure on students and faculty and create an unnecessarily competitive environment. Such a scenario would run contrary to the education-first goals of liberal arts colleges.

In order to deter students from being drawn to certain departments only for a GPA boost, the College might consider implementing a policy like Dartmouth's, where the mean class grades are listed alongside students' grades on transcripts. The Subcommittee on the Natural Sciences in the Liberal Arts at Middlebury has discussed adding medium grades to transcripts, but this could be done for all departments.



Election woes

Two things are lamentable about the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate elections: the number of uncontested positions and the dearth of time and publicity for campaigning. Given that last year's presidential election was accompanied by an active and competitive campaign season, it is unfortunate that the junior and senior classes are showing little interest in student government this fall. All junior and senior class seats are uncontested, and all candidates for commons representative positions are either first-year or sophomore students. Student apathy appears to be a formidable opponent for the SGA yet again.

SGA President Eli Berman '07.5 has prioritized improving communication between student government and the student body. Announcing the candidates less than 24 hours before the polls opened, however, actually brings the SGA further away from this goal. While last year at this time the SGA Web site featured a complete list of Senate candidates, the site lacked such information on the eve of the fall 2005 elections.

Perhaps the SGA is still developing the innovative methods of communication Berman has promised.