1 Grade Inflation at Wheeling Jesuit University: Is it a Problem? By

For many faculty members one of the more difficult and less agreeable tasks is to assess their students ’ level of accomplishments and assign grades. Some faculty argue “the real threat to excellence isn’t grade inflation at all; it’s grades. ” In his article, “The Dangerous Myth of Grade Inflation, ” Alfie Kohn claims that “the continued use of grades rest on nothing more than tradition, ” and that grades get in the way of true learning. 1 The vast majority of faculty, however, see grades as a crucial element of student learning. I would argue that careful grading is important to the student, the teacher, and the educational institution. Further, I contend that grade inflation is not only a national problem, but one also for WJU that has grown increasingly acute during the last decade. How do grades benefit students? Careful and accurate grades provide students with a realistic sense of how they are doing in the course in the estimation of the teacher. Harvey Mansfield, a professor of government at Harvard University, revealed that he gave his students two grades at the end of his courses: 2 one for the registrar and the public record and the other in private. Th