education

„What’s the Point of a Professor?“

The New York Times online pubished an opinion piece by Mark Bauerlein, Professor of English Literature at Emory University in Atlanta, on May 9, 2015, entitled „What’s the Point of a Professor?“

In it Bauerlein – clearly an American of German descent – writes: „In 1960, only 15 percent of grades were in the A range, but now the rate is 43 percent, making A the most common grade by far.“

The auther further states that faculty members’ attitudes are kindly, too. In one national survey, 61 percent of students said that professors frequently treated them „like a colleague/peer,“ while only 8 percent heard frequent „negative feedback about their academic work.“ 

According to the survey more than half leave the graduation ceremony believing that they are „well prepared“ in speaking, writing, critical thinking and decision-making.“

„You can’t become a moral authority“, writes Bauerlein, „if you rarely challenge students in class and engage them beyond it. If we professors do not do that, the course is not an induction of eager minds into an enlarging vision. When it comes to students, we shall have only one authority: the grades we give. We become not a fearsome mind or a moral light, a role model or inspiration. We become accreditors.“

Scoring System

Superlative: Of, relating to, or constituting the degree of grammatical comparison that denotes an extreme or unsurpassed level or extent; surpassing all others, supreme; of very high quality, excellent; excessive, exaggerated. The superlative form of nice is nicest, bad is worst, of interesting is most interesting.

The American academic system – high school, university respectively – uses the following scoring: A excellent (high school), 4.0 (university); B good, 3.0; C satisfactory, 2.0; D pass, 1.0; F fail, no credit.

Grade inflation occurs when higher grades are assigned for work that would have received lower grades in the past. The American academic community has attempted time and again to address the problem of grade inflation, but have yet to establish workable standards.

Grade inflation

It is getting more and more competitive to get into a prestigious university. One must be a straight A student with a high SAT score to even get into a prestigious public university, such as the University of Washington.

In 2012 the Seattle Times published an article which stated that the average GPA of incoming freshman at the University of Washington in fall 2011 was 3.75. This points out an interesting problem, which is the inflation of grades.

If students need to get better and better grades to get accepted to college, it will eventually devalue the GPA. Furthermore, it could create added stress for young students if they receive a grade that is not an A, such as an B or C. This type of grade inflation could influence the grading scale in a negative way.

Almost everyone gets an A

A comment by a German with extensive experience at the university level in the U.S.: “I think the real issue here is not how grades are officially classified but that there is a much stronger tendency of grade inflation in the US. 

Almost everyone gets an A, whereas a B already feels like a failure even though it’s officially considered “good”. 

Germans – at least at university level – are much more likely to give a student a C and think that she/he did a good job. When professors give a B they think the student’s paper is great. A basically means a professor could have written this.

German law school top honors

The grading system of German law schools is a discipline of its own. In total there are 18 points. Every three points are equal to one grade level (like a letter grade). Law schools, in addition to the usual levels of very good, good, satisfactory, acceptable, inadequate, and insufficient, also use the level entirely satisfactory.

Those who receive the grades of very good, good, or entirely  satisfactory on their certification exam (comparable to the bar exam) graduate with distinction. A minimum of four points are required to pass the exam, and only 15% of students receive a score higher than eight.

To receive all eighteen points would give you a grade of very good plus. This practically never happens, becoming very clear when a lot of fuss is made over someone receiving a very good grade.

For example, Sonja Pelikan in 2010. She received 16.08 points, which was even worth an interview by a major German newspaper (Wie schafft man 16 Punkte? Süddeutsche Zeitung, May 10th, 2010).

Or Stefan Thönissen who was interviewed by the Baden news, because he received an evaluation of very good on his exam. The article emphasized: “In the field of law, 18 points is the magical maximum score, essentially unattainable.”

But why would one introduce a grading-scale in which it is impossible to reach the highest grade? Perhaps to convey the message: “It is always possible to do a little bit better, so put some effort into it!” Perhaps to keep the others “grounded to the facts”. Because nothing is worse than considering one’s self to be better than one really is.

German School Grades

German schools have the following grading system: 1.0 very good. 2.0 good. 3.0 satisfactory. 4.0 unsatisfactory. 5.0 poor. 6.0 failure.

See here. And here.

It is possible to receive a 1.0 in Germany, but teachers often purposely give a somewhat lower grade, for example 1.2, in order to communicate that the student should not slack off, and that there is always room for improvement. There has been a trend, however, of parents complaining about the deflationary approach to grading in German schools.

Continuing Education

The Germans consider education, and continuing education, to be the foundation of their economy. Their companies, large and small, set aside generous budgets to continuously broaden and deepen the skill sets of their employees.

Training organizations, management consultants, subject area experts all market their expertise in helping companies to reduce errors and to optimize work processes. The key from the German perspective is anticipating and preventing problems.

Roughly 45% of all German employees participate in continuing education sponsored by their employer. 25% of those programs run for several months. 60% of all continuing education in Germany takes place within companies. The Germans are keenly aware of the important role knowledge and skills play in their economic future.

Lemonade Stand

Many American children are encouraged at a young age to earn pocket money by selling a product or service. The lemonade stand is a metaphor for getting out there and selling something, whether it be used toys, books, or helping older people with their shopping. Sales is believed to be a skill which is always in demand regardless of the state of an economy.

Legal Case Method

The case method utilized in business schools is also used in American law schools. It relies on the principle that the most effective way to learn American law is to scrutinize judicial opinions which have become the law.

Law school cases allow students to discern a legal rule, prompting students to test their knowledge in simulated situations. This sensitivity towards facts and reliance on previous judicial rulings is deeply imbedded in the legal system in the United States.

Business Case Method

Most American business schools base their teaching on case studies, a method which goes back over one hundred years. Business cases are descriptions of actual business situations.

Information is presented about a company: products, markets, competition, financial structure, sales, management, employees, as well as other factors influencing success. The length of business cases ranges from five to fifty pages. Case studies are based on experience.