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ERIC Number: EJ1234979
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Dec
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0742-5627
EISSN: N/A
The Distribution of College Grades across Fields in the Contemporary University
Hermanowicz, Joseph C.; Woodring, David W.
Innovative Higher Education, v44 n6 p497-510 Dec 2019
Scholars have argued that grade inflation is pervasive throughout colleges and universities and that it is presently at an all-time high. Inflation is, however, a temporal concept: it is theoretically impossible for grades to keep increasing on a fixed scale. In this article we examine a related, though empirically distinct, phenomenon: the "distribution" of grades across fields in a university. We question global statements about grade inflation and examine if and how the university grading structure is internally differentiated. We use the idea of "consensus," the extent to which practitioners of a field agree, as a means to differentiate areas in a university. Based on undergraduate grade data from a large, public university in the U.S., we use cluster analysis to ascertain an "architecture" of grades. The results demonstrate significant variation in how grades are distributed across fields. The work identifies a need to probe further the linkages between field consensus, rigor, student learning, and grade allocation in college.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A