Perhaps you’re right. I just hadn’t fully appreciated the frankly shocking extent of grade inflation today. As you pointed out on the other thread, it does suggest these grades are kind of meaningless.
So I guess we’ll now start seeing 501(c)(3)s being created by college students, in addition to high school students, to get that EC boost. 
Cynical, ain’t it?
The problem with holistic evaluations is that it relies a lot on subjective, uncorroborated information. Everyone is trying to game the system. This promotes embellishment, misrepresentation, and even outright lying.
Just like many kinds of employment?
Harvard is a particular focus, as I don’t know about Columbia. Both on this thread, and the ALDC thread, there is some VERY specific information about grade inflation at Harvard, with actual numbers from Harvard itself attesting to the rampant grade inflation.
So my views are strictly limited to where there is a great deal of objective info (including by deans), actual GPAs, and comments by deans being “concerned” about this issue, along with some very knowledgeable posters. Taking it all together, it’s very clear it’s not a phantom issue. And others have indicated it’s happening at several schools. So, it is “a thing” at least as it relates to one of the very top schools in the country and in the world.
Except that there are many companies that do credential checking for jobs, verifying education, job history, criminal records etc.
Perhaps we can create our own educational credential verification company?! If so, I want to be Chief Marketing Officer!
The education system is supposed to be different than the job market. Isn’t it important that there are objective standards to evaluate and confirm the progress that students are making in their learning? If there aren’t any objective standards, what’s the point of it all?
We are already there
Undergraduate Research, Internships, Study Abroad, ETC
Agreed. But almost none of those things have anything to do with evaluating educational performance while at school. In some ways, a better system might be establishing a lottery to determine who gets accepted.
I don’t know, @BUMD. If I were interviewing an undergrad, I would find that stuff interesting. ESPECIALLY if grades aren’t a great indicator because of inflation.
To me, college is a time for learning, but also doing…get involved in lots of activities. I know that the general view for college admissions is that the “top schools” are no longer looking for well-rounded students. Fine…but if I were hiring (and, on occasion, do hire), I find the ECs can be compelling.
That has always been the case, but the number of elite med and law schools slots has remained constant while the number of people in college has tripled over the past 35 years. It follows that every grad school and/or job opening is more competitive for everyone. Moreover, the same job that once required nothing but a high school diploma now asks for an MBA. All of this causes a chain reaction in grading.
Regarding pass/fail, refer to my post above regarding absolute knowledge. Why should students at Harvard receive a B when they would receive an A almost anywhere else? Just to differentiate between themselves? Why do you assume that someone who receives an A- when half of the class also received an A- didn’t learn the material? This reminds me of the old joke about what people call the person who graduated last in her class from medical school…
Is grade inflation really harmful at a place like Harvard where almost every student is highly capable? If most kids are doing “A” level work at Harvard why should’t they get a grade commensurate with their mastery of the material. In my opinion, where grade inflation is more troubling is at your run of the mill HS where kids may not be gaining the skills they need to do well in college. Case in point - a kid who gets an A in a AP class, but can’t pass the exam.
This post takes me back lol. If you weren’t a legacy or football recruit and managed to receive a grade lower than a B at Harvard in the 90s, you really went out of your way to earn that grade and no one would take any complaint you might have about it seriously. In a sense, the gentleman’s B has simply replaced the gentleman’s C.
Easy: Because by the time someone managed to get admitted to Harvard (plug in your favorite top-ranked school), they likely had a proven track record of being (at minimum) a B-average student - and overwhelmingly had the skillset and intellectual ability able to sustain that (low) level?
So, no grading on a curve for any courses at Harvard?
Except for peer schools with plenty of high achieving kids do have classes that are graded on a curve.
And hopefully, those individual, high-achieving kids at other colleges will also be able to get B-averages and better?
Many people have given you explanations as to why this is happening and the reality is likely that they are all at least somewhat true.
In addition, I am thinking along the lines of @colonelmike64 and @Thorsmom66 and wondering if you are conflating grade inflation with learning less. You even asked “how this is possibly helping students LEARN”?
Are you thinking that students learn more when high grades are harder to get? Do you have evidence for that, I am curious. In my experience and I believe the research supports this, people learn more effectively under conditions where they can have a positive result for their efforts (and yes these students consider As a positive result). My D21 got As last semester but still worked very hard, learned a tremendous amount and got great, substantive feedback along the way from her profs.
So perhaps grade inflation and learning are less related than you were thinking? I think that is why you were concerned?
If an exam is graded on a bell curve, half the class are going to be below the mean.
an exam is graded on a bell curve, half the class are going to be below the mean <<
Familiar with the concept. My daughter’s classes at Columbia U and Barnard College, are indeed graded on a curve. Doesn’t change her GPA, and/or latin or greek honors.
Maybe grad schools need to start asking for grading policies and grade distributions with transcripts ; )