Here is a link to the Times article about the average grade at Harvard. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/as-have-been-harvards-most-common-grade-for-20-years/
I tried to comment in a light vein.
“I am a former math professor at an “elite” university and I’m writing to let you know that grade inflation is not the problem it used to be. We have been in a deflationary period for a long time now. We now have “content deflation”, instead. Grade inflation is so twentieth century.
With “content deflation”, our “customers” (once quaintly called “students”) not only get a good grade with little real learning, there isn’t even anything there to really learn. So, now we don’t have to dumb down the test. And the student and his/her parents can leave assured that they learned all that was required to know to be competent in X course. After all, they went to an “elite” school.”
(I guess “light vein” isn’t quite the right description.)
My dad told me about grade inflation in universities in the 1970’s, so it’s good to hear someone else validate that this is an OLD topic.
I’m looking forward to reading your blog pieces because I’m trying to better understand why the college professors I know are mortified by the lack of critical thinking skills and knowledge from kids coming out of top public and high schools with loads of As in AP classes and great ACT scores.
Thanks for your comment. I write this blog for concerned people like you.
You will find some information about what has happened with AP courses under that category. You will also probably want to see some of the posts under “University Education Dumbs Down High School”. You might especially want to look at “How Competition Leads to “Content Deflation” in One Anecdote”.