One in three students feels they deserve a 'B' just for showing up to class

[OnePimpTiger]

Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes

I thought this article was a perfect example of the mindset more and more people have today. A few quotes:

“Many students come in with the conviction that they’ve worked hard and deserve a higher mark,” Professor Grossman said.

A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading.

James Hogge, associate dean of the Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt University, said: “Students often confuse the level of effort with the quality of work. There is a mentality in students that ‘if I work hard, I deserve a high grade.’ “

“I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade,” Mr. Greenwood said. “What else is there really than the effort that you put in?”

“If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point?” he added. “If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher’s mind, then something is wrong.”

“I feel that if I do all of the readings and attend class regularly that I should be able to achieve a grade of at least a B.”

And the quote that is at the stem of the problem:

Attributing the outcome of a failure to someone else is a common problem.

This example is a simplified version of a much larger problem in the world. As long as you try, you should be rewarded for it. It doesn't matter if you're not good enough, smart enough, or if your work is wrong, the only thing that matters is the effort. I'm sorry precious snowflake, that's not how it works.

[gatorboymike]

Maybe that's how things work at FSU, but not at real universities.

[OnePimpTiger]

FSU? And which way things work? Getting a good grade for effort or not?

[drtom2005]

This problem extends to more than just academics. Kids get trophies now just for partaking in sports and other events. Do you know how I knew I was bad at sports? I never got a trophy. Do you know how I knew I had to work on spelling as kid? I never got a trophy for partaking in the bee. Do you know how I knew I was good at school? I got all As. This generation of kids has been raised that partaking in something is equal to being good at it. Sorry, people are not good at everything. That is why there are so many possible jobs. Find what you like to do and what you are good at.

[OnePimpTiger]

This problem extends to more than just academics. Kids get trophies now just for partaking in sports and other events. Do you know how I knew I was bad at sports? I never got a trophy. Do you know how I knew I had to wrk on spelling as kid? I never got a trophy for partaking in the bee. Do you know how I knew I was good at school? I got all As. This generation of kids has been raised that partaking in something is equal to being good at it. Sorry, people are not good at everything. That is why there are so many possible jobs. Find what you like to do and what you are good at.

Agreed. And we're not supposed to exclude or give bad grades or make them feel like they're not good at something because that might hurt their self esteem. Guess what, that's life...if you don't teach them what life is really like, they get one very rude awakening when they reach the "real world."

[WilyWestbrook0]

I not only "showed up," I worked hard in my college Physics course - but I still deservedly got a C. These kids need a reality check - you aren't always going to succeed at everything..and no one deserves a passing grade for simply showing up at class, let alone for studying hard. That people actually can think in such a manner is an embarrassment to civilization. Yeah, I'm not going to sugar-coat it.

[OnePimpTiger]

That people actually can think in such a manner is an embarrassment to civilization. Yeah, I'm not going to sugar-coat it.

Preach it, Sister!

[gatorboymike]

This is what happens when you live in a society that values celebrity and ritual over intellect and hard work, and in fact looks down its nose at intellect and hard work.

[TheTGB]

In my opinion, grades do not matter in the long run. I would support any college that decides on a pass/fail system for all classes.

[themanishere]

I think this is a function of colleges becoming soft in teaching. Better grades are easier to come by in many respects (i.e. technology) these days as compared to the past, even in some top universities.

To be honest, though, much of the reading and lectures contain a lot of fluff and BS - when exams come around, only a selection of concepts are tested. They try to cram as much information as possible into lectures and such to make you think you're "learning" a bunch of stuff. I believe this causes a lot of people to skip lectures/readings - because it is possible to do well in a class/grade without doing much of the actual "work" (as I have admittedly done). When the work is actually substantial, people get their stained underwear in a bunch. It is all about the fast-track - give me my grades and I'm out of here: then, when they hit the real world, they crash and burn.

I think a bigger problem is, too many people don't know which information is more pertinent in the long-run. They write down anything, highlight anything, and just memorize it for the exams. I have had this problem of being selective - I don't care much for the information as it pertains to grades/classes - I want to know what the information means in the reality of the world/profession we live in.