2 ms·
Grade inflation would be less of a problem if GPA didn't saturate --- but it does. The trouble is that if you squeeze everyone on to the top end of the scale, y
by quotemstr 7y ago
Grade inflation would be less of a problem if GPA didn't saturate --- but it does. The trouble is that if you squeeze everyone on to the top end of the scale, you diminish the ability to use GPA to distinguish talent levels. You turn school into a pass/fail system. Since not everyone is in fact equally talented, we end up losing information. Economic misallocation of resources makes us all poorer. There's real value in putting the smartest people on the hardest problems, and it's hard to do that when everyone graduates at that "the smartest people" level.
- jmull 7y agoYou’re assuming grades mainly exist to solve an industry problem. But why should that be true? If I’m running a school I’ll use grades to further my own school’s educational goals and trust the various industries and other post-graduation institutions to figure out how to determine who best fits their purposes for themselves. There certainly is a real value in putting the smartest (well, most able actually, but I know what you mean) people on the hardest problems. So better to use a system designed for the specific purpose rather than try to repurpose something made for a different purpose.
- quotemstr 7y agoI would argue that ability in industry is extraordinarily strongly correlated with ability to earn high grades.