by Sasha Blake
Grade inflation has hit Fairfield and other schools across the country, but students and professors argue that better marks are due to better students.
Among the 2002 Fairfield graduates, 17.6 percent graduated with honors and a GPA of 3.5 or higher. In 1966, 10.5 percent of Fairfield graduates earned honors recognition. Better students and better grades are growing at a continuous pace.
Professor Byron Norvell attributes the increase to students working harder. “I don’t see the inflation in my classes,” said Norvell. “My tests are more rigorous than five or more years ago. I have higher expectations. Students are doing more work.”
Professor Kurt Schlichting agrees. “My grades are a pattern,” said Schlichting. “These are the best students I’ve had in 25 years. In the last few years, students seem to be stronger, and uniformly there seem to be fewer weak students.”
In 1975, Schlichting had a class of 48 and only five students received As. He believes that students are doing better because they are working harder, not because grades are being handed to them.
“I do think it’s easier to get As now,” said Erin Doherty, ’03. “I’m in classes that I’m interested in and want to work for them.”
Katie Cronin, ’03, feels that her good grades reflect her hard work, rather than inflation. “I believe my work and achievement reflects the grades I receive,” said Cronin. “Exams demonstrate how hard I do work.”
While grade inflation at Fairfield can be attributed to better students, Schlichting is concerned that it will affect entrance exams. “The danger with inflation is when students take the national tests,” he said. “If students don’t score strongly it hurts the institution and grades may eventually start to be discounted.”
According to USA Today, if all students are receiving high marks, graduate schools will need to put a heavier emphasis on entrance exams.
Fairfield, however, is not the only school affected by grade inflation. In a recent study, the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study found that nearly 14.5 percent of all undergraduate students receive mostly As.
According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Harvard has virtually doubled their seniors who graduate with honors. In 1966, 22 percent of their class received As.
Thirty years later, the number has grown to almost 46 percent, with fewer than half of the graduates receiving below a B minus. Harvard’s honor roll grew 20 percent, while Fairfield’s grew seven percent.
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