To The Editor:
I would like to address Dr. William Abbott’s reasons behind his proposal to combat grade inflation (“Grades rise”). Drawing from the article, it appeared that Dr. Abbott based his proposal on information gathered from surveys. I would be interested in seeing these surveys, what questions were asked and what percentage of the Fairfield population was interviewed. Vague references to mysterious surveys are not evidence that Fairfield students study less and party more than other students.
I would also strongly question Dr. Abbott’s correlation between SAT scores and academic grades. As a professor, he should know better than anyone that the SATs do not measure intelligence. They can be biased and are not a direct determinate of how well or hard a student may work in class.
These issues aside, I felt Dr. Abbott’s statement that Fairfield students are utterly passive and anti-intellectual was incredibly insulting. The students I have had the privilege of being in class with actively participate in class discussions, take an interest in the material being covered and contribute to an overall successful learning environment. By his generalizations, Dr. Abbott has offended every hard-working student at this institution.
Finally, I don’t believe that Dr. Abbott’s proposal will end supposed grade inflation. Having the average grade and number of people in a class will not free students of the fear of taking hard courses. Rather it will tell them only how many people were in the class and what the average grade was. The article noted that other institutions that had a similar system saw no change.
Dr. Abbott seemed to be attacking the students rather than a system that may encourage professors to inflate grades. In doing so, he demeaned four years of hard work.
Sincerely,
Christine Carpino ’04
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