Aaron Meche
ENG 4309
11/07/11
A Numbers Game: The Crisis of Academia in the U.S.
The culture of competition in the US is no great mystery; one could argue it has been the
driving force of this country’s growth. However, as a result of this way of thinking, a flawed
reasoning has been developed among the powers that rule over universities; that students who
cannot maintain a certain GPA have lost the privilege of higher learning. Some believe that it is
a good way to gauge if a student has aptitude for certain subjects. But is being able to please a
few people with “power” really the meaning of education? And what happened to learning for
learning’s sake?
The Golden Rule of Academic Success: Do Unto Others in a Manner that Benefits You
The answer is that education in the US has shifted from “learning a craft” to “learning to
be crafty.” In other words, it is fueled by our competitive culture. Employers (and in turn,
teachers) have put so much emphasis on maintaining the highest possible GPA that it has forced
education to change. It is no longer about greater learning, but learning to achieve greater than
your peers.
It has turned into a game, almost reaching professional sports status. There are instances
where students in class are directly set up to compete with each other or risk complete failure.
Some classes in the sciences use what’s called a “natural curve” when it comes to grade
calculation. The result of this is pretty intuitive. Say for instance, a class consists of five
students (this is a very plausible scenario in higher level courses). One student will make an A,
the next a B, and then one will make a C, one a D and one an F. With a natural curve, this is a
mathematically guaranteed outcome. And situations like this are on the rise across the board in
universities. Jonathan Droulliard, a bioinformatics student at Baylor University, said in an
interview that “My bioinformatics class has five people. The instructor grades on a standard
curve to make his grade curve look proper in evaluations. Therefore, even if we all make an 'A'
in the class, someone is bound to end up with a B, C, and D. He does this to improve the way he
is observed by other peers, and our effort is not associated with our grade” (Droulliard
Interview). This is how the current system determines whether you are worthy or not. And only
those who are competitive enough have earned the right to proceed forward with their journey of
higher learning.
This problem has become pandemic, spreading from school to school like a virus. One
could argue that the fierce competition drives people to be the best they can. However, the goal
of education, especially at the undergraduate level, should not be reduced to something so
meaningless. If the goal is to turn students into job-finding machines, then there are better
methods for accomplishing the task (and the alternative methods are probably cheaper).
Unfortunately in this type of learning environment, the student who wants to learn a new skill or
develop existing ones is widely excluded.
A Series of Unfortunate Results
There are many problems that arise from these different approaches to education. Grade
inflation has grown to epidemic proportions in recent years. This is due to the pressures and
rigors of the current education system, this emphasis on maintaining a high GPA and being
competitive. In his essay “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,” Brent Staples
supports this point when he states:
The Economist Milton Friedman taught that superior products flourished and
shabby ones died out when consumers voted emphatically with their dollars. But
the truth of the marketplace is that shabby products can do just fine if they sustain
the veneer of quality while slipping downhill, as has much of higher education.
Face with demanding consumers and stiff competition, colleges have simply
issued more and more A’s, stoking grade inflation and devaluing degrees.
(Staples 260)
This quote alludes well to the problem but not its cause. Yes degrees could lose their
value because of grade inflation, but what is the value of a degree in our present time? What that
piece of paper represents itself is an example of “counterfeit excellence” (Staples 261). A
degree, as a product of the flawed system, is a picture of a shadow on a wall, what is seen is not
necessarily what is true.
The competition and need for a steady paycheck fuels a vicious cycle with no end in
sight. A problem resulting from this is that high school graduates who are not suited for
Academia are pressured into entering it. Caroline Bird, in her essay Why College is a Waste of
Time and Money, argues that many students are in college “because it has become the thing to do
or because college is a pleasant place to be; because it’s the only way they can get parents or
taxpayers to support them without working at a job they don’t like; because Mother wanted them
to go, or some other reason entirely irrelevant to the course of studies for which college is
supposedly organized” (Bird 251). Bird’s claim has been proven true in many different ways.
There are statistics that suggest that a significant amount of people with college degrees end up
doing jobs are not tailored to their area of study at all (chronicle.com).
Another problem resulting from the competition is that students become manipulators of
the system instead of learners of the trade. Students are acutely aware of this fact as well. When
asked if he believed that the competitive model worked for education, Brett Lehrer, a student at
UWM, said “Definitely not. I’ve primarily learned how to win rather than really focused on
learning. College as I’ve known it has mostly just been a numbers game. Most assignments
begin with an evaluation of what I think the teacher or professor wants to see and tailoring the
assignment to fit his or her desires most accurately” (Lehrer Interview). This is the unfortunate
result; education has been reduced to a “numbers game”, and the winner is the one who scores
the highest.
The decline of work integrity does not end there. The pressure of maintaining a high
GPA and the fear of being unable to find a job after graduation affects the way students approach
their studies. Teachers often complain about students who take the “night before a test cram
session” approach to studying, but never stop to consider that maybe there is a greater problem
than the students’ laziness. And even if they did consider this thought, the risk for a teacher
questioning the powers that be is just as great as a student unable to maintain a perfect GPA.
Stepping on the Toes of God
The result of this is that many teachers are unable to foster creativity and passion in
students. The need to compete far outweighs the desire for learning. This is evident in the
teaching style of many professors. It is an unfortunate side effect of the culture, but many have
become complacent, and have forgotten that there is so much more value in education than just
being able to land a job. The experience and the lessons are supposed to be carried through life.
When I was a computer science major, I fell in love with programming and the theory of
programming. I studied every day and wrote code late into the evenings. However, this was a
short-lived experience. Because I was not an expert programmer already, I was forced out with
my broken dreams and an abysmal GPA. Adding to my heartbreak, I was told the reason behind
this decision was because of both a lackluster work ethic and that God had different plans for me
(the greatest benefit of working at a Christian university is that you can pin all your personal
failings on God). By daring to dream big and pursue my newly discovered passion, I had
become a blasphemer in the Church of Academia; I was stepping on the toes of God.
Pinning the blame on the students is a bit tragic itself, but there are even greater problems
as a result of this high competition. If a student is not already somewhat experienced in a craft
then they have no chance at success. Teachers have formed what most students call the “weed
out” classes, which shuns students who do not have the “aptitude” for a certain major (meaning
that if you don’t already know the information being taught then you are out of luck). They
argue that GPA is a good way to gauge whether or not a student can handle the rigors of a
subject. The argument again is that students will not be competitive unless they maintain a high
GPA.
The problem is not limited to one single major though; it is a growing concern for all
areas of study. Everyone needs a job to maintain a decent standard of living, whether you are
great at programming or being a circus clown. In this regard, the meaning of higher learning in
the US has changed. The focus is not on how much a student has grown or learned in a field, but
getting a piece of paper that will allow for a better chance of landing a job. The fear of being
unsuccessful in life is a great way to ensure that the status quo remains unopposed.
Empty Promises to Fill
The problem is hard to fix and in a way has become cemented in the culture. There are
some simple solutions that can be implemented though. First of all, the way that colleges decide
whether or not a student is worthy to learn a subject needs to change. In other words, the
emphasis on GPA and the competitiveness of the system need to change.
There are a few ways this can be fixed. The more drastic of the choices is to just axe the
GPA system all together. One could argue that If GPA was gone, then not only could anyone in
the country get an education, but then degrees would become worthless.
The fact that people view education as something that only the rich or “worthy” deserve
is part of the problem in that statement. Part of the American mythology is that the United States
is a country of dreamers and that anyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps with enough
effort. This statement widely ignores the people who aren’t wearing boots in the first place.
These people, who either cannot afford a quality education or are not deemed worthy by the
system (whether by GPA, standardized tests, or whatever) are cast aside.
The argument that degrees will become worthless is a valid one. However, this
phenomenon is happening now, even in the current system. With the corruption in schools
through grade inflation, rampant cheating, student-teacher bribery and other means, degrees are
already starting to lose their validity, as is the emphasis on GPA. Brent Staples argues this point
as well when he says “Addicted to counterfeit excellence, colleges, parents, and students are
unlikely to give it up. As a consequence, diplomas will become weaker and more ornamental as
the years go by” (Staples 261). Author Bird argues the same point when she says “...a college
diploma no longer opens as many vocational doors. Employers are beginning to realize that
when they pay extra for someone with a diploma, they are paying only for an empty credential”
(Bird 259). Since both methods (leaving GPA as is or getting rid of it altogether) lead to a
similar conclusion, removing GPA is certainly a viable option.
It is easy to forget that GPA is a single number that measures success in ALL areas using
the same standard. The number is calculated using different classes, but is still based on a single
“grade” from each class. This is a huge problem, because there are classes that students are
forced to take and don’t excel in, and this shows in their GPA. An art student may be horrible at
speaking a foreign language, but is forced to take two years of it anyway because it is a viable
skill in the real world. Not only that, but if that student fails then the class has to be retaken.
Enjoy another semester’s stay at Hotel Academia; the second chance at success is not
complementary.
Another flaw in the GPA that goes a level deeper is the calculation of the grade itself.
This grade is based primarily on how well a student does on exams (depending on the class). So
if a student has not mastered several centuries’ worth of material in a matter of weeks, then they
are sorely out of luck. There is another issue with this. As if the pressure is not enough, some
teachers ensure that a test is full of trick questions, designed to trap the student in a corner.
Challenges in the undergraduate level would be great, if the future success of students didn’t
depend on the grade they receive and if that grade was calculated fairly.
The number could be recalculated, but that is not enough. Staples mentions an instance
where a teacher tried to change the calculation of GPA and was forced to withdraw his plan:
Valen Johnson, a Duke University statistics professor, came under heavy fire
from both students and faculty when he proposed recalculating the grade point
average to give rigorously graded courses greater weight. The student
government beat back the plan with the help of teachers in the humanities, who
worried that students might abandon them for other courses that they currently
avoided.(Staples 261)
More radical action needs to be taken, without fear of scrutiny. Mere recalculation is not the
answer, since the act assumes that GPA is an accurate measurement already.
Replacing the GPA or supplementing it with a different measurement of aptitude/work
completed is another solution. The work a student puts into a class is typically not reflected in a
GPA. A lot of this is dependent on how the teacher calculates their grade, but there are times
when the work does not match the grade at all. This truth goes both ways, with students who
cheat to make A’s and those who work themselves to death for F’s. The solution to this is to
better gauge those who work hard but do not do well on tests. Oftentimes there is more weight
put on high-pressure exams than on homework. That has to change. The usual case that teachers
make is that if students do the homework then they will do well on the exam. This becomes a
sick joke when exams have content that was not in the homework and when the outrageous
amount of homework weighs nothing compared to the tests. Students who cheat on exams are
most likely cheating on homework too, so giving equal weight to both would not change much
for them. For the hard-working student though it could be the difference between that medschool acceptance or denial.
All in all ,there should be less emphasis on grade calculation altogether. There are
certainly instances where it makes sense to rank someone (I wouldn’t want my doctor to have
failed his core med-school classes in college, though I believe he did). Again, the method used
to rank students now is outdated. If they were able to learn and be encouraged in a safe learning
environment, then students would excel, without question. Hell, they might even enjoy learning
in a college setting for a change.