A few weeks ago I wrote about Student Evaluations, Grade Inflation, and Declining Student Academic Effort. In short, the data unambiguously reveals:
1. Average GPAs are higher than in past times: The average college GPA has rised from the 2.5 or 2.6 range in about 1960 to well over 3.0 today.
At some prestigious private universities, like Harvard, 50% of students receive As in courses. On the one hand, Harvard is only drawing from the most promising, most academically gifted students in the nation. On the other hand, such a practice still degrades the meaning of an “A” at Harvard, as Harvey Mansfield discusses.
2. Students are spending less time studying at college. A National Bureau of Economic Research report (unavailable on the Internet, but which I’ve perused) reveals: “In 1961, the average student spent 40 hours a week engaged in their studies—attending class and studying. By 2003, this had declined by nearly one-third to 27 hours weekly.”
In response to these findings, one naturally wonders: Are students perhaps getting both smarter (hence higher grades) and more efficient in their study methods (hence less study time, and more time for a part-time off-campus job, etc.), perhaps due to the advance of interactive technology, which facilitates and streamlines the learning process? I don’t deny that such technology can be very helpful; I employ it in my own classes and am pleased with the results. But having reviewed some research, I don’t think students are on average stronger than their predecessors. They may in fact be weaker. First, mean SAT scores of college-bound high school seniors have decreased in the last 40 years by about 6-8%. In addition, reports indicate that students are increasingly disengaged from their studies (Saenz et al., 2007) and that the literacy of graduates has declined (Kutner et al., 2006). [These papers are cited in this publication.]
Last but not least, an important and widely cited new book
