Evaluation and the Academy: Are We Doing the Right Thing?

Authors: Henry Rosovsky and Matthew Hartley A January 2002 report published by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences demonstrates clear evidence of grade and evaluation inflation at U.S. universities. The authors of “Evaluation and the Academy: Are We Doing the Right Thing?” are the former dean of Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Henry Rosovsky and Matthew Hartley, a Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. The Advisory Committee that worked closely with the authors in producing the study includes Philip Altbach, Sissela Bok, Charles Fried, Carmine Gibaldi, Jerome Kagan, and Dean Whitla.

Press Release (28 kb) Occasional Paper (185 kb) Executive Summary (13 kb) Related Articles: Academy Report Reveals Grade Inflation Nationwide (Harvard Crimson, 2/1/02) Everyone's A Star (Christian Science Monitor, 2/5/02) A Call for an End to Grade Inflation ( USA Today, 2/5/02) Grade Inflation Failures (The Cavalier Daily, 2/5/02) Ivy League Grade Inflation (USA Today, 2/7/02) Grade Inflation Debate Extends Beyond Ivies (Yale Daily News, 2/8/02) Grade Inflation More Prevalent At Selective Colleges, Study Says (The Hoya, 2/8/02) Inflation of Grades Spurs Questioning Nationwide (The Cavalier Daily, 2/11/02) Grade Inflation an Issue at Universities Nationwide (The Marquette Tribune, 2/27/02) Statistics Indicate C.U. Grade Inflation (Cornell Daily Sun, 4/11/02) Grade Inflation on the Rise (Cornell Daily Sun, 4/15/02) Student Evaluations Solution to Grade Inflation (The Hoya, 4/19/02) Amid Cries of Grade Inflation, C's Still Abound (Christian Science Monitor, 8/10/02) When “A” is for Anybody (Newsweek, 9/17/02) Easy grading makes 'deep learning' more important (USA Today, 2/4/03) You Can't Outlaw Failure; It only makes it harder to succeed. (Wall Street Journal, 6/10/03)