Attack of the Grade-Grubbers?

If you have ever taught a college course, you might be familiar with the “grade-grubber,” that is, that special species of student who is never satisfied with the grade that he or she has earned, but is always keening for you to bump them up a half-letter or higher. On Tuesday, the New York Times published an article about the clash between student expectations and the grades they receive from professors, and it is currently their most emailed article. Professors interviewed attribute a rise in grade disputes variously to an increased sense of entitlement, competition among peers, and “ultra-efficient” test-prep in their K-12 education. Most interesting was the explanation that students have a misunderstanding about what grades actually reflect:

James Hogge, associate dean of the Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt University, said: “Students often confuse the level of effort with the quality of work. There is a mentality in students that ‘if I work hard, I deserve a high grade.’ “

In line with Dean Hogge’s observation are Professor Greenberger’s test results. Nearly two-thirds of the students surveyed said that if they explained to a professor that they were trying hard, that should be taken into account in their grade.

Jason Greenwood, a senior kinesiology major at the University of Maryland echoed that view.

“I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade,” Mr. Greenwood said. “What else is there really than the effort that you put in?”

“If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point?” he added. “If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher’s mind, then something is wrong.”

So, if grade-grubbing is a widespread phenomenon, and is at least in part a function of students not grasping the difference between merit and effort, what can we do to counteract this? How do we more effectively communicate our expectations to students? Do you provide a grade-breakdown in your syllabi? Do you give students access to grade calculators via online classroom management systems such as Blackboard? Do you provide students with the rubrics you use to grade their work?

As an aside, what do you think was missing from this Times article? I saw nary a mention of how the commercialization of higher education and the-customer-is-always-right mentality plays into student entitlement.