BRITISH universities, it appears, are considering abandoning a 200-year old system of degree classification in favour of the American GPA model. At present, students are bunched into grade clusters. The top 10-20% receive a 1st, the majority receive a 2.1 or two-one and the stragglers receive either a two-two or a 3rd. The latter group can be very small at the elite universities but is larger nationally.
The main reasoning for this is that it is hard for employers to distinguish between graduates if everyone has a 2.1 grade. But it is possible for employers to ask for a full transcript of individual grades, though this is not nearly as common in Britain as you might expect. The stronger point is that the existing system can be difficult to interpret internationally. Adopting the GPA system would be helpful to undergraduates wishing to study or work abroad.
I think this might be missing a trick. My experience of the 1st/2.1/2.2 system is that it has a very strong effect on students work effort. For weaker students, either those of lower natural ability or the more workshy, fear of the notorious Desmond is the ultimate motivator. Many attractive careers simply advertise the minimum requirement of a 2.1, and therefore getting the lower grade can be quite a handicap in the job market.
For stronger students, the aspiration of a first, the only true distinguisher in the system, is also a strong incentive. The risk is that working quite hard could leave you with only a high 2.1, largely indistinguishable from all other 2.1s. The crudeness of the grading system drags everyone up.
An interesting paper by Pradeep Dubey and John Geanakoplos of the Cowles foundation at Yale Univeristy makes the same point. They write:
Suppose that the professor judges each students performance exactly, though the performance itself may depend on random factors, in addition to ability and effort. Suppose also that the professor is motivated solely by a desire to induce his students to work hard. Third and most importantly, suppose that the students care about their relative rank in the class, that is, about their status. We show that, in this scenario, coarse grading often motivates the student to work harder.
One might think that finer hierarchies generate more incentives. But this is often not the case. Coarse hierarchies can paradoxically create more competition for status, and thus better incentives for work.
They give a simple example. Suppose there are two students, Brainy and Dumbo, with disparate abilities. Brainy achieves a uniformly higher score even when he shirks and Dumbo works. Suppose, for example, that Dumbo scores between 40 and 50 if he shirks, and between 50 and 60 if he works, while Brainy scores between 70 and 80 if he shirks and 80 and 90 if he works. With perfectly fine grading, Brainy will come ahead of Dumbo regardless of their effort levels. But since they only care about rank, both will shirk.
But, by assigning a grade A to scores above 85, B to scores between 50 and 85, and C to below 50, the professor can inspire Dumbo to work, for then Dumbo stands a chance to acquire the same status B as Brainy, even when Brainy is working. This in turn generates the competition which in fact spurs Brainy to work, so that with luck he can distinguish himself from Dumbo. He doesnt want to be mislabelled. With finer grading everyone gets their own label so this effect disappears.
The corollary to this in my example is that if the brainy student knows that even when slacking off he will still do measurably better than most students he may decide that he can still get a very good job with 70 to 80. There may be students who score 80 to 90 with superior credentials but academic performance is only part of the hiring criteria. If he can signal himself as a brainy student he might think this is enough.
However, critical to all this is that all exams are taken together, as they are at Oxford or Cambridge universities, usually at the end of the degree in a consecutive-day marathon. The trend in other British universities has been to examine various courses throughout the degree. The result is that those in the middle of the ability range can work very hard at the beginning, bank a 2.1 and then slack off in the remaining years. It is partly for this reason that those universities pushing hardest for the changes have exams split across years. Oxford and Cambridge are less keen.
体坛英语资讯:Two-time winner Zhang suffers shock exit, Ding to meet Japanese history maker Hirano
我的新生活 My New Life
大学英语四六级高频短语集锦二
2017年6月大学英语四级范文:如何防止作弊
英语六级读故事记单词三十一
国际英语资讯:India launches its heaviest rocket into space
英语六级读故事记单词八
Nasa's Sun skimming mission 美国国家航空航天局启动太阳探测计划
上海共享雨伞出师不利 短短一天全部消失
教育部同意设立茅台学院 首批设置5个本科专业
五种英语表达说“全力以赴”
体坛英语资讯:Iran tops Asian futsal team in AMF rankings
X战警要拍新的衍生电影《新变种人》
国内英语资讯:Chinese presidents visit to Kazakhstan to boost bilateral ties, SCO development
沙特,埃及,阿联酋和巴林与卡塔尔断交
穆斯林领导人保证与伦敦警方全力合作
体坛英语资讯:Zidanes big decision ahead of Champions League final
夏季气象词汇
国际英语资讯:U.S. committed to de-escalating tensions after gulf rift: White House
英语六级读故事记单词二十
词汇辅导通过词根学大学英语六级单词3
全球最大双机身飞机亮相美国 一次可发射3枚火箭
欧盟要建免费Wi-fi,这还有没有王法了?
体坛英语资讯:Ding ends Hiranos winning run to secure womens singles title for China
变形金刚续集《大黄蜂》有重量级导演加入
国内英语资讯:Chinese submersible Jiaolong completes 2nd dive in Yap Trench
国内英语资讯:Chinas FTC-2000 aircraft export-version rolls off production line
名校女学霸研发出手语翻译臂环
生日派对 Birthday Party
国际英语资讯:UN chief calls for two-state solution for Israel, Palestine
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |