Re: REQUEST: Does not having a grade point average hurt me?

[Frederick E Roberts <fritzr@hal-pc.org>]

Dear Mr or Mrs Ryan:

I doubt whether you will have any difficulty proving your point.  Is your point
based on empirically verifiable results or on ideology?  If the latter your task
becomes very easy.  Just ignore contradicting examples.  Freud, Marx, Jung, and
Keynes were not the only ones who advanced their views in that way.  Yet years
after many still wave their ideologic banners.

To align with Deming, however, realise that he was only against using a normal
curve as a template into which to shoehorn people's grades.  When he recorded
variation, he recorded what was.  There was an acceptable range outside of which
better than and less than acceptable results were also noted.  All valuable
information.  He forced no results into a normal distribution.

As you may recall, he was especially against this with people because a very able
group whose results were very adequate according to a high standard, could have
their range of grade results forced into a normal distribution.  Half would be
above average and half below.  The other extreme produces equally unfair results.
Take a class of unmotivated, party-people, screw-offs.

None try to use whatever talent they have even though doing so would take little
effort.  Under the normal curve, a few flunk, most will pass with average grades,
while a few will receive above-average grades.  Under absolute standards all would
have flunked.

When the passing grade is C, and when the bar for earning a C is set high enough, C
is adequate according to a high standard.  When the bar is low, C is adequate
according to a low standard.

For machine parts to fit together, the standard is absolute.  They fit or they
don't.  With people standards can also be high, as with selection standards for US
Navy SEAL's or the UK's SAS troopers.

In the last instances, Deming would agree you must set standards very high. In
manufacturing the standard for individual performance has to be adequate for the
purposes.  He knew most workers are adequate for the purposes while a few are above
or below.

If your students are not graded or if graded pass/fail according to an unimpressive
standard, then any doing excellent work are short-changed.  All others gain at
least while at college, but according to your account, all applying for
performance-based scholarships seem to lose.

>From the general tenor of Deming's remarks, it seems that he would likely advise
you to define an absolute standard that is high for the purpose it measures.  That
standard is whether the student  knows the material thoroughly and can do something
with it.  I doubt that he would say assignments, tests, and grades were the end of
it, or that he would advocate a one-time, end-of-course, do-or-die final.  He would
likelier advise assigning frequent exercises or tests and grading them according to
the absolute standard.  As many pass as pass.  As many fail as fail.  And as many
have superior results as were superior.  If one does more with test grades and the
underlying information than letting them be cast in concrete, the information is
useful for taking corrective action.  Is a transoceanic ship or plane always headed
exactly towards its destination or does it make constant corrections until it
finally arrives at the right destination?

Between gradings, Deming would likely advise extra help, attention, review and
encouragement for those needing them so they could raise their later performances
on tests and exercises.  Teachers would really teach and students would really earn
grades.  And since grades were meant only to measure mastery and understanding of
material at any one time, the term's grade for those flunking earlier tests or
exercises should be taken mainly from scores made in the latter part of the term.
Improvement is just as good as starting right.  I believe that theme is consistent
also with Judaeo-Christian ethics.

Max Roberts

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