1. Challenging the Myth of Entitlement: Students’ Perceptions of Grade Inflation at an Elite University

• In Event: 408 - Visual Media Poster Presentation

Abstract

“Challenging the Myth of Entitlement” will offer the first in-depth qualitative study of students’ self-reported perceptions of how grade inflation impacts their undergraduate experience at an elite West Coast University. Drawing on in-depth personal interviews conducted by a team of Undergraduate Research Fellows, the study will address two interconnected questions: 1) How do students understand the meaning and function of the grades they have received in college? 2) Do students think grade inflation impacts their undergraduate experience, and, if so, how? In answering these questions, this project will offer an empirically grounded contribution to what is a hotly contested, yet poorly understood, public debate.

Much of the current research on grade inflation, as well as the broader public debate over the issue, begins from the supposition that grade inflation is a product of student entitlement. Beyond being a tautology, this assumption fails to consider the untold story behind grade inflation. Contemporary college students grew up in the era of high-stakes standardized tests, and their professional futures are dauntingly competitive. These unwieldy stresses have yet to be taken seriously by scholars of grade inflation. Further, little is known about the social function discussing grades plays within specific classes and across disciplinary contexts. Considering that they are invested stakeholders, the fact that students have yet to be given voice within the scholarship is a shocking omission that this study will begin to address.

Authors

• Clara S Lewis, Stanford University

• Minkee Kim Sohn, Stanford University

• Erik Holmvik, Stanford University

• Breanna Della Williams, Stanford University

• Mara Chin Loy, Stanford University