Highly Ranked Schools

In his essay “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s”, Brent Staples argues that many colleges have less vigorous grading rubrics than in years past because of the increase in student-consumers. Consequently, this “new” grading policy has led to an increase in A’s that are awarded to students. A few factors have led to this unfair distribution. Firstly, students who earn high grades in poorly attended classes assure that these classes will remain viable in the future. Secondly, high grades guarantee the presence of student consumers at a college {REWORD}. Additionally, the tenure status or salary of a professor may be affect if (s)he does not give out high grades to students, leading to disapproving evaluations.

The main argument of this article is that it doesn’t matter who comes out first place in a certain ranking, it all depends on who’s doing the ranking and on what variables the ranking is taking place. Malcolm Gladwell believes that a ranking can be heterogenous (diverse in content), as long as it doesn’t try to be too comprehensive (including all or nearly all aspects of something). He also believes that a ranking can be comprehensive as long as it doesn’t try to measure things that are heterogeneous. Also even if the ranking is trying to be both heterogeneous and comprehensive at the same time, it’ll only work properly if the subjects being ranked are

On March 8, 1998 an article entitled “Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A’s” written by Brent Staples was published in The New York Times. In his article, Staples discusses his belief that colleges are now rewarding more A’s than ever before and why he believes this is occurring all across the nation. Staples argues that more and more college students are given A’s as a way to encourage high attendance in classes and good evaluations for professors as well as decrease the number of students lost to other universities. While his title catches the attention of readers and his article may look reliable on the outside, a closer look reveals Staples is not capable of proving his argument that students are showered with A’s

In the twenty-first century, there is heavy competition between colleges. Unfortunately, the ideal theory of the free market economy does not exist in the real world, because no one actually values quality. Most consumers never care about quality nor do they have the time to inform themselves; they only care about convenience. In other words, they will likely prefer inferior products. As a result, colleges have been competing in a downwards spiral of education quality. In his essay, “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,” Brent Staples criticizes colleges for inflating grades through comparing and contrasting, exemplifying, analyzing cause and effect, and making an argument.

The smartest and the most skilled are not always the wealthiest, which bring colleges to bring kids who crave their academics, have a skill in sports, and could contribute to the cause of their school.(Kim Clark, Octobet 29, 2011. College Costs Climb, Yet Again; http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/26/pf/college/college_tuition_cost/index.htm)

Towards the end of their high school careers, many teens will ask themselves what they will do after they graduate. Some will take a year off to travel, some will enlist in military school, and most will enroll in college. There are many criteria that a school must have in order to be the perfect school for a high school student. Students look at the price of tuition, the distance from home, and the prestige of the university. Students pick universities they think they will thrive the most in. Many students pick colleges that they know has easy classes and so therefore they can get a higher grade point average. This will result in grade inflation and devalued degrees.

He says that the Carnegie Commision on Higher Education classified and ranked institutions in a sort of hierarchy: universities (research and comprehensive) are on top, and colleges (both liberal arts and community) are on the bottom. Since his book was published in 2012, which coincides with the time I began seriously exploring a higher education venue, I find that small colleges are actually gaining a greater level of respect, and have even attained higher rankings than some historically top ranked universities. In fact, some of the country’s most frequently quoted surveying firms have begun creating separate Liberal Arts lists. Williams College, for example, has been ranked above several of the ivy league universities in world rankings. While it is a college and lacks the resources that research universities have, it is modernly regarded as a stellar school. Delbanco practically deters applicants from applying to these types of colleges, which is shocking to me merely four years after his book was

Southlake Carroll is the perfect example of competition. Take a look at everything Carroll does, if it’s not already the very best, it’s already working on a new plan to do so. Having a tremendous amount of interest in medicine, it was only natural for me to apply to Carroll’s prestigious Carroll Medical Academy, CMA, when I entered high school. After filling out my application, I like the 200-something other applicants, had to play the waiting-game. Then one fateful day, the results came in. The broad list was diminished to just 50 elite students. I made the cut. Now, officially part of CMA, it was my time to shine, to take on rigorous science classes, and to make top 10%, that I expected of myself. I toiled all summer long at our monstrous

• The speaker seems credible, based on her position as a daughter of an alumnus. But most things that were stated were mere opinions. And to me he friend who works in the admissions office has no credibility. She does not see everybody that comes to the admissions office. When is the last time you saw an admissions office with only one chair for one person. With that said, she is basing her statistic on the people that she handles, and not the school as an entire.

Throughout the article, pope uses mostly anecdotal evidence; Even though I agree with most everything said in the article, there is not much proof or logic used. She explains much of what the students at Faircrest High had to say but had no charts or statistics to prove her claims. She also only interviewed one school, then generalized the rest of them based on the one. In order to get an accurate representation, she should have gone to many different schools with differing grades, rules, and expectations. This article might have been good to get you thinking but is not extremely

The authors establish credibility for themselves using ethos. They state that they are the “presidents of leading American colleges and universities” which effectively demonstrates their integrity as leaders of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. The reputation they assert early in the letter identifies them as highly reliable and upright, thus validating that that their opinions are worth regard. Additionally, the letter is signed by numerous presidents and chancellors of respected schools around America. This helped argue the writers point because their argument was supported by the most respected and intelligent individuals in our society.

Something that I find truly reprehensible is people's lack of humility. My close friend Veronica Marcella posted an article in regards to Youngstown State University titled "8 Things You Know Are True If You Went Or Still Go To YSU." I knew that Youngstown State University never received the most positive vibe from some, especially by a few people in my graduating class. But for people to even go as far as to say that YSU means "You Screwed Up" is upsetting. I guess that some people wear their blinders so tight that they will buy into any preconceived notion without considering any other factors at play. I am not taking a swipe at people attending larger state schools or private schools. In fact, this topic can be expanded upon in so many ways

As a high school senior, the pressure to pick the school that will provide me with both a good social and academic experience is on. For someone like me, I would be content with going to a good state school to save money. But for other students, Ivy League is the only option. These same students and their parents strongly believe that an Ivy League education is the principal to the finest opportunities in life. William Deresiewicz claims they do not give a remarkable social experience nor do they allow room for students to think themselves. In his article, “ Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy Leagues”, he uses his status and personal anecdotes to persuade the reader of just that.

The author convincingly argues the need for more accurate rankings for universities in this statement “that can’t rest on a brand name (i.e., his alma mater, Yale). The ones that did well would be rewarded with applications from just the sort of students universities supposedly want --- ones who are willing to keep an open mind and be persuaded by evidence.” U.S. News and World Report have reported rankings since the

For most institutions, it would be far better to focus on planning strategy that strengthens an institution's competitive position on a substantive basis: differentiation based on educational approach, student experience, innovative teaching, and the like. In short, for most, trying to game the ranking numbers is a fool's errand (Art & Science Group, 2013). Some western schools are focusing on how they can make their student be more competitive than collecting data to make based on a quality of the academic performance of a