My take on the unexplained increase in degree results, as reported in the media this week, is that it is due to students working harder and being more motivated, not that universities are artificially increasing grades, and it would be a disservice to the students and to universities not to explore and measure this properly. FE News reports.
It is well documented that millennials are cleaner living than us children of the 60’s and 70’s, drinking less alcohol for example and eating less meat. It is certainly our experience at ACS International School, where we have children from the UK and all over the world, that what this new generation has in common is a determination to be different and better than us.
In fact, we could almost call them ‘Generation D’ because they are so driven and determined to do things differently, whether that is how they live, how they treat the world, or how hard they work.
Our research among university admissions officers in 2017 showed that almost three quarters, 73 per cent, said students are putting more effort into considering their university choices before they apply than they did in the past. I think this effort carries on right throughout university life.
What we have here is a great news story; a perfect combination of factors which is delivering results. We shouldn’t allow the phrase “unexplained increase” to dribble out, dripping poisonous implications to the waiting world.
The report authors were being academically accurate in using the phrase, but someone needs to jump in quickly and quantify student drive and determination before any damage is done, to give credit where it is due to students and universities alike.
Read more Grade inflation? Don’t do a disservice to our determined new generation of students
Please tell us your thoughts in comments or via Twitter ~ Tamsin
Don’t forget you can sign up to receive our daily email bulletin (around 7am) with all the latest schools news stories. Your details will never be given to anyone else and you can unsubscribe at any stage. Just follow this link
We now have a Facebook page - pls click to like!
More recent posts...
Hi
Those arguments were not accepted in relation to GCSE. There was a great deal of evidence that pupils were working harder, more motivated and better supported and prepared. It is now treated as a fact that there was grade inflation and there have been significant changes to the whole system of GCSE assessment and accreditation to reintroduce norm referencing – ‘comparable outcomes’ – to ensure that a significant groups of students are failed each year to validate the attainment of a minority at ‘strong pass’.