“I think the grading standards in question at Saint Anselm are not about the fundamental idea of where our students are, but where the average should be,” Guerra says. “Should it be a B, or a B-, or a C+? I think that the average student may earn more B-’s than B’s here at Saint Anselm.” What Guerra says turns out to be true when one considers the more recent statistics given by Duke University’s Rojstaczer as a sign of grade inflation—an increase from 2.94 to 3.09 from 1992 to 2002.

Perhaps the meaning and purpose of grades have been altered over time because the student body, itself, has changed so dramatically.

In the 1930s and 1940s, only 5 to 10 percent of high school graduates went to college. The “gentleman’s C” was enough to get Johnny a job at his father’s business. Today, about half of all high school graduates go on to college. The bachelor’s degree has become essential for landing a well-paying job.

“Education in the true sense of the word has been lost in our society,” Fr. Augustine says. “People look at it as acquiring the skills to land that job, or getting the high GPA to get into graduate school. Instead of measuring a student’s achievement, the grade becomes currency for buying that next thing.”

Dan Forbes ’81, director of the Meelia Center for Community Service, agrees. “When I came here as a student, it wasn’t the challenge of the grade that motivated me, it was the hunger to learn. I’m not sure that same hunger exists now. Most students are here for more of a balanced educational experience, and for job training.”

Where a C was once widely considered average, institutions like MIT now consider it merely adequate. Even worse, writes Stephen Carter in his 1996 book Integrity, “a grade of C is treated like a failure.” Therein lies the problem.

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