The Negative Effects of the Grading System Essay

The Negative Effects of the Grading System - Essay Example While each individual has perceptions of what an A or a C or an F should mean with regard to student achievement, the reality is that these measures are often applied inconsistently and arbitrarily. Letter grades often become efforts to shoehorn subjective learning assessments into an objective measurement system that does not necessarily lend itself to being applied in that way. Further, such grades can be applied with relativism, such as in the context of a bell curve whereby students are given a grade that may not truly reflect their mastery of the subject matter, simply because of their juxtaposition to other students in the class. Ultimately, there are several potentially negative effects of the traditional letter grading scale that warrant a wholesale review of how student performance should be appropriately measured under various circumstances. To be sure, the traditional system may be the best system for some situations, namely where students are objectively tested and scored on the material. However, education is largely becoming a more complex, subjective and nuanced endeavor in a world that is rarely black and white. This paper will assess the appropriateness of the traditional letter grade system for measuring student success in various types of learning environments, and evaluate some of its alternatives. It will also discuss the potential negative consequences of applying the traditional objective letter grade system where it may not be appropriate to do so. The Meaning of Letter Grades A's and B's no longer mean what they used to, largely because they have become the predominant grade given. For example, a recent analysis of grades in Indiana public schools shows 75% of all grades given were either A's or B's, with only 10% being D's or F's (Stockman, 2007, para. 3). That leaves 15% of grades being C, which intuitively would be the median grade. Such an uneven grade distribution begs the question of whether grade inflation is at play, or whether the vast majority of students are really earning these high grades. According to Matthew Hartley, assistant professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, "It's important to remember that grade inflation is a shift in grades without a corresponding improvement in performance. . . If your institutions are becoming more competitive and selective, it may be that they are admitting better prepared students who are earning A's, which means there is no inflation" (para. 7). Largely due to this uncertainty about how well deserved a grade actually is, letter grades are becoming increasingly irrelevant as students move toward the transition from school to the workforce. As George Kuh of Indiana University asserts, "If you talk with business and industry leaders, they'll tell you grades don't matter . . . What you really want to know is if they're flexible, adaptable, can they work with other people" (para. 30). Thus, it seems a different, more subjective measurement of student performance may be in order if the goal is to help students succeed as working professionals. An approach that evaluates students on their ability to apply what is learned in a way that makes them functional contributors to society would likely be more valuable to

LOGISTIC MANAGEMENT 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

LOGISTIC MANAGEMENT 3 - Essay Example Firstly, companies examine the flow of value throughout the production down to the customer. Then they classify the processes that need improvement by using nonperforming functional metrics. Additionally, they use other elements of the model like the fishbone structure to explain the cause and influence of the people, resources, systems, equipments and the environment on the improvement of their products and services (Cole, 2011). With this knowledge, companies hence focus on costs reduction by optimizing their processes while controlling the production inputs to eliminate defects. Additionally, they focus on error reduction by strengthening and automating procedures for completing the production. Lastly, management of the model entails frequent inspections and auditing to ensure that the scheme maintains high performances (Cole, 2011). JIT concept facilitates the LSS management scheme by helping the company minimize their in-process inventories. JIT provides a cycle of signals, which informs the production line hence the system is able to identify the appropriate time of initiating each specific stage of production (Cole, 2011). The model uses ordinary indicators mainly the visual signals like the deficiency or presence of a piece that is essential for the production

Global Context of Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Context of Business - Assignment Example iii) Devaluation of domestic currency and thus a fall in profitability of investment ventures. This might restrain many potential investors from pouring their funds in the afflicted nation which can adversely affect the economic growth process. B) Unemployment rate is measured as the percentage of unemployed people in the total labor force. Discouraged workers and people not seeking jobs though belonging to an age group above 16 are not included in the labor force. In the present case, the total labor force comprises of 110 million people and the number of people employed among them is 90 million. This leaves a total of 20 million people jobless, in the total workforce. Thus, the rate of unemployment in the nation is, 3. In economics, domestic aggregate demand is treated at par with the real GDP of an economy. There are three primary sources which sum up to give the aggregate demand in an economy, viz., consumption expenditure, investment expenditure and government expenditure. A fall in any one of the three factors will lead to a fall in total domestic demand and hence the resultant GDP will be affected accordingly When the government decided to implement tax cuts, it led to a rise in the disposable income and an inferred rise in the amount of consumption expenditure. However there was a simultaneous shortfall in the availability of government’s resources to meet its expenses, so that the proportion of government expenditure in aggregate demand depreciated. A rise in one component accompanied by a fall in another left the aggregate demand as well as the real GDP unchanged. With no changes in the domestic money supply, the general price continued at the same level.

Underage Drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Underage Drinking - Essay Example Lacks of legal framework coupled by moral decay in the society are the two main barriers to mitigating the problem of underage drinking. The number of young people engaging in underage drinking has been increasing with time. Everyday there are more than 5,000 kids in the US who are aged 16 and below who have the first full alcoholic drink. Statistics have shown that alcohol is the most abused substance compared to other like tobacco, marijuana, or other hard drugs by the young people. The average age of drinking has been set ad 12 to 17 years although the average age at which kids are introduced to alcoholic drinks is at 13 years. The episode of binge dirking has also been increasing with time. It is shown that the level of binge drinking by young people has increased by more that a half compared to the level in 1990s. Between 1993 and 2001 studies have found out that more than 56% of the kids aged between 13 and 20 had at least one binge drinking occasion in the past 30 days. A recent study has show that more than 10.8 million persons between the age of 12 and 20 reported to have been drinking alcohol in the past on e month. Almost 7.2 million of them were binge drinkers. (The Center for Alcohol Marketing, 2008) There are many reasons that have given by the young drinkers as to why they find it easy to abuse alcohol compared to other substances. They have given a variety of reasons but the availability of alcohol and lack of restrictive laws on the use of alcohol has been given as the most prevalent factor why they abuse alcohol than other drugs It has been shown that alcohol is readily available and can be purchased without restrictions unlike other substances. But a good number of them also showed that there is little apparently control. Even when they go to their home drunk, they are not reprimanded by their parents. This is perhaps the greatest factor that has contributed to increased number of underage drinking as compared to other reasons that can be given. It shows an intricate moral decay and lack of parental control on underage drinking. On the issue of availably of the drinks, the convenient suitor have been criticized for promoting under age drinking they have been providing drinks to the kids even without need of identification. While there are strict government laws regulation the sale of alcohol in other areas, these rules have not been well enforced in convenience stores. The fact that there are not official to look at what kids are drinking makes it more complicated to control underage drinking. However it may be difficult for the convenience stores to put in place control measures that will ensure that underage drinkers don't purchase drinks since it has been shown that some of them come in company of their parents and purchase the drinks. The issue of underage drinking has been tackled using a variety of tactics. The state security machinery including the police force has been directed to deal firmly with the problem. But the underage

Gem Infosys Incident-Response Policy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Gem Infosys Incident-Response Policy - Coursework Example The first is the initial evaluation/assesm1ent.This entails determining whether an incident exists or not so that appropriate response established. The second policies involve defining the communication channel that will be followed to inform the leaders that an incident has identified. The third policy is risk/damage minimization. This is where the risk of self-replicating warms may be minimized by making sure that the workstation is disconnected from the hub to prevent further replication of warms. The fourth policy involves determining the severity of the warms attack as well as exact point of origin where those warms are coming from so that they can be contained. The fifth policy entails protecting the other systems against the identified security threats to avoid further losses. System security against warms may be enhanced by installing firewalls as well as transmitting organization data via secured networks. The sixth policy involves system recovery. This is where; the data an d information that was damage through network breakdowns may be recovered using special software such as Acronis. The seventh policy involves assessing the cost and damages caused by the incident for proper responses. Lastly but is updating the policies on a regular basis so that they remain relevant to organization needs (Shimonski, 2003). In order to prevent future network breakdowns, Gem Infosys should carry out the following activities namely: reduce the number of systems severity, integrate the activities of Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), damage control, and having a well-defined incident response plan. The Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) should formulate and monitor the incident response plan.  

Military Industrial Complex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Military Industrial Complex - Essay Example Eisenhower was worried about the costs of an arms race that was taking shape between the United States and Soviet Union (Pavelec 95). He wanted to caution the American citizens and the incoming administration about concentrating militarization of the country, which he claimed, would deny other areas of the economy the necessary resources. According to Eisenhower, overspending in the military sectors will divert finances aimed for sectors like building of hospitals and schools. Further, increase in military spending resulted in large budgets that were not sustainable by the country; therefore, Eisenhower wanted the country to budget for what it can afford (Pavelec 95). Eisenhower was also worried the union between defense contractors, and the armed forces would change the way the country handles international relations and disputes. This union, Eisenhower thought would increase the chances of war as a means of solving conflicts instead of depending on peaceful negotiations. As a milit ary veteran, Eisenhower had seen the horror and lingering sadness that result from war. According to Eisenhower, his successors should balance between a strong national defense and diplomacy when dealing with the Soviet Union threat during the cold war. Therefore, he encourages those that were coming after him to settle differences with other countries not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose (Pavelec 96). Another concern that stimulated the warning was that as the military and the arms industry accumulated power; they posed a threat to the country’s democracy. Eisenhower thought that the massive power of the military and the arms industry and resultant lose democracy would lead to the loss of citizen control over the military-industrial complex (Pavelec 96). The threat posed by military-industrial complex as envisioned by Eisenhower has become true the years following his speech. Concerning endless conflict with hostile ideology, the former president was right gi ven that the United States has continued to engage in never ending wars with different groups or countries. After the end of Eisenhower’s presidency, the country went on to fight in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. War has become a permanent engagement given the recent declaration by the United States’ political leadership that there is no foreseeable end to the war against terror. Even after the killing of the Al-Qaeda leader, the country still faces a threat from the terrorist group, which implies its ability to survive the death of its targeted leadership (Eisenhower 7). The United States has become a country of unending war where the end of one signals the chance for the military-industrial complex to find a new enemy that must be neutralized therefore perpetuating the complex’s appetite for war (Eisenhower 8). The Military-Industrial Complex now dictates a large part of the United States foreign policy. The sale of military equipment to foreign governments h as now become a source of major revenue for American arms industry (Pavelec 96). On the permanent military industry, the former president’s warning has come true. Since the end of nineteenth century, the United States military has grown to become a major industry in the country’s defense system. As with any other industry, the arms industry has an ambition to grow, which means

Abc-Clio - Continental System Essay Example for Free

Abc-Clio Continental System Essay Continental System One of Europes most storied leaders, Napoleon I is remembered for his dramatic victories as the leader of France, conquering large swathes of Europe until his ultimate downfall following the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Despite his military prowess, Napoleon was never able to conquer the United Kingdom, his archrival to the north. As Europes most successful economic power and the nation with the most powerful navy in the world, Britain relied on its trade with foreign nations to fuel its own economy. In an effort to undermine his rival, Napoleon initiated the Continental System, a wide-ranging system of tariffs and embargoes against Britain. The Continental System ultimately had a far more negative impact on France, however, much to the chagrin of its illustrious emperor. Origins of the Continental System Hostilities between France and Britain had boiled for many centuries, but the French Revolution, with its antimonarchical republican values and extreme violence, initiated a new low in relations between those two nations. Fearful of republican ideology spreading to its shores, Britain was staunchly opposed to the French Revolution from its inception, and as the French Army began its conquest of Europe, the island nation sought allies in its struggle against France. By 1799, Napoleon had used the support of the military to overthrow the French Directory and effectively take full control of the nation; the French coup dà ©tat of 1799 established the French Consulate as the new government of France, with Napoleon assuming the ultimate executive position of first consul. Meanwhile, French armies successfully conquered the Papal States, Sardinia-Piedmont, and Switzerland, and even occupied Ottoman Egypt for three years. Such conservative forces on the European continent as Austria and Russia shared Britains fears and quaked at the thought of French invasion. They knew that the French would not only bring occupying armies to their lands, but also displace their monarchies and establish republics, and that was something the ruling elite could not accept. With a successful general like Napoleon now at the helm of the government, the issue appeared more urgent than ever before. To counteract the threat of French invasion, monarchies across Europe banded together in a series of coalitions. In 1798, Austria, Britain, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, and Russia formed the Second Coalition, but their infighting prevented any effective concerted movement to stop the French war machine. By 1805, France had firmly established itself as an imperial power, having gained control over large portions of the Continent. In response, Britain and Russia, later joined by Austria and Sweden, formed the Third Coalition. This was a crucial move for the British; Napoleon had begun to amass troops in Boulogne—on the northern coast of France—in 1803 in preparation for invading Britain. The powerful British Royal Navy was able to prevent French invasion through a blockade, however, and with the decisive British naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, Napoleon realized he would not be able to launch a successful land inv asion of Britain. A New Strategy Defeated, but not demoralized, Napoleon plotted a new way to attack the British. If he could not take them on militarily, the French emperor (Napoleon had proclaimed himself emperor of the First French Empire in May 1804) determined to attack their economy. Calling the British a nation of shopkeepers in a derogatory tone, Napoleon nevertheless knew that the Industrial Revolution, along with the riches flooding into the country from the burgeoning British Empire, had made the United Kingdom the most powerful economic power in the world. Because the nation was an island, it needed trade of its finished goods to buy enough raw materials and supplies for its population to live at a level that made it possible for them to be consumers and continue their rapidly expanding industrial output. He also knew that industrialization had ravaged the rural population of Britain, as well as its artisan crafts and cottage industries. As a consequence, he believed that a massive embargo of British goods throughout the European continent would destroy the British economy and incite a popular uprising that would bring down the government, as deprivation among the poor had done in France in the 1780s. Meanwhile, despite the loss of the French Navy at Trafalgar, the French Army (renamed the Grande Armà ©e in 1805) continued its domination of Europe. By the fall of 1806, nearly all of the Continent, from the Atlantic Coast to the borders of Russia, was either under French control, occupation, or allied to France. The only exceptions, most notably Portugal and Sweden, were unable to effectively take on French military might and stood waiting to see when they too might fall under French rule. With his power seemingly uncontested in Europe, Napoleon determined that it was time to strike at the British with his new strategy of economic embargo. Economic Warfare Begins On November 21, 1806, Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree, which declared that France would henceforth blockade all British ships and refuse them entry into any port under French control. In December 1807, Napoleon issued the Milan Decree as well, which stated that any ships coming into French waters that had previously docked in British ports would be confiscated, along with their cargo and crews, by French officials. That new policy was meant to include such neutral nations as the United States, which at that time was Britains most important trading partner; U.S. cotton in particular was essential for fueling the textile industry, Britains most important manufacturing base at the time. To counteract Napoleons moves, the British passed their own laws, known as the Orders in Council of 1807, forbidding their trading partners from dealing with France. As a consequence, the United States was forced to cease all trade with both Britain and France, a move passed into law by the Embargo Act of 1807. The U.S. withdrawal from international trade caused significant problems in the British economy and forced British industrialists to look elsewhere for cotton and other raw materials that had previously come from America. The expansion of the second wave of British colonization in the 19th century traces its origins to that period, as does the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. Effects of the Continental System Napoleons attempts at economic warfare were shocking at first, but they did not fully cripple the British economy. Russia was not under French control in 1806, so in the beginning phase of the blockade, goods from Britain were still able to enter Europe through Russian-controlled Baltic ports. By July 1807, however, France and Russia concluded peace with the Treaty of Tilsit, and Russia—along with Prussia—joined the Continental System as a term of the treaty. By 1808, the value of British exports had fallen from  £40.8 million to  £35 million, and there was a visible decline in the import of grain. Moreover, industrialists, unable to get raw materials from abroad, began to lay off their industrial workers. At the same time, there were many crop failures in Britain, leading to extreme hunger for many of the poor who, without jobs or sufficient hours and pay, were unable to afford higher prices for rarer staples. Food riots resulted, but Napoleons hopes for a popular uprising that would overthrow the government never materialized. Though deeply affected, Britains economy was able to survive the blockade in the end, largely thanks to trade with its colonies and a marked growth in smuggling. While the consequences of the Continental System were dire for the United Kingdom, historians are adamant that the system actually had a far more punishing impact on France. Europeans, both in France and in its conquered and allied territories, were bitter that the system was denying them access to many of the consumer goods they relied on that originated from Britain and its colonies, like sugar, coffee, inexpensive textiles, and tobacco. Meanwhile, smugglers thrived in the environment of the embargo, and such goods that did get into Europe from Britain were far more expensive than they had ever been. Moreover, European nations conquered by the French resented the partner laws of the Continental System, which privileged French goods by placing high tariffs on other European goods. Prices throughout Europe skyrocketed under the Continental System, giving Europeans living under French rule new reasons to resent their imperial overlords. That resentment ultimately shook the foundations of support for Napoleons empire. Resentment, War, and Defeat The economic hardships wrought by the embargo led European nations that had not fallen under French rule to resist the Continental System. Portugal entirely refused to take part, forcing Napoleon to invade the nation and attempt to capture its fleet and depose its monarchy. However, King John VI of Portugal fled his home for Brazil, Portugals largest colony, and his naval fleet went with him. His people responded by revolting against the French invasion, and the British sent an expeditionary force to support them. This was the preliminary phase of the Peninsular War, a brutal struggle for independence from the French for Portugal and Spain, most famous in the United States today for its astonishing and heartbreaking war images captured by the master painter Francisco de Goya. The war was extremely costly for the French and played a significant role in Napoleons eventual downfall. The Swedish also decided to reject Napoleons demand that they join the Continental System, an act that resulted in that nation being invaded by Russia in 1808. The war that ensued—known today as the Russo-Swedish War of 1808–1809—raged from February 1808 until September 1809 and resulted in Finland being separated from Sweden and established as a semiautonomous entity closely tied to the Russian government. Also, the Russians forced the Swedes to join the Continental System, and all Swedish ports were closed to British shipping. Like other parts of Europe living under the Continental System, the Swedes were furious at the results of the embargo, namely higher prices and scarcity of goods. Anti-French sentiment increased, and Sweden subsequently took part in the final campaigns to overthrow Napoleons empire in 1813–1815. As prices skyrocketed, Napoleons Continental System was increasingly resented in France as well. Moreover, the human and financial costs of the wars in which the system played a causative role—like the Peninsular War—wore on the French public. Napoleons popularity began to plummet, and by 1812, the economy of all of Europe was collapsing. In that year, Russia decided to stop participating in the Continental System, and Napoleon responded by launching a massive land invasion of the vast country. Ill prepared for the elusive tactics employed by the Russian Army and the harsh nature of the Russian winter, Napoleon suffered the worst military defeat of his career during the Russian invasion; the human carnage was devastating for both sides, and Napoleons Grande Armà ©e was practically decimated. The resentful nations of Europe, including former allies of France, seized the opportunity and rose up in unison against Napoleons weakened regime. Within three years, the emperors fate would be sealed with his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the final proof that his Continental System was, in the end, a failure. Continental System. World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. Chicago World History: The Modern Era, s.v. Continental System, accessed March 3, 2011. http://worldhistory.abc-clio.com/. APA Continental System. (2011). In World History: The Modern Era. Retrieved March 3, 2011, from http://worldhistory.abc-clio.com/