Equality between majors must be part of solution

TO THE EDITOR:

In response to Wednesday’s article, “Grade inflation questions loom for SBP,” (Feb. 3), I would like to point out some issues and clarify the Achievement Index or “AI.”

First and foremost, grade inflation is a problem only in select majors. Students in majors such as chemistry, math and physics have much lower average grades and have significantly less grade inflation over the last 50 years. I feel that any solution to grade inflation should also improve the equality between majors.

Secondly, I disagree with the idea that competition among peers should be condemned. The sole purpose of grades, GPA, or AI is to separate one student from another, either within UNC or between our peer institutions.

This is why a high percentage of ‘A’ grades is a problem—there is no separation between exceptional and average students.

While I do not believe the AI system is close to perfect, at least it takes into account both the grades received and the competitiveness of the class taken. I believe the best solution would be one that takes a middle-of-the-road approach and includes both the difficulty of a class or major and the grade received.



Chris Zieber
Junior
Environmental Science