What is Ethical About Grade Inflation and Coursework Deflation?

Recent research questions the validity of student evaluation of teaching (SET) data to measure teaching and learning. Yet, there is extensive use of this instrument around the world, which arguably contributes to a decline in the rigor of college classes. This performance measurement has lead to both unethical grade inflation and coursework deflation as faculty try to entertain students rather than educating them. These unethical teaching techniques used by many faculties are on the same plane as the unethical practices of executives “cooking their books.” Ethical and unethical SET management techniques of professors are discussed herein, along with incentive and structural pander pollution of administrators and universities.     

Public Policy and Public Opinion Toward Sex Education and Birth Control for Teenagers

That government policy toward provision of sex education and contraception for adolescents may be influenced by public opinion is reflected in the fact that recent program formulation appears to follow the conventional wisdom of a general conservative shift among the American public, i.e., recent policy toward adolescent pregnancy is conservative in the sense of being reactive rather than preventive. A cheek on the validity of this conventional wisdom was accomplished by integrating available data on public opinion toward sex education and brth control services for teenagers. These data reveal an upward trend in public approval of such services for adolescents that runs counter to the conventional wisdom. This is because the conventional wisdom is not firmly supported by the available data on American opinions and values which demonstrate that the overall movement in attitudes decisively contradicts the idea of a simple conservative swing. Provision of more and better contraceptive services and sex education to teenagers is an important policy goal that would lower the incidence of adolescent pregnancy and would be supported by the American people.