The refusal to give accurate grades to college students (and all students) probably is the result of a number of cultural and psychological factors. Excellence may be regarded by some as a means of protecting the elite students from minorities. Others may find it hard to be judgmental, where being judgmental about learning should be the first criterion of a professor. But in general, concern for excellence, like concern for truth, does not go well with democratic inclinations and values. The meaninglessness of grades and letters of recommendation has been going on for a very long time. Professor Weinstein taught for 43 years, I taught for about 38 years. Nothing he writes is unfamiliar to me, but I wonder what has made him so concerned now, when it has been a problem for a very, very long time.
In Response to: A Grading Problem