Norm Markworth

Comments -

• I just returned from listening to Barry Munitz. His talk mentioned
• alternate forms of student evaluation. This, I believe, is critical.
• The past twenty years have seen a steady erosion in the quality of
• high school graduates. Dr. Munitz stated that 35 - 40% of the
• admitted students in CA were unqualified to do college work. What
• must the percentage be in Texas where we admit the upper half of the
• graduating class (rather than the upper third as in CA). Try as we
• as faculty might to maintain standards, these standards are eroding.
• Continued unchecked, this erosion will put us in the same category
• as the high school teachers we blame for not teaching our children
• today. Maintaining standards has to be a committment of the entire
• faculty. What incentive does a student have to take my course
• and make a C or D if he can take another course when standards
• are not maintained and make an A?
• Part of the problem may be the insistance on assigning grades in
• every course. Alternate forms of evaluating student progress would
• be interesting to look at. Students have a wide variety of influences
• vying for their time (particularly the working students). Perhaps
• a period of integrating course concepts is necessary before the
• formal evaluation takes place.
• On another topic if the student profile is changing toward an
• older student body, how does this impact the role of the University
• in shaping the ethics and world view of the students that Dr. Munitz
• suggested was a valid purpose of University function?