Rob Long, the television writer and producer behind Cheers and the co-founder of Ricochet, is back in school. But he’s not happy about his grades.
In a new essay for Ricochet, Long describes the modern university as an institution where the grade scale has shifted dramatically. He writes that when he was last in school, “an A meant excellent, a B meant good, and a C meant average.” That is no longer true.
Grade Inflation at a Glance
Long’s friends, who are older, complain that the most expensive colleges now reward A grades even when students show up reasonably often, turn in work that is reasonably OK, and stay reasonably awake and hygienic. For Long, the evidence is personal.
He turned in a paper this semester for his class in Christian ethics at Princeton Theological Seminary. The class is terrific, with smart and engaging professors and whip-smart classmates. But the paper was average.
He describes the paper as well-written but not deep or especially thoughtful, noting that the past two weeks were busy and complicated, and he didn’t have time to go back and rewrite the parts that didn’t land the way he wanted them to.
By his own un-inflated measure, the paper is a C, and on a good day a C-plus at most. He expects a B-plus.
The Scale Has Moved Up
Long argues that the inflation has gone further than most people realize. If you’re in your 30s or early 40s, you might recall that an average essay used to get a B, and even a B-plus.
The entire scale has slid up a notch and a half. Everyone is now a B-plus student.
He predicts that younger people will be judged as excellent, very good, or failures. But they won’t accept being called average, even though average is what most of us are.
Grace, Not Grief
Long finds a silver lining in the shift. He’s fine with the B-plus. He does all the assigned reading and is lively and attentive in class, so he’s an A student in those ways.
He also notes that grade inflation is an outrage, especially for those writing tuition checks. He agrees with his friends that things are worse now, easy, and coddling.
But he draws on a concept from his Episcopalian corner of Christianity. Grace, he writes, is about receiving something good you didn’t earn or deserve. It’s a whole big thing in his faith.
He jokes about “participation trophies” with venom when the subject of grade inflation comes up. But he’s not stewing over this particular B-plus.
The Inflation Gap
Long’s essay captures a cultural shift that has quietly reshaped higher education. Here is how the grading scale has moved:
| Generation | Typical Grade for Average Work | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Long’s generation | B or B-plus | Average work got a B, and even a B-plus was common |
| Modern student | B-plus or A | Average work now gets a B-plus; A’s are common |
The gap between the two generations is striking. Long’s friends, who are older, remember a time when a B-plus was excellent. Now it is the new average.
What We Make of It
The paper’s honest reaction to this story is AMUSEMENT. Long is not arguing that grade inflation is good. He is arguing that it is here, it is real, and it is not worth grieving over.
He accepts the B-plus because he has earned it, in his own terms. He did the reading, he paid attention in class, and he handed in a paper that was average.
The rest is beyond his control. The scale has moved.
Long’s advice is simple: get used to it. He is fine with the B-plus. He got the grade he expected, and he got the education he wanted.
The essay is a funny, honest look at a system that no longer rewards hard work the way it used to. Long is not outraged by the grade itself.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs none of the two sides described here and names no other side to back; the story concerns grades at universities, not the cost of living, small business, or concentrations of power, which are the paper’s concern. Rob Long’s essay is a funny, honest look at a system that no longer rewards hard work the way it used to, and the paper’s position is simply that it is not concerned with the subject. The essay does not propose any policy, nor does it seek to change anyone’s mind about grade inflation. It merely reports a cultural shift as observed by someone who has lived through both eras of grading.
Grade inflation is a problem for students paying tuition, but it is not a problem of the kind the paper tracks: it does not raise the cost of living, it does not hurt small business, and it does not concentrate power anywhere. Long’s friends who are older recall a time when a B-plus was excellent; now it is the new average. The scale has moved up a notch and a half across the board, and everyone is now a B-plus student. Long himself accepts the B-plus he expects, having done the reading, paid attention in class, and handed in a paper that was average by his own measure. His advice is simple: get used to it.
Readers should note that the essay is a personal account, not a policy proposal. Long is not arguing that grade inflation is good, nor is he calling for it to stop. He is fine with the B-plus he expects, and he is amused by the shift rather than grieving over it. The paper’s own concern is with the middle class, small business, and the concentration of power; this story sits outside that scope entirely.
Source material: “When not to stew over that unearned b-plus,” the Washington Examiner.
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