Fifteen years ago Omega University implemented a new procedure that encouraged students to evaluate the teaching effectiveness of all their professors Since that time Omega professors have begun to assign higher grades in their classes and overall student

The author concludes that Omega University, to make their graduates to secure better jobs, should terminate student evaluation of professors. Author uses the evidence that professors were assigning higher grades to get the better evaluation from the students. Employer saw this rise in the grades as inflated and consider them as true reflection of student achievement. As a result, Omega graduates have not been as successful as graduates from Alpha University. Although the evidence appears to bolster the argument at the first glance, a meticulous analysis will show that certain evidence needs to be provided to justify its validity.

Firstly, the author implies that professors gave the students higher grades so as get better evaluation from the students. However, the increase in grades could have been due to the increased efforts from professors to get better evaluation from students. If there were such evidence, then terminating the evaluation program may not have the desired impact on the grades. Such evidence would therefore tend to weaken the argument. Moreover, it may be true that some students who score high anyway, find it unfair from professors to give everyone higher grades. Such students may give bad reviews about professors. Such evidence would weaken the author’s implication that professors assign higher grades to get better evaluation from students.

Secondly, author assumes that terminating evaluation program would result in authenticity of grades of Omega students. But, it might be possible that Omega students are not study oriented compared to Alpha students and getting lower grades in further comparison. Any such evidence would tend to strengthen the argument despite being based on a false premise, because employers are preferring graduates from Alpha University based on their grades. Moreover, it might be possible that employers were seeking students from the courses offered by Alpha University and by Omega University.

Thirdly, the underlying assumption of the author is that there were no changes occurring in exam pattern or quality of new enrolled students in last 15 years. It might be possible that Omega University’s newly enrolled students are brighter than previous year students which eventually cause the increase in the grades. In addition, if there are changes in exam pattern which are favorable for students to perform well, then students must get higher grades. Such evidence tend to weaken the claim of the author that student don’t deserves the higher grades.