Are undergraduate grades important? Everyone knows that high marks earned at different schools or under different instructors can indicate very different levels of achievement . One professor may be a hard grader, while another is very generous or one who takes the whole business as a bit of joke .Some schools have high standards ,whereas others don’t .And at all universities there s a constant tendency towards grade inflation (giving ever more high marks )that is fought fiercely at some universities but allowed to go unchecked for a long period at others.
Another point raised against grades is how poorly they predict how much graduates will be earning 15 or 20 years after getting their degrees. As many studies have shown, there is only a very poor correlation between undergraduate grades and future wealth. People who get good marks tend to go into professions ,only some of which are highly paid. The correlation between undergraduate grades and success in business, the most common road to wealth, is in fact zero. Many ordinary students become successful businessmen, while some brilliant and capable graduates (creative youngsters, not students with special skills in passing exams ) take up relatively low paying but interesting or satisfying careers .The general population, examining this question through a statistical point, sees one thing very clearly that good grades don’t translate in any direct way into big money, and for better or for worse, the standard of “success ”for countless Americans is the acquisition of wealth.
The result is a certain modesty about good grades in America among those who get them.A student’s parents may brag about his marks ,but seldom will the student himself risk being called a “grade-grubber” by drawing too much attention to his academic success. High marks are not something to be advertised to the world except on resumes and anybody who brag about them is likely to be viewed with contempt .

大学成绩是否重要?人人都知道,不同学校的高分,或不同导师给出的高分,其所代表的学术水平并不一致.一位教授可能吝于打分,而另一位则异常慷慨,甚至还有的教授视打分如同开点儿玩笑.有些学校实行高标准,而其他的学校则与之相反.所有大学都有持续的分数膨胀的趋势,尽管部分学校坚决地抵制分数膨胀,而另外的一些学校,却长期地对分数膨胀现象不闻不问.

另一种观点之所以反对分数至上,是因为仅仅根据大学成绩,很难预测一个学生毕业15或20年后的经济状况.正如许多研究结果所揭示的那样,学生的本科成绩好坏与他未来的财富多寡近乎无关.那些大学里的佼佼者在毕业后往往从事专业工作,他们中只有部分人获得了高薪.商业是最寻常的致富之路,而本科成绩与商业成功之间的关联度,事实上却为零.许多在大学期间表现平平的人,最后变成了成功的商人.而一些在本科阶段才华横溢,能力非凡(有创造力的年轻人,而不是只会应付考试的学生)的学生,毕业后多从事那些收入低,但是自己却有兴趣,也颇为满意的工作.按照统计学的方法,对一般大众进行"成功标准为何"的问题测试,其结果清楚地表明:漂亮成绩并非巨额财富的同义语.无论这个看法是好是坏,但对于无数的美国人而言,"成功"的标准,还是以财富的多寡来衡量的.

结果在美国,那些高分学生对于自己取得的好成绩态度谦虚.家长们可能会夸耀孩子的成绩,而学生本人,却绝不会甘冒被称作"掘分器"的危险,去吸引公众对自己学业成绩的过度关注.除了使个人简历看上去漂亮些而外,高分并不值得向世界"广而告之".那些到处吹嘘自己的高分的人,很可能招致他人的轻蔑和鄙视.