To: Walter Block
Subject: Not giving grades
What do you think about not giving grades Walter? B
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/how-do-life/201708/the-case-not-giving-grades
Dear B: This article, written by a friend of mine as it happens, Dr. Marty Nemko, is a very thoughtful essay on this topic. However, I disagree. I think the benefits of grades vastly outweigh the costs. If I ran a university, I would insist that all my professors give out grades for each course. I do so myself in my own classes. That is my personal assessment. However, as a libertarian, I would answer somewhat differently. I would say that each (private) university should decide upon its own policy in this regard, and then let the market sort things out. My prediction, my expectation, as an economist, is that, oh, 98% of colleges would continue to do so, and 2% would successfully undertake experiments of this sort. Here are some parallel questions: should high schools require uniforms? Should elementary schools serve breakfasts and lunches? What color table cloths should restaurants us? In all these cases, my response as a libertarian is, institute a free market such that each entrepreneur can decide for himself, and then allow competition to sort out these matters.
7:04 pm on August 14, 2017
