But other professors argue that they require less from students than in previous years because the students' demands of professorial grading have changed. I expect the same quality of mind, but I don't assign as much written work, I don't assign as many pages, and it's largely because of student complaints, either on course evaluations or to me personally. Some professors feel that it's not only the demands that have changed, but students' entry-level education as well. I'm still grading each student relative to other students. I can keep the same standards, but there is less demand being made than there used to be.
Professors target students' motivation as critical in grade distribution.
At Lawrence, some professors have noted that the importance of grades is influenced by self-selection and graduate school studies, among other factors. There are some subjects, for example, that are perceived, rightly or wrongly, as specially difficult and therefore tend to draw a small group of self-selected, highly motivated students. I presume that Chinese, Classics, and Russian in the languages, might be examples. One shouldn't be surprised if grades in such subjects tend to be somewhat high. Another motivating factor for many students concerns acceptance into graduate schools.