to protect the rule of law, or to build affordable housing, or write california's patients bill of rights. but i know adam through the big brother program. we've been brothers since i was seven. he stood by my side as i graduated from yale, and i stood by his side when he married eve, the love of his life. i'm a little biased, but take it from adam's little brother. he'll make us all proud as california senator. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message.

and you've heard about grade inflation as a trend in education. maybe even seen it in your kid's school. but is it happening at uc berkeley? we'll get to the bottom of it with a university official. but first, today is the big day. the first in the nation primary in this presidential election year. new hampshire voters are at the polls and there's intrigue for both republican and democrats. you're watching, getting answers. i'm kristen sze. thanks for joining us. the first exit poll results are coming out soon from new hampshire. more on that in just a little bit. but we want to start with the california senate race kicking into high gear. last night, the four leading candidates hoping to win the late dianne feinstein seat battled it out in a heated debate about six weeks ahead of the california primary. >> so while others can talk about taking on corporations or taking on industries, some of us actually have done things. what we need is housing policy that works for us. >> housing policy that is

centered on our needs. we have to have more resources coming into our communities to make sure that there's more interaction between the police and the community. >> i owe no one. i'm a fresh face. i'll have fresh ideas. i will listen to needs of california. joining us live now to discuss this race and the presidential race, joe garofoli, senior political writer for the sf chronicle. >> joe, thanks for making time for us today. >> thanks for having me. how are you doing? >> i'm good, i'm good. let's start with california senate seat three democrats, all congressional reps. southern california's adam schiff and katie porter, and oakland's barbara lee. one republican, former l.a. dodgers star steve garvey, was it three against one last night? >> well, it was, uh, that one was steve garvey. and he, uh, it was mostly self-inflicted wounds. uh, garvey had was very ill prepared. he's never run for elective office before, and it showed, uh, but he had very few specifics on on anything, really. uh much like i talked to

him for a story we had in, in sfchronicle.com, uh, that appeared last week. uh, he just hasn't formulated a lot of policy proposals, and it showed last night. it was really amateur hour. yeah. >> and despite that, uh, there is talk, at least before last night, that it is possible for him to make it into the general election ballot, even though this is a heavily blue state and a republican hasn't won an actual state office in, what, two decades? but why does he have a shot here, at least getting to the general? >> here's a shot at getting to the general, because if he can consolidate, uh, the 24% of california of california voters who are registered republicans, he could kind of slip in there as the democrats divide their vote. uh, but once he gets to the fall, uh, he has a very slim chance because of what you said. kristen, it's the democrats outnumber republicans 2 to 1 in california. and, uh, and he hasn't raised a lot of money so

far. >> okay. well, in recent polling, he's been third behind schiff and porter. and barbara lee was kind of trailing there. and i'm wondering if you think that dynamic might still change. >> we'll see what happens after this debate. and you know what the i don't know how many people watched it yet. we don't have those numbers yet. uh, there will be two more debates in february. and, uh, viewers are just starting. voters are just starting to tune into the election right now. uh, the leading the most popular candidate right now is undecided, uh, with, uh, anywhere from 21 to 30% of the voters are really haven't, uh, haven't picked a candidate yet that dreaded yet powerful, undecided did okay now to the press. >> always there. right. okay. now to the presidential race. new hampshire's first in the nation primary happening right now. turnout seems pretty high, although we're still waiting on exit poll results. interesting though, joe, that president biden's name is not printed on the ballot. explain to people what's going on there. the democratic party wanted to, uh, offer, uh, a they want to get a

diverse to reflect. >> they wanted the states to do reflect what its voters look like and what america looks like , uh, in terms of the diversity of it. and that's certainly not new hampshire. it's an all white state. it really, uh, does not reflect what america looks like, and certainly not what california looks like. uh, so they have changed the rules so that, um, south carolina will be the first primary. and anybody who is on the ballot in new hampshire, any candidate who's on the ballot there, any delegates they could win, won't count. uh, new hampshire has a problem with this. they have. it's literally in the state. it's a state law that says new hampshire has to be the first primary state. so they held they held their they're holding their primary, uh, president, president biden is not on the ballot, but but nonetheless, he opposed show he is still winning . uh, because they expect people to write in his name. right. so even though there are other

candidates on the ballot, biden is polling ahead of them, far ahead of them. yeah. >> i mean, one of the other candidates is minnesota governor, democrat dean phillips . and this is interesting, right, because usually when you have a sitting president, no one else in your party comes forward to challenge you in a primary. what is this suggest that this is happening here. i mean, regardless of how serious of a challenge he might pose, phillips says he's doing this to make biden better. >> he's like, you know, there's no there's we've seen the polls on the ground. we've talked to voters and there is a decided lack of enthusiasm for joe biden , particularly among voters of color and among younger voters. and this is the core of the democratic party. um, so the so phillips said, i'm going to run and try and, you know, generate enthusiasm. so far, that has not happened. and, uh, there's still a lack of enthusiasm, uh, for biden. and we'll see what the results are today. if phillips can get anything there. he's got other challenges, though, even

if he were to do a really good job. and in new hampshire, he is not on the ballot in all 50 states. uh, he has not raised a lot of money. he, in fact, there's many congressional candidates here in california and even some, some, uh, state assembly candidates who have raised more money than he has so far. >> all right. on the republican side, it's seen as nikki haley's last stand. she says she's going to go all the way to her home state, south carolina, at least, no matter what. what is the reality for her here? >> well, she has to say that she's not going to say like, well, i'm quitting after this. uh, but it is. she has to really surprise some people and be very close to former president trump to be able to, uh, to keep going. and the reason is, uh, you know, she has to have the donors still interested in her. if there's no money. that's the lifeblood of a of a presidential campaign, there will be no presidential campaign. so, uh, and then the other thing is, if she goes to, uh, south carolina, even if she does go there, uh, president trump, former president trump is still very

popular there. it's a very conservative state. and, uh, and then then she risks sort of the personal embarrassment, an embarrassment to her brand to get blown out in a state where she was the governor and served in other elected office there as well. all right. >> i mean, we'll see if she can beat expectations here, which she really does need to get any sort of momentum back in some cash infusion. but let me just ask you, in the 30s we have before we go, why does it seem like before the contest even get to the big states such as california, the ones that are more representative, if you will, of our nation demographically that it seems oftentimes it's a done deal. is that a conundrum for democracy? >> it certainly is. and i have, uh, i've railed on this ever since my the first time i went to the iowa caucuses, uh, years ago. and and saw that it's a, you know, it's a snowstorm out there, uh, in terms of demographics, it's a shame. it's a shame. californians by the time the, uh, we get to vote here, uh, by time, our primaries held here on the march 5th, the

race will very much be over by by, uh, by all accounts. and that is a shame, because here we are the most populous state, the nation's most diverse state. the things where sort of the future happens here. first, as our governor says, uh, we will our votes will be kind of like an afterthought. >> joe garofoli, thank you so much for joining us today. appreciate it. >> thank you. christine good to see you. >> good to see you. well we still have quite a bit to celebrate here in california, including hoops history. the female coach of a bay area college team made ncaa history this past weekend in a field dominated by men. stanford coach tara vanderveer joins us live next to talk about making it you can instantly know what you spend on things like food. (dad) fargo, what did i spend on groceries this month? (son) hey dad, can the guys stay for dinner? (dad) no. (vo) want faster, easier banking? you can, with wells fargo.

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on sunday, longtime coach tara vanderveer made ncaa history by pah'-ha-roe vanderveer. and with that win over oregon state, vanderveer captured win number 1203 and became the winningest coach in college basketball history. uh- joining us today live from that huge night. tara vanderveer thank you so much. such an honor. congratulations >> thank you very much. thanks for having me. >> no. how are you feeling today? has it all sunken in yet? >> it's honestly been a really, um. it's been a fabulous experience. um, i'm. it's a little overwhelming, i'll be honest with you. and, uh, i'm

trying to keep up with my emails and texts, but i'm. i'm way behind. >> well, i can imagine. it's so many. it just a magical moment that, you know, we're not surprised by. we knew it was coming, but there it was. and afterwards, so much celebration. can i just show one picture that we loved? the team was great. the celebration. but also afterwards you went to dinner and we understand you ran into 40 niners running back and of course stanford alum christian mccaffrey. look at that i love this picture. what did you guys say to each other. how was that moment? >> well um, it was uh, we were both at the same restaurant. he was sitting outside and i was leaving, and he came around the corner and he he said, you know, coach vanderveer, i'm christian mccaffrey. i'm like, i know christian. and i gave him a hug. i just said, uh, he said, you know, congratulations. and i just said, go win it all. um, he just, um, i guess i'm, i'm kind of the old goat. he's the young goat. uh, what? i'm so excited that i'm a 40 niner fan. and to have christian on the team. and he's such an awesome young man. it was. it was really fun. yeah

totally. >> two goats. and hopefully one of these days he'll have a jacket like the nike custom jacket. they gave you one mark for each win. he'll have one of those with lots of wins. there but look you you coached for 45 years, 38 years at stanford, won three ncaa championships. this is the icing on the cake. i want to show the celebration with you and the players again, because you can see in their faces that they were ecstatic for you. you can feel the love and respect that they have for you. and i want to ask you, what is the key you think to being a good coach, right? one that builds confidence, makes good people, and oh, by the way, happens to win lots of games. as you know. >> first of all, um, i think whatever i'm doing is with our team is, um, what i've learned from my parents that, you know, just to treat people well, to really be very positive, um, i love basketball and i'm enthusiastic about coaching. uh, i learned a lot from other coaches. uh, steve kerr, i think, is a great coach. i learned from them. i'm a copier.

um, but i think that what i want to do more than anything is help our players be the best versions of themselves. um, whether it's on the court, off the court, uh, and just help them reach goals that they couldn't reach without me. sounds like you must be super proud of the fact that i think what 12 of your former players went on to head coaching jobs. there is a lot of players that i've coached that are in coaching. they're in they're in law, they're they're doctors, they're professional players. um, and i heard i've heard from so many and i've learned i've learned more from the players that i've coached than they've ever learned from me. um, i've just had the i have to pinch myself to work at stanford university. uh, just the greatest university. i think, in the world. uh, just having the support i have with assistant coaches, uh, great players. what, uh, what a life. i'm so fortunate. >> well, i think those who worked with you would say they're fortunate to have you in their lives. um, coach v, how much has women's basketball changed in your life and career?

>> you know, uh, women's basketball has always been really good. and now people are seeing it a lot of people have never seen women's basketball. it wasn't on television. you know, there were really no newspaper articles about it, but, uh, there's there are more great players. but even when i was first here at stanford, uh, whether jennifer azzi, katy steding, val whiting, uh, sonja henning, they're all great, great players. um, and now i think people are appreciating women's basketball in a new way. and we had a great crowd. our fans are fabulous. so it was really fun to have everyone, you know, come out and support our team. and it was a big win. >> yeah. and look, it's so great to see especially i understand from doing research that when you were in high school, like your first high school didn't even have a girls team. right that's crazy. there were no teams, no basketball camps, no scholarships, no professional league, no television. >> um, i had bad timing for playing, but i've had great timing for coaching, and i'm really living out a dream. and i hope that the young people that

i coach appreciate their opportunities. well i'm sure they do. >> and i think a lot of people want this dream to continue for a long time. and i certainly know that many people hope the answer to my next question is never. but now that you've broken this record, when might you consider the r-word retiring ? >> um, the, uh, the r word that i would use is, uh, regroup and recruit and, uh, just, you know, really work really hard to have, uh, have each player on our team have a great experience. uh, you know, probably there's only one really happy coach after every year, but, um, i love working at stanford. i love working with our team, and we're really excited about the young players that we have and our recruits and the future looks really bright. so um, i don't know, they might have to take me out in a wheelchair. >> all right, let's hope that date doesn't come for a long, long time. tara vanderveer, stanford's legend basketball coach who is now also the lone

possessor of the winningest record in ncaa hoops history. thank you so much, and congratulations again. >> thank you. it's my pleasure. >> it's our pleasure. thank you. all right. coming up we're going to move across the bay. students at uc berkeley are making the grade more so these days. what's going on in terms of a national trend of grades going up? is there a grade inflation? we'll talk to a uc berkeley

a san francisco chronicle. articles today finds that it is even true at uc berkeley. really? a renowned press cooker where good grades are very hard to come by. their graphic shows in the 2022 school year, 64% of the grades given out at uc

berkeley in undergrad courses were a's. compare that to 2013, when only 50% of grades were a's. you can see the number of a's. that's the red line peaking in the first year of covid. joining us live now to discuss what's behind this trend is uc berkeley's vice provost for undergraduate education and professor of mechanical engineering, oliver o'reilly, vice provost or professor? which do you prefer? i'll throw in both. thank you for joining me. >> thank you so much for having me here today. >> so can i. the study is called grade inflation at american colleges and universities. and it doesn't look only at uc berkeley. really. we have that graph up. it's kind of eye opening. they looked at private universities, public ones, t20s, the top universities, the elite universities like uc berkeley and a broader range as well. it does show this progression in the last 40 years of grades going up. um, you know, first let's address this widely a little bit before we zoom in on uc berkeley. have you been

noticing this and what do you suppose is behind it? >> so i think for some of the private schools, there's there is the pressure noted is for students to get higher grades. um, but i think i've been a faculty member at uc berkeley for the past 30 years, and i don't think uc berkeley has a culture of grade inflation in fact, i'm continually impressed by the academic excellence of our undergraduates. >> it's funny because when you go on subreddits, uh, all you ever see are complaints about uc berkeley in terms of how hard it is to earn even a b, i do see that it did. >> no, i, i read those two and it is a academically it's a very challenging university. we pride ourselves in our academic excellence. but i think over the past decade you'll also notice that we've we are far more concerned about the undergrad education of our students. we have put far more resources into their education. um, and also

students have a lot more resources now than they did a decade ago. so because of the internet, they have access to far more instructional materials. they're also far more aware of the importance of their gpa in the world, both in terms of getting into for, uh, internships, graduate programs and also into some of the most competitive majors at uc berkeley. >> so you're telling me that you think the primary drivers then are that students are actually working harder and earning more, and therefore what they got out of the class was greater and their grades reflect that. is that what you're saying? >> that's what i'm saying. yes but okay. >> so can i pardon me and just ask you to address this then. right. because at the same time, you see, and it could be anecdotal, but a lot of professors say, oh, we're getting more kids today who aren't prepared, who are coming in, not ready. and when you look at standardized test scores in in high schools and middle schools and grade schools, they tend to be falling, leading many

to worry that our students are not reaching proficiency in reading, writing and math. so how do you account for that difference to something? kick into gear in college suddenly? >> well, i think so. first of all, the incoming high school gpa of our of our undergraduates is higher now than it was a decade ago. um, secondly, we are far more conscious of providing support to eliminate equity gaps than we were a decade ago, as well. and we have more tools to do that. also, students get continual feedback on their grade in ways that they didn't a decade ago, and we also have better advising systems for students. so if students are struggling, we try and reach out to them as soon as possible to get them help. so what i'm saying is that the support systems we have in place now for our students are far better than they were a decade ago. and also, i think the emphasis we have on our public mission to educate the students of

california is far higher than it was a decade ago, and it's certainly far higher than it was when i came to uc berkeley. >> 30 years as someone who graduated in the early 1990s, i will agree that the support seems to have been much lesser in that i definitely had friends who were joking about are they trying to weed us out to open up a spot? what is going on here? right. but now you're right, students do have more support along the way. and i want to ask you, is there a movement away from the bell curve that we remember from our days, right where it was like a force number of people, equal number of people on the ends getting a's and f's. and then, you know, more getting b's and d's with the most people in the c range, like a bell shape. um, is are we moving away from that? >> i think we're starting to see a serious discussion about the flaws in having a bell curve like that. and more of a transition to pass. no pass grading or mastery grading. um, we also have some initiatives at uc berkeley by faculty in ecs where they want a system of

assessment where students can continue, can retake the assessment to get the to make sure that they get the result. they want. so-called mastery learning. and it's a really amazing initiative that they're running where they use computers to change the testing to get so students can take an unlimited number of exams and get the grade and the mastery of material that they that they need for success in the future. >> some of this flexibility started during the pandemic, right. and if we have that san francisco chronicle graphic back, um, pull that back up. you can see there's a sharp spike there in the percentage of grades that were a's. i think it was close to 80% that first year of covid. um, and, you know, it's come down a little bit since, but still much higher than ten years ago, 20 years ago. so i guess how do you answer to critics who say, okay, but this has devalued a high gpa , and now employers for example, or grad schools won't be able to tell who are the top, top students and who are just the merely good students. >> yeah, i don't really think we

have that issue at berkeley. so the peak that you're describing happened because we implemented a pass no pass grading scheme during the pandemic to protect students. and so students could choose to get a letter grade or a pass no pass in their classes. and so what we're seeing is we're seeing that bubble, um, and we see that in the, um, exit gpa, the graduating gpas of our students. but i don't think it devalues the berkeley education. we're still known as one of the most competitive university in the united states. and our graduates are highly, highly regarded. and i see that when i write letters of recommendation for them, when they're applying to graduate programs, when they apply to internships, they're nationally competitive. they're actually i think they're extraordinary. >> we indeed. in fact, i think berkeley has risen in recent years in u.s. news and world report. not that that's the end. all but i'm pretty sure that i would not get in these days. vice provost, i feel the same way right? vice provost oliver o'reilly, thank you very much for coming on the show today.

appreciate it. >> thank you so much for having me here today. >> a reminder you can get our live newscasts, breaking news, weather and more with our abc7 bay area streaming tv app available on apple tv, google tv, fire tv and roku. just search abc sev are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for adults with hr positive, her2 negative metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole. ibrance may cause low white blood cell counts that may lead to serious infections. ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs. both of these can lead to death. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening chest pain, cough, or trouble breathing. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are or plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

for more information about side effects talk to your doctor. thanks, mom. be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. a pfizer product. you may know adam schiff's work to protect the rule of law, or to build affordable housing, or write california's patients bill of rights. but i know adam through the big brother program. we've been brothers since i was seven. he stood by my side as i graduated from yale, and i stood by his side when he married eve, the love of his life. i'm a little biased, but take it from adam's little brother. he'll make us all proud as california senator. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message.

tonight, we have breaking news. donald trump versus nic can i haley, and what we're seeing already coming in right now from new hampshire. also, the storms, cars swept away. homes destroyed. and the boeing 757 passenger plane. what another pilot noticed right before that delta flight was about to take off.