What is Grade Inflation?
Grade inflation describes a phenomenon occurring in many university settings that shows a continued rise in the number of higher grades assigned to students. Grade inflation has led to higher grade point averages, and tends to most often occur in humanities courses. Science and math classes show less incidence of grade inflation, but there are small increases or surveys of courses that have watered down material in order for more students to achieve a higher grade. A survey of numerous private schools, for example, showed that the average grade point average (GPA) in the years from 1991-1992 was 3.11, a slightly better than B average. Ten years later the GPA had risen to 3.26. In many public universities, similar results are shown. Some universities have demonstrated great concern about what they perceive as grade inflation and have instituted policies in order to try to stem rising grades. Policies like allowing no more than 25% of the class to receive As, or reintroducing grading on
According to a 1995 paper entitled “Indicators of Grade Inflation,” presented by Robert Mullen, then an associate analyst in the Office of Planning and Budget at the University of Missouri, grade inflation is defined as “…when a grade is viewed as being less rigorous than it ought to be” (Mullen, 1995, p29). Generally, grade inflation can be described as a practice among universities and colleges to deflate the actual, real value of an A, so that it becomes an average grade among college and university students. ARGUMENTS AGAINST ITS EXISTENCE Clifford Adelman, a senior research analyst with the U.S. Department of Education, reviewed student transcripts from more than 3,000 colleges and universities and reported in 1995 that student grades have actually declined slightly over the last 20 years (Kohn, 2002). In its statistical analysis report, Profile of Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Institutions: 1999-2000, the National Center for Education Statistics, states that a study of 1
Over time the grade point averages of students in colleges and universities around the country have risen, while the workload or quality of the work has stayed the same or declined. In short, students are getting higher grades for poorer efforts. This trend of inflation is evident when you compare the GPAs and test scores of today’s underclassmen to those of students in the past. Statistics show that “the average GPA…rose around half a point between the mid-‘80s and mid-‘90s”(Ellenberg). Additionally, SAT and ACT scores have dramatically declined over the past forty years, dropping seven points from 2005-2006 alone. When you look at the facts, grade inflation is “hard to dispute”(Ellenberg 1). Not only is grade inflation obvious when you look to the past, but it is clearly a part of the high school and college experience today. I was first introduced to the concept of grade inflation in high school where for many students GPA is everything. The system of grading in high school is easil
Dr. Perry Zirkel, the laccoca Professor of Education at Lehigh University, characterizes it as a societal trend to de-emphasize competition and make people feel better about themselves. Inflating grades has, in part, been a response to fears that stringent grading would damage the student’s self-concept (Edwards, 2000). Stone (1995) says grade inflation is an increase in reported grades unaccompanied by higher student achievement. The effect of grade inflation is a devaluing of undergraduate degrees. Many students today seek Master’s degrees immediately after the Bachelor’s because it is seen to be the entry level degree by many students (Levine and Cureton, 1998). Undergraduate surveys conducted by Levine and Cureton in 1969, 1976, and 1993 showed that in 1969, 7% of students reporting earned A- or higher and 25% earned C grades or below. The 1993 study showed 26% of students reporting earned A- or higher and 9% earned C grades or below. A recent article by Sonner (2000) cites researc
