If, like me, you went to school decades ago, you may recall the very real possibility of earning a C, a D, or even an F for substandard work and missed assignments. Are today’s students held to the same strict standards?
For the most part, not at all.
Grade inflation is a real phenomenon that has been intensifying for years. In an effort to understand why, so I connected with researchers Maia Goodman Young and Dan Goldhaber to explore both the extent and underlying causes of grade inflation.
Young and Goldhaber used U. of Washington’s longitudinal data system to analyze student achievement on tests alongside their grades for about a decade, from 2010-11 to 2020-21, examining how GPAs and grades in specific courses changed over time and correlated with test achievement.
The researchers found that average GPAs were increasing steadily pre-pandemic, suggesting some grade inflation. In Spring 2020 when the pandemic hit, many states issued “do no harm” guidance. Districts could not give Fs and students’ grades could not decrease below pre-pandemic levels. There was a huge spike in As and near elimination of Fs in Spring 2020. Some of these policies endured beyond Spring 2020, like restrictions on giving Fs or Ds, “no zero” policies where students can’t get a zero on assignments, and shifts toward standards-based grading.
Today, grades appear higher than ever. According to UCLA’s CIRP Freshman Survey, less than 25% of students in 1966 entered college with an A average. In 2023, the percentage exceeded 85%.
Ultimately, the growing discrepancy between in-school grades and standardized testing lies in the very purpose of grading. Teachers do not administer quizzes, tests, and finals to compare students to other students outside their class. Instead, in-school grading needs to accomplish a number of important and often conflicting goals:
- enhancing learning
- evaluating retention
- identifying students needing support
- motivating and engaging students
- providing data to administrators
- communicating with parents and outside organizations
Very little of how or why a teacher assigns a grade has to do with college admissions. Considered through this lens, grade inflation isn’t the real issue. The real issue is continuing to pretend that grades can fulfill all the complicated, subjective goals individual teachers ascribe to them and still provide what purports to be objective signals of academic ability. No wonder great grades don’t always equate to great test scores, or vice versa.
There is no solution to growing grade inflation on the horizon, so consider achievement with a grain of salt, recognizing that most grades are at least slightly subjective. Trust your teen’s success but verify by comparing grades to appropriate standardized tests. Lastly, communicate with teachers to understand their specific goals in assigning grades.
Mike Bergin