Is Grade Inflation Really a Problem?
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…
Are SAT & ACT Scores More Predictive Than GPA?
One of the longest running academic debates in our lifetimes has been whether or not SAT & ACT scores carry any predictive value in determining success in college. What’s odd, though, is that only one side has evidence supporting its position. The SAT & ACT have ALWAYS been predictive. If they weren’t, colleges would not have adopted them so long ago–the first SAT was administered in 1926. Traditionally, the calculus was that grades and test scores on their own provided good insight into student success in the first year of college, but that the two data points together offer even better assurance of college readiness. Despite the turmoil of pandemic-era politics, the predictive validity of test scores is not just accepted but embraced in many admissions offices in 2024, especially at the most selective academic institutions: SAT and ACT tests are better predictors of Harvard grades than high school grades.…
Yes, We Still Need Standardized Tests
Love them or hate them, the ACT and SAT serve a number of valuable purposes. Currently, both tests are primarily (but not entirely) college admissions exams. And despite the controversy and anxiety that inevitably accompany the ACT and SAT, most colleges continue to rely on them to inform admissions decisions. Granted, a human being is so much more than a number, but quantitative data matters a lot when evaluating applicants in a pool that exponentially exceeds the number of available seats. Furthermore, standardized test scores aren’t even the most important numbers. All things being equal, a student’s grade point average is the first and foremost metric that matters. Why, then, are tests needed at all? Can’t grades tell the full story of a student’s academic ability? Unfortunately, grades are not enough in most instances. One reason they cannot always be trusted is the dramatic variability in academic excellence from school…
Is It Fair to Award Scholarships Based on Grades?
A writer in the Wall Street Journal posited an interesting if not provocative question recently, asking “Is It Fair to Award Scholarships Based on the SAT?” Predictably, the arguments against test scores focus more on questions about student diversity and unequal distributions of wealth and resources. They do not, however, seriously address the idea of merit, which is to say a certain standard of academic accomplishment according to which merit aid is awarded. Perhaps a reticence to acknowledge the elephant in the room in this–and countless other think pieces decrying standardized testing–makes sense. After all, for all the problems with the SAT and ACT, the alternative is much worse: grades are even less reliable and more dependent on privilege than test scores. Is the idea that high school grades cannot be entirely trusted a surprise? Presumably, a student’s grades represent a quantitative expression of academic output over the majority of…
What Really Matters in College Admissions?
As far back as the 15th century, the lovelorn and frivolous alike consulted the Daisy Oracle or effeuiller la marguerite in order to divine whether their affections were requited. Asking a flower whether she loves me or loves me not instead of questioning the lady in question herself may strike modern sensibilities as primitive or passive aggressive (note the petal pulling) but we’re not so different today. In the high stakes game of college admissions, some applicants and their families consult every oracle under the sun to pierce the veil of mystery and prognosticate the true desires of admissions professionals. Luckily, other more rational parties simply survey them 😉 The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) conducts both an Admission Trends Survey and a Counseling Trends Survey every year to track various factors related to the transition from high school to postsecondary education in the U.S. along with information…
How Academic Accountability Makes a Difference
Too many students think that academic success depends entirely on innate intelligence, that only the smartest can strive for the highest scores and grades. However, most teachers would tell a dramatically different story: you earn grades based not on what you are but what you do. A popular image of 10 Things That Require Zero Talent has been making the rounds online for years. This idea resonates with anyone who struggled under the misconception that achievement depended on entirely innate abilities. On the contrary, success results from doing lots of little things in the right way at the right time. For this reason, students who struggle in school may not be dealing with an inability to understand a subject. Most poor performance results from a lack of accountability. In order to succeed, students need to maintain accountability to themselves, their teachers, and their support systems. What does academic accountability look…