Grade Inflation

Grade inflation is the assignment of a grade to a student who has not yet reached the achievement level represented by that grade. For example, teachers may grade students based on their effort and/or their motivation to learn rather than mastery of content. Also, schools within or between districts may compete for students (and tax dollars or tuition) by promoting a reputation for graduating students of a high caliber — those who have higher grades than students in other geographic areas. In addition, some schools simply sell grades to students willing to purchase them. Regardless of how such grades are bestowed, inflated grades do a disservice to students who feel they have earned them and believe they are prepared for college and/or a position in the workforce.

Keywords: American College Testing (ACT); Assessment; Grade Inflation; Grade Level Promotion; Higher Education; Naïve Selection; Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT); Secondary Schools; Strategic Selection

Overview

Most parents would like to think that their child's report card is indicative of the child's academic achievement in class — the objective combination of content knowledge and performance since the previous report card. It is possible, however, that report cards reflect a subjective interpretation of one child's progress when compared to another child. It is also possible that report cards define a school's rank within a district or offer a public school's value over a private school. These are common reasons for the recent trend of grade inflation in secondary schools. Grade inflation is the difference between a student's grade and his actual attainment of course content reflective of that grade. In other words, a student who receives a B in 11th grade history should be able to demonstrate 80% proficiency of the course content when tested. If he can't, the B is inflated in relation to his knowledge. Grades are inflated in secondary schools for a variety of reasons.

According to an article in Gifted Child Today, a 2000 report showed that "86% of teachers consider student effort as a factor" when determining grades ("Grade Inflation," 2000). Most schools have a general rubric on which grades are developed, but teachers can incorporate how hard a student has worked into that rubric, sometimes defining who is promoted to the next level based on effort rather than content mastery. Grade promotion based on effort is misleading. It also creates dependence for the student; if he doesn't continue to receive inflated grades, his opportunities for success dwindle because he doesn't know as much as he should. For example, the ACT (American College Testing) exam is a standardized test taken in the junior or senior year of high school and is used by colleges to determine student placement in courses like English and math. ACT scores can determine scholarship eligibility and whether or not students require remediation once enrolled in college:

It is composed of four tests: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. A fifth score, the Composite score, is the average of the scores on the four subject tests. The ACT not only measures the knowledge and skills students have acquired during their high school years and their level of achievement as a result of their high school learning and instruction, but also serves as a measure of their preparation to undertake rigorous coursework at the postsecondary level ("Are High School Grades Inflated?" 2005, p. 2).

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is also used by colleges to determine a student's scholarship eligibility and what — if any — advanced courses a student may take once enrolled. Depending on the college, SAT or ACT scores may be required for admission purposes. And, while a student can take each exam as many times as he wishes (for a fee) — using the highest score in admissions materials — many schools record each score and have a record of multiple attempts to increase that score. Even colleges that look more holistically at students' high school experiences (as opposed to weighing so heavily on a standardized test scores) would expect strong performances on these exams from students who have high averages in high school. Because so many high school averages include grade inflation, student averages are not correlating with standardized test scores:

In 1984, 28% of all students taking the SAT reported A averages; while in 1999, 39% of SAT-taking students reported A averages. Since performance on the SAT has not varied significantly over the past 23 years, researchers have concluded that this increase is a result of grade inflation ("Grade Inflation," 2000).

The grades reported by students taking these tests has increased, yet their test scores have not. Bracey (1994) notes similar results in that students are more recently reporting grades from A- to A+ as representative of their high school averages, yet their SAT scores are not reflecting such high levels of content mastery.

Further Insights

Why Inflate Grades?

Naïve & Strategic School Selection

From a parent's perspective, grade inflation may determine what school their children will attend. For example, if students at School A receive better grades than students at School B, it may be assumed that School A has better teachers, a stronger administration, or more resources that lead to student success when compared to School B. Walsh (2010) explains that when it comes to parents and school selection, the choice process can be naïve or strategic (p. 152). Naïve selection occurs when parents don't pay attention to standardized test scores, when they make note of things like state of the art computer labs (or other high-end resources), or when they simply don't suspect grade inflation (p. 152). Strategic selection, on the other hand, happens when parents send their children to schools specifically because of grade inflation practices. Students who receive high grades are more likely to be accepted into college. Walsh (2010) explains that,

… highly educated parents with high-achieving students may be attracted by high perceived school quality or college-admissions gamesmanship more than average families. If this is so, a grade-inflating school district could not only attract more families but could attract a particular type of family. The peer quality and achievement of the district would be genuinely high, not because of school quality effects but because of selection (Walsh, 2010, p. 153).

In contrast, schools in districts with academically weak students face budgetary restraints if students don't pass from year to year. This may encourage teachers to inflate grades for students who may otherwise drop out. In a study conducted by Lekholm & Cliffordson (2008), it was observed that students had higher overall grades when compared to standardized test scores in districts with families having "lower educational backgrounds" (p. 195-196). Again, the 2001 legislation of No Child Left Behind places a monetary value on student pass rates, so grade inflation makes sense in economically struggling districts.

Overall, it appears that many school districts benefit from grade inflation. Public schools that compete with private schools or with schools within their own districts have an advantage when they graduate students with high GPAs: students want to attend those schools, and their parents are happy to enroll them there. Also, academically strong students are sought after by colleges, and at schools that inflate grades, colleges might believe they have a strong pool of applicants from which to choose. How long students from this pool remain in college is difficult to predict, but many will be faced with a reality they did not expect once they get to college because they are not prepared. Districts that enroll academically weak students also benefit as their students drop out less when they have passing grades. Thus, weaker students may view inflated grades as a reason to persist to graduation.

Buying the Grades

According to Hansen, "Whether due to years of grade inflation in high school … or society's overall disrespect for the immaterial value of education, many students tend to look at academic accomplishment as just another commodity to be purchased" (1998, p. 13). Unfortunately, some students actually do purchase the commodity. Farran (2009) discovered a common practice in Vancouver whereby students attending one high school could pay tuition at another school to take the same exact courses yet receive higher grades. The province of British Columbia created a policy to allow students whose high schools did not offer certain courses to enroll in those courses at a different school. The policy also allows for students to be enrolled in the same class at the same time, keeping whichever grade they prefer. In other words, a student can attend School A within his district and take a full course load. Should he consider his algebra course too difficult, he can enroll in the same class at School B for a tuition fee — attending in the afternoons or on Saturdays. When the school year is over, the student can choose which algebra grade he wants to appear on his transcript — the one from School A or the one from School B. The problem is that School B neither required the student to attend all classes nor made him do all the work required by School A; yet if he received a higher grade from the second institution it would appear on his transcript as if it came from School A.

According to Farran, this practice was discovered when an instructor at University Hill Secondary School in Vancouver checked the academic records of several students who had cross-registered in senior level English in the 2006-2007 year. Many of the instructor's students were failing his English class but none of them sought extra help nor did they seem concerned about failing. On a hunch, the teacher checked the academic records of students who had cross-registered at Century High School, the second institution in which his students were enrolled. In 2006-2007 the teacher discovered that

101 Century High students (60 per cent of the class) received a B grade or higher in Grade 12 English; just three failed. When he looked at how the same group of 138 students performed on standardized provincial exams, the results were just the opposite: 108 had failed the exam and only eight students got a B grade or higher (Farran, 2009, 3).

While the practice of purchasing inflated grades was well-known, nobody seemed to be able to do anything about it. "At Toronto's Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, principal Peggy Aitchison said 140 students took credits part-time at private schools in 2007-2008, mostly in Grade 12 math or English; typically, they earned marks 15 to 40 points higher than at Forest Hill" (Farran, 2009, 13). As a result of the University Hill teacher's investigation, Century High and four other schools were ordered to address the large differences between students' class grades and standardized test results. Some schools were closed because it was apparent they were selling grades; however, many opened up within a year under a different name (Farran, 2009).

The problem is with supply and demand; students are so desperate to get into college, they are willing to pay for the grades they cannot otherwise earn. According to Farran, students believe that purchasing grades to be admitted to college is a necessary evil:

Sixteen-year-old Ben took Grade 12 English at a private school while he was enrolled in Grade 11 at York Mills last year. Ben gets marks in the 90s in math and science, but English was a problem. He was afraid that if he doesn't get a high Grade 12 English mark, he won't get into life sciences at McMaster [University] … "I took this route because some of the courses in high school are especially hard and you can't get higher than 60 or 70 [per cent]," he says. "However, once you take it in private school, you can easily get 80s. Personally I would recommend it to other people …" (Farran, 2009, 16).

About the same time Ben was earning his B grade in English 12, Canadian government officials closed ten private institutions because they didn't meet the teaching standards set forth by the Education Act. Prior to 2010, a student could transfer credit from a private institution to his full-time school without a college or university knowing. Currently, however, if credits are earned at a school other than the one from which a student graduates, his transcript will reflect a "P" (for private institution) next to those credits, leaving a college or university to do with that information whatever it chooses (Farran, 2009).

Grade Inflation in Higher Education

Grade inflation became a recognized phenomenon in college grading years before it became common in high schools. In fact, Edwards (2000), reports that colleges and universities are the larger issue: "Grade inflation has the potential for undermining the traditional purposes of the university, altering student-instructor relationships, eliminating the gate keeping role of the university, and failing to adequately prepare students for the world of work" (Edwards, 2000, abstract). Furthermore, "Levine (1994) surveyed 4900 college graduates from the years 1969-1993 and found that the number of A's given had quadrupled while the number of C's had dropped by 66%" (Edwards, 2000, p. 538). Edwards (2000) also notes that SAT and ACT scores have decreased and that any assertion that students deserve the grades they are getting is inaccurate.

Grade inflation in college has been blamed primarily on two factors: the first is faculty evaluations; the second is budget crises. Most faculty members (full-time and part-time) are evaluated on a regular basis by their students. Teachers who fail several students each semester gain a reputation for being ineffective and tend to be replaced. On the other hand, the teachers whose students do well hold their positions longer and, for the most part, are well-liked by their students. And a well-liked teacher means receiving positive evaluations and job security. "Faculty realize that giving poor grades is not in their economic best interest. They believe that low grades lead to low faculty ratings by students, with corresponding reduction in class sizes (Beaver, 1997), and eventual loss of their jobs" (Edwards, 2000, p. 539). When the point difference between Cs and Ds or Ds and Fs determines whether or not an instructor returns to the classroom the following year, grade inflation probably doesn't seem like a serious issue.

The same can be noted for student retention. The more students that remain in college and pay to be there, the better off universities are financially. As such, it is possible for deans and administrators to not look too closely at how many students pass each class. It is also possible for admissions criteria to change. William Abbott (2008) teaches at Fairfield University, a private college in New England. According to him, Fairfield has clearly changed its admissions criteria:

While SAT scores arguably are not the best gauge of ability, the fact that our real SAT scores … were lower in 2003 than they had been 14 years earlier, yet our grade-point average was higher, indicates that our grade inflation cannot be attributed to an improvement in our students' intellectual capacities. Our selectivity ratings bear this out: 49.4 percent of applicants were admitted in 2003 compared to 37 percent in 1988 (2008, 33-34).

In other words, Fairfield has been admitting students with lower SAT scores at a higher rate than they did in the past. Additionally, those same students entered the college with grade point averages that didn't correlate with their SAT scores, yet they were still admitted.

Viewpoints

What's the Harm?

Grade inflation seems to serve a purpose for everyone concerned. Teachers reward students for effort and motivation even if those students struggle with course material. Grade inflation also allows administrators to boast that they graduate high-achieving students, and parents can choose schools based on the report of high grades given to graduates. Furthermore, students can beat out other students in the college admissions process based on inflated grades. The biggest problem with all of this is that students who receive high grades may feel that they deserve them, thus also believing they deserve that place in college. Overconfidence, in this situation, is not a good thing. Students who have received inflated grades tend to be highly confident in their abilities in spite of being perpetually underprepared for future endeavors (Hansen, 1998). Students who received "A" grades in high school will believe they earned those grades, and as a result, will also believe that they are prepared for college-level academics. In addition, when the colleges at which they apply admit them based on those grades, a cycle of dependence is fostered.

Additionally, the students who do receive Cs and Ds may believe that working hard is not really necessary. "Most students admit that they are capable of far more quality work in school than they ordinarily achieve (Glasser, 1998)" (Edwards, 2000, p. 543). Students with inflated grades no longer need to achieve quality work because they simply don't need to. Kohn (1992) argued that if the education systems got rid of grading altogether, dependence on the status quo would no longer be an issue:

Grades not only undermine competition between students, they undermine striving for quality by individual students as well. With a system of grades, students tend to do only enough to achieve the grade they desire. The minimum expected becomes the maximum achieved, and the maximum is ordinarily at a level far below their ability (Edwards, 2000, p. 543).

Indeed, there is little incentive to strive for a B if a C requires little effort and the result (graduating from high school) is the same.

Because grade inflation in college — for whatever reason — is so widely known, higher education is not as well respected as it used to be. Abbott (2008) notes that, "[e]mployers and graduate-school admissions officials consequently have become dissatisfied with college transcripts as a source of information" (p. 32). This dissatisfaction means that students believing higher education is the key to their future may have to look at other options. According to Edwards, "Undergraduate degrees will eventually be viewed as high school diplomas are today. Some colleges will institute exit examinations to bolster the sagging value of their degrees, but it is only a matter of time before more dramatic changes will occur" (Edwards, 2000, p. 540). Once seen as a privilege worthy only of a few, higher education was never meant to be just one more thing to buy. Grade inflation has made it such, however, and the ramifications of that will be obvious for a long time.

Terms & Concepts

American College Testing (ACT): A standardized test measuring a variety of skill sets; used by many colleges for admissions purposes.

Grade Inflation: The increase in the value of an assessment over time; or the assignment of a grade to a student who has not yet reached the achievement level represented by that grade.

Grade Level Promotion: Advancement to a higher level in school (i.e., moving from 10th to 11th grade).

Higher Education: Academics beyond the secondary level, for example a two or four year college.

Naïve Selection: To choose a school specifically because of the high grades its student body earns.

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT): The standardized test measuring mathematic and English ability; usually required for college admissions.

Secondary Schools: Primarily known as high schools, but may be any institution offering education past the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade levels.

Strategic Selection: Choosing a school specifically because of the high grades its student body earns.

Bibliography

Abbott, W. M. (2008). The politics of grade inflation: A case study. Change, 40, 32-37. Retrieved August 21, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Education Research Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=28070433&site=ehost-live

Are high school grades inflated? (2005). College Readiness: Issues in College Readiness. Retrieved August 28, 2010 from ACT website: http://209.235.214.158/research/policymakers/pdf/issues.pdf

Bracey, G. W. (1994). Grade inflation? Phi Delta Kappan, 76, 328. Retrieved August 22, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9412140670&site=ehost-live

Edwards, C. H. (2000). Grade inflation: The effects on educational quality and personal well being. Education, 120, 538. Retrieved August 22, 2010 from EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2990143&site=ehost-live

Erickson, J. A. (2011). How grading reform changed our school. Educational Leadership, 69, 66-70. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=66901503&site=ehost-live

Farran, S. (2009). Can high school grades be trusted? Maclean's, 122, 92-96. Retrieved August 22, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=45433818&site=ehost-live

Grade Inflation. (2000). Gifted Child Today, 23, 6. Retrieved August 22, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Education Research Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=3334927&site=ehost-live

Hall, R. A. (2012). A neglected reply to grade inflation in higher education. Global Education Journal, 2012, 144-165.Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=83529723&site=ehost-live

Hansen, E. J. (1998). Essential demographics of today's college students. AAHE Bulletin, 51.

Jewell, R., McPherson, M. A., & Tieslau, M. A. (2013). Whose fault is it? Assigning blame for grade inflation in higher education. Applied Economics, 45, 1185-1200.Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67750743&site=ehost-live

Lekholm, A. K. & Cliffordson, C. (2008). Discrepancies between school grades and test scores at individual and school level: Effects of gender and family background. Educational Research & Evaluation, 14, 181-199. Retrieved August 22, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=31583781&site=ehost-live

Pattison, E., Grodsky, E., & Muller, C. (2013). Is the sky falling? Grade inflation and the signaling power of grades. Educational Researcher, 42, 259-265. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=88902203&site=ehost-live

Walsh, P. (2010). Does competition among schools encourage grade inflation? Journal of School Choice, 4, 149-173.

Suggested Reading

Beaver, W. (1997, July). Declining college standards: It's not the courses, it's the grades. The College Board Review, 181, 2-7.

Bromley, D. G., Crow, M. L., & Gibson, M. S. (1978). Grade inflation: Trends, causes, and implications. Phi Delta Kappan, 59, 694-697.

Chan, W., Hao, L. & Suen, W. (2007). A signalling theory of grade inflation. International Economic Review, 48, 1065-1090.

Cohen, P. A. (1984). College grades and adult achievement: A research synthesis. Research in Higher Education, 20, 281-293.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Goldman, L. (1985). The betrayal of the gatekeepers: Grade inflation. The Journal of General Education, 37, 97-121.

Gose, B. (1997). Efforts to curb grade inflation get an F from many critics. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 43, A41-A42.

Kohn, A. (1992). No contest: The case against competition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Levine, A. (1994, January 19). To deflate grade inflation: Simplify system. Chronicle of Higher Education, 40, B3.

Ramirez, E. (2009, February 10). On Education: Study finds grade inflation at some Georgia high schools. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved August 28, 2010 from usnews.com: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2009/02/10/study-finds-grade-inflation-at-some-georgia-high-schools.html

Schneider, M., Teske, P., Marschall, M. & Roch, C. (1998). Shopping for schools: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed parent may be enough. American Journal of Political Science, 42, 764-793.

Sykes, C. (1995). Dumbing down our kids. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Zirkel, P. A. (2007). Much ado about a C? Phi Delta Kappan, 89, 318-319. Retrieved August 22, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27757639&site=ehost-live

Essay by Maureen McMahon, M.S.

Ms. McMahon has a Master's degree in Curriculum Development from the University at Albany and has worked in higher education for the past ten years. She is currently providing academic counseling for students in a small private institution in the Adirondacks. Ms. McMahon has taught developmental writing and English composition in the past and is currently teaching technical communication and first-year seminar in addition to her administrative position. She resides in upstate New York.