An Assessment of Grade Inflation in Higher Education

Online Submission, 2005

ED491043 - An Exploratory Examination of Grade Inflation at The University of Georgia.

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2014

2012

Grades are the fundamental currency of our educational system; they incentivize student performance and academic behavior, and signal quality of student academic achievement to parents, employers, postsecondary gatekeepers, and students themselves. Grade inflation compromises the value of grades and undermines their capacity to achieve the functions for which they are intended. I challenge the 'increases in grade point average' definition of grade inflation employed by critics and argue that grade inflation must be understood in terms of the signaling power of grades. Analyzing data from four nationally representative samples of high school students, I find that in the decades following 1972: (a) grades have risen at high schools and dropped at four-year colleges, in general, and selective four-year institutions, in particular; and (b) the signaling power of grades has attenuated little, if at all. I conclude that the concerns of critics who warn of rampant grade inflation are misplaced. Grades at secondary and postsecondary institutions are just as meaningful now as they were four decades ago.

This study uses a rich longitudinal data-set of 13,202 full-time students belonging to 11 cohorts over 22 consecutive semesters (Fall 1995 to Spring 2006) to model the determinants of the grade inflation rates prevailing at the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón. The following new interesting findings are reported: (1) Estimated rates vary significantly among and within the academic programs, implying grade divergence, depending on the time reference used: cohort time dummies or semesters since admission to the institution. (2) The rates are significantly related to the proportions of female students, students who switch from their original academic programs, and students from private schools. (3) Results suggest that, under determinate circumstances, average and low-quality students consider higher grades as normal goods; conversely, high-quality students consider them as inferior goods.

A critical reflection on the economic literature concerning grade inflation, especially in the Ivy League, followed by a comprehensive review of the most common justifications for this phenomenon, and finally, possible non-drastic measures that can be suitably implemented to mitigate its effects...

2009

This study examines the change in undergraduate term grade point average (GPA) for students at one large research university over a 20-year period. Results show that SAT scores, high school GPA, receipt of merit aid, gender, race, and major play a significant role in predicting term GPA. A decomposition of the net change in term GPA (assessing the effects of change in student demographics) indicates SAT scores, high school GPA, and the receipt of merit scholarship have the greatest impact on term GPA. Although evidence demonstrates that these factors influence the change in GPA over time, the results account for a relatively small proportion of the variance, indicating the likelihood that other factors not included in this study have a greater influence on student GPA.

College Teaching, 2004

The widespread acceptance of the phrase "grade inflation" poses a potentially damaging over statement in reference to higher education. Grades are at an all-time high, but a review of the literature demonstrates that the improvement is not incongruous with a rise in faculty development programs and increased varieties of student support services. Stu dents are not consumers who demand high grades from instructors in exchange for favorable teaching evaluations; instead, students aim to succeed through a communal effort to support their learning, and col leges and universities are rising to the challenge. The phrase "grade inflation" has become increasingly commonplace within the higher education lexicon throughout the past thirty years. The expression denotes "an increase in grade point average without a concomitant increase in achievement" (Potter and Nyman 2001, 9). Its connotation, howev er, poses an even harsher judgment of the quality of student learning in higher edu cation today. Some researchers have gone so far as to suggest that this trend gen uinely reflects "dumbing down the cur Elizabeth Boretz is the director of the honors program and study abroad at Eastern Oregon University, where she also is an associate professor of Spanish. riculum to focus on self-esteem goals" or that it is "tied to social and moral decline" (Eiszler 2002, 447; McSpirit 2000a, 104). The variety of grading practices across disciplines and institutions further com plicates the question of what, exactly, an A or B signifies. Faculty and students alike respond to trends by aiming to con form with norms as they perceive them: "An 'A' in an individual course is often

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Grade inflation, defined as the gradual upward trend in the mean GPA of undergraduate and graduate students over time without a corresponding increase in student effort or achievement, is a persistent problem on college campuses around the world. Academics fret that grade inflation can debase the currency of a University degree by creating a “Lake Wobegon Effect”1 where all students are regarded as above average. Few University students receive C’s anymore as the class averages steadily climb toward the A-B ranges. After a decade of upward creeping grades that followed the trend set by U.S. colleges and universities, one institution of higher education met the problem head on and has come up with suggestions to reverse the trend; many involving increased communication among departments and faculty. Early results have been encouraging and the AUC Case Study could stand as a model for other universities concerned with the impact of mass consumerism in academia. Using data collected over a 10-year period, 1993-2003, this analytical study, conducted by the University Senate’s Student Affairs Committee, examines grade levels, the effect of student evaluations on grade inflation, and compares different disciplines and departmental grading patterns with some surprising findings.

2004

Data showing an increase in grade point average of 0.41 over the past 30 years at the Georgia Institute of Technology were presented. The GPA increased for virtually all departments. Graduate school GPA’s also increased. Several unexpected factors were shown to influence grades. For example, Summer school grades were higher than for other terms. Possible causes and consequences of increasing GPA’s are reviewed as well as actions which may be warranted to permit return to a grading system that permits greater differentiation between students’ performance.

The authors review current and past practices of the grade inflation controversy and present ways to return to each institution’s established grading guidelines. Students are graded based on knowledge gathered. Certain faculty members use thorough evaluative methods, such as written and oral presentations, plus examinations. Others may require only midterm and final examinations; these latter are usually insufficient to measure learning/mastery of course objectives. Supporting this study are profiles from select universities: some have undertaken the grade inflation controversy academically; others have been profiled in the news. The model is provided to ensure that degree candidates are academic experts in their field, having earned the credential through rigorous study.

The media has recently exposed that grade inllation is a concern for higher education in North America. Grade inflation may be due to consumerism by universities that now compete for students. Keeping students happy (and paying) may have been emphasized more than learning. We review the literature on faculty evaluation and present a model that incorporates students" individual differences and grade inllation as sources of bias in teaching evaluations. To improve teaching effectiveness, and avoid consumerism in higher education, faeulty evaluations must begin to tocus on students and the reciprocal role ot grade inllation in teaching evaluation.

Grade Inflation occurs when there is an upward trend over a period of time in grades awarded to successive cohorts of students taking a given examination or set of examinations in the absence of a matching improvement in learning or achievement. This paper explores the consequences of this phenomenon that afflicts modern education.

Sociological Focus

This research develops a quantitative test for anecdotal, qualitative claims that, relative to more traditional institutes of higher education, for-profit colleges and universities engage in systemic grade-inflation to retain students who may not be academically viable. This research used the National Center for Education Statistic's Beginning Postsecondary Survey 03/09 to test this claim by examining the correlation between indicators of academic preparedness and college academic performance for students at for-profit versus non-profit/public universities for students pursuing an associate's degree and bachelor's degree respectively. Findings demonstrate many pre-college indicators of academic preparedness such as high school GPA, SAT score, and demographic risk factors were strong predictors of success in higher education for students that attended a non-profit/public institution, while the same indicators had little or no predictive power among students at for-profit colleges or universities. These findings provide evidence that for-profit institutions actively engage in grade-inflation relative to more traditional institutions.

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development

The aim of the study is to identify a moderation method to effectively control and eliminate grade inflation. This retrospective study was undertaken to investigate the end semester outcomes of three consensus moderation processes namely, Group, Peer and Panel moderations implemented over three consecutive semesters. In Group moderation, group of faculty members of the college irrespective of their specialty were involved in moderating the question papers; whereas in Peer to peer moderation the choice of moderator, a subject expert, was by individual faculty members. A three member Panel constituted by the college implemented Panel moderation. Care was taken to ensure security of assessment instruments. A total of 64 courses' results were considered for the purpose of analysis; (19 courses from Spring 2014-15 semester; 20 courses from Fall 2015-16 semester and 25 courses from Spring 2015 16 semester). Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to compare between two groups. The result of Group moderation vs Panel moderation is significant at p = 0.02382. Similarly, the result of Peer to peer moderation vs Panel moderation showed the result is significant at p = 0.56192. Thus, it was shown that Group Moderation results were significantly inflated compared to the other two (p = 0.02382). Panel moderation process appears to give a better distribution of grades compared to the peer moderation processes. However, the Panel moderation has not yielded a satisfactory distribution of grades. Additional measures are required to bring in desired outcome of end semester examination results.

Grade inflation arises when there is an improving trend in examination grades over time without an accompanying improvement in learning or academic achievement. It is a phenomenon which has received widespread attention in the United States and in the UK but little to date in Ireland. This is one of a series of papers from the Network for Irish Educational Standards, researched and written to address the dearth of empirical information and informed analysis on the topic in this country.