Emily Tan
Professor Jean
English 2400
September 18, 2017
The Effects of Grade Inflation
From Ivy League universities to community colleges, grade inflation has been on the rise over the past couple of decades. The most common given grade now is an A, compared to its previous grade being a C in the 1960’s. This should mean that students are studying harder and earning better grades, but what if that's not the case? Studies in 200 colleges have shown that approximately 77% of all grades are in the range of A’s and B’s, 42% of which are A’s. However, performance reports and standardized tests don’t reflect these high grades (Mansharami, 1). Studies have also shown that grade inflation is more likely to occur in private and four-year colleges than in public ones (Jaschik, 3). This increasing number of A’s sounds like a good thing for students, but its impact on society says otherwise.
Grades are being inflated for many reasons. According to Staples, editorial writer for the New York Times, “Individual professors inflate grades after consumer-conscious administrators hound them into it.” Professors also tend to be more lenient in hopes of receiving positive evaluations. These student evaluations are put into consideration when it comes to tenure and promotion decisions. Multiple negative evaluations can highly affect a professors career. Some students threaten part-time professors to raise their grades or even as far as to sue them if they didn’t do so. Professors may also inflate grades to prevent cancellation of poorly attended courses because easy grading attracts more students. Other professors inflate grades to save time or simply to avoid an argument with a student. There are professors who believe that they are helping students by giving out inflated grades. Ivy League Universities are faced with the pressure to give students a head start in competitive job markets.
Grade inflation appears to be more prevalent in private and in four-year colleges compared to public ones. The high prices of the private college tuitions make students believe that they are to be treated as consumers and therefore, deserve the grades they pay for. Students, as well as parents, are demanding for grades that reflect the money they put in. Yale, Harvard, and Princeton University are some of the many colleges that inflate their grades. The average GPA in Yale rose a significant amount over the past fifty years. According to PBS News, in 2012, 64% of all grades given in Yale were in the A range, compared to its 10% in 1963 (Mansharamani,1). That's a 54% increase in less than fifty years! Harvard University professors are also familiar with grade inflation. The Dean of Undergraduate Education stated “the median grade in, Harvard is an A- and the most common given grade is an A” (Slavov, 1). The percentage of A’s being given out at four-year colleges has increased 5-6% per decade and is now three times as high as it was in the 1960’s. The percentage of D and F grades have remained stable and the high percentage of A’s is caused by the decrease of B’s and C’s (Jaschik, 1).
Compared to students who attend private institutions, students who attend public colleges and community colleges are less likely to experience grade inflation. Inside Higher Ed writes that majority of these students come from a less wealthy family and therefore feel less entitled to higher grades. Although it's unlikely for grade inflation to occur at these schools, it still happens. “Community colleges rely on adjunct instructors who lack job security and aren’t confident in being tough graders” (Jaschik, 4). These professors may be pushed around and may cave in to handing out higher grades. Even though A’s are still the highest percentage of grades given out in public colleges, the percentage has decreased over time. D and F grades on the other hand have slightly increased (Jaschik, 1).
Grade inflation has it’s effects on society. It affects more than just students and professors; employers and graduate schools are also being affected. Unlike economic inflation, where prices can increase higher and higher, grade inflation is a little different. US News gives the example, “grades are capped at A or an A+, grade inflation results in a greater concentration of students at the top of the distribution.Without grade inflation, a truly outstanding student might be awarded an A, while a very good student might receive a B+. With the grade inflation, both students receive A’s, making it harder for employers and graduate schools to differentiate them” (Slavov, 2). Both students have the same grade even though one student is superior to the other.
Students are being rewarded with grades that they don’t deserve. Standardized test scores and graduate literacy have not improved meaning the grades that these students are receiving do not reflect the performance reports. The grade of an A is losing its value. What happens to the students who truly deserved and earned these A’s? How does this affect them? These “A” students are being averaged out and grouped into a clique of ordinary students. They no longer stand out and employers can no longer differentiate them from the rest of the students. Without meaningful grading, students lose motivation and knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. Grade leniency reduces the students efforts.
To combat this situation, “Wellesley College implemented a policy setting a B+ or lower as the mean grade in many classes” (PBS,1). The average GPA decreased from 3.55 to 3.28 over a couple years but has increased since then. Princeton University also tried to solve this issue by urging its departments to award A’s for no more than 35% of course grades but by 2014, they ended this policy because it caused unnecessary stress among students. Some universities, including Cornell, experimented with publishing information about grade distributions either online or on student transcripts. This strategy was supposed to make employers aware that grades in certain courses were inflated. The inflated grades may cause employers to be less impressed with students who earned those grades. They hoped that it would influence students to take harder courses, motivating professors to provide these harder graded courses. This strategy backfired in Cornell. Instead of motivating students to enroll in tougher courses, it helped them identify classes with lenient grading.
Economist Tim Harford proposed another way to solve grade inflation; “You could fix grade inflation by treating it like price inflation. Uncap the grades so that it decompresses the grades at the top. Employers and graduate schools could deflate grades the same way that economist decrease prices in order to compare them over time” (Staples, 3) Another way to stop inflation is to change the system in which GPAs are calculated. Valen Johnson, a professor in Duke University suggests that instead of giving all courses equal weight, rigorously courses like math and science would weigh in higher. This would reward students who go for harder courses instead of ones who gravitate towards generously graded courses.
Although grade inflation exists in some colleges, it’s not seen in all. As a college student who has experienced two separate colleges, a four-year as well as a community college, both schools seem to grade fairly. Grades are given respectively to the work one puts in. If students put in the effort and the hard work, they should get a good grade in return. If the student slacks off and tries to take the easiest way out, their grade will reflect that.
In my personal experience, I have never passed a class that I didn’t deserve. I’ve never actually received an A to any of the classes I’ve taken no matter how much work and effort I put in, probably because I didn’t deserve it. From my perspective, I don’t believe that grade inflation occurs in the colleges I’ve been in. As a student, I would not want grade inflation to be implemented in my school. I feel as if community colleges are already looked down upon so academic rigor is one thing I’d like for it to keep. I personally would not want family or employers thinking that the only reason I get good grades is that professors “shower” the students with them. It’s hard to be proud of something that I didn't earn or work hard for. Inflated grades would have less meaning and impact on my academic report. Life is about making mistakes and learning from them. I would want to know what my strengths and weaknesses are and how I could improve them. Giving me an A that I didn’t earn wouldn’t do me any favors. Staples refers to these grades as “counterfeit excellence” and I agree with him.