Grade Inflation in High Schools
Setting Achievable Goals of Excellence For Every Student
Dec 18, 2008
Grade inflation results when students receive scores higher than their work deserves. This is caused by many factors that include how standards and rubrics are determined, as well as direct and indirect pressure from parents and administrators. Perhaps the greatest question is where and how standards are set, followed by the understanding of pedagogical philosophy: what proportion of students in advanced and upper level classes should receive an A?
Course Construction and General Rubrics
Many views exist regarding grade distribution based on how courses are constructed, taught, and assessed. The so-called “bell curve” seems to give the assurance that, given individual student differences as well as a host of external factors, grade distribution is fair. If a large percentage of the class, for example, fails a final exam, does that mean the material was not properly taught or that test questions were invalid?
In such cases, other factors may also add to the discussion: how many final exams were taken by each student during the same period? To what extent did students suffer end of semester “burn out” and “melt down?” In essence, the fairness factor is influenced by many elements that are often out of a teacher’s control. Additionally, wide variances in grade distribution can be anomalous.
There have been incidents, such as in North Carolina, were end of course Math tests for elementary school children were reconstructed in order to achieve higher overall scores. A 2008 study of the impact of teacher bonuses tied to student test performance, prepared by Jacob Vigdor of Duke University, addresses the pitfalls of teaching to the test.
Pressures to Award the Highest Grades
In regard to upper level classes such as Advanced Placement or Honors courses, teachers frequently face mounting pressure from parents and administrators to give students an A and to grade in such a way as to make this possible. In many instances, these students are predisposed to being “A” students by virtue of academic careers that consistently saw them placed in the highest level classes. Thus, it is not uncommon to hear such statements as, “My child has always been an A student,” or “My child has never made a B!”
Administrators, ever mindful of school image and statistical data favorable to published school outcomes and goals, indirectly pressure teachers “go easy” yet without compromising rigor or “watering down” challenging course requirements. This is a double standard. Too often, a myriad of outside factors impact such pressure. What kinds of colleges are students accepted to? How many students graduate with a near perfect GPA? Often, these factors are most evident in non-public high schools.
Curbing Grade Inflation is the Ultimate “Fairness”
Students are most benefited in terms of future success in college when assignments, assessments, and rubrics are based on a level of achievable excellence. Being successful in a particular class does not necessarily constitute an excellent performance. Grade inflation, by its very nature, inherently devalues accountability as well as course outcomes and objectives. True “fairness” should be based on an equitable opportunity to score the highest possible grade by every member of the class. If this is possible, then the rest is up to human nature.
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