Tag Archives: Grade inflation

Are ‘top scholar’ students really so remarkable — or are teachers inflating their grades?

Are ‘top scholar’ students really so remarkable — or are teachers inflating their grades?

Schools in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are “handing out higher marks than ever before.” This is according to a recent Toronto Star investigation into grade inflation. It asked: “Is runaway grade inflation holding top students back and setting others up to fail?” The Star found that data indicate “Grade 12 averages are on a steady slope upwards and […] … learn more→

GCSE and A-level results have seen record grade inflation – here’s why that doesn’t matter

GCSE and A-level results have seen record grade inflation – here’s why that doesn’t matter

Exam results are upon us. After the 2020 debacle which saw exams cancelled due to COVID and the first set of algorithm-generated results quickly overturned following complaints of unfairness, what teachers and young people really needed in 2021 was confidence in the grading system. The process for awarding marks was duly announced in March. And this time, as Education […] … learn more→

US private schools often inflate student grades. This could happen in Australia if we cancel year 12 exams

US private schools often inflate student grades. This could happen in Australia if we cancel year 12 exams

The unfolding COVID-19 situation has brought many changes to school education. NAPLAN tests have been cancelled for 2020 and most children are learning online. Education minister Dan Tehan is meeting with the states on what to do with year 12 exams and criteria for university entry. One option flagged is for universities to look at a mixture of students’ […] … learn more→

Does it matter if more and more students are getting firsts?

Does it matter if more and more students are getting firsts?

The Times of London recently predicted that, on current trends, all students at some British universities will obtain first-class degrees by the end of this new decade. The 2:2 will become extinct across the whole sector by 2033. And in 38 years’ time we will get to the point where all students receive firsts. There are few topics […] … learn more→

Academics pressured to bump up grades

Academics pressured to bump up grades

Higher Education really is strange when you start to look at the big picture. Educators have almost no influence on what goes on. Instead, ridiculously powerful, non-education, administrators have taken over our campuses. What are the results? A quick summary: 1) We all know standards have been annihilated to the point that many college courses […] … learn more→

What’s at stake with grade inflation?

Truth, we’re told, is the first casualty of war. But as I hunker in my office bunker, the dull thud of history term papers landing on my desk, columns of sleep-deprived and anxiety-ridden students trudging past the door, I’m convinced that truth is also the first casualty of undergraduate paper writing. It is not only […] … learn more→

Is grade integrity a fairness issue?

A few weeks ago I received a survey invitation through an association listserve asking for information on faculty experiences with and responses to student requests for special treatment. Beyond a raw request for a grade change, many other types of request would affect grades: requests for extra credit, do-overs, late submissions, and so on that […] … learn more→

To stop grade inflation, just stop inflating grades

Grade inflation in higher education is a much-talked-about problem. Having been in academe for 13 years as an instructor and now as an administrator, I have heard nearly all my past and present colleagues, as well as many of the instructors who teach at my institution, complain about it. Most (dare I say all?) of […] … learn more→