Your Report Card is Wrong
Students all across the country are being lied to, and they are the ones paying the consequences.
The educational system is constantly evolving and growing. New opportunities to pursue personalized interests are available, technological advancements aid all aspects of life, and the importance of receiving a high school and college diploma in society has become necessary (with few exceptions) in order to succeed. These advancements are all contributing to the next generation of thinkers. However, a new concern is surfacing: grade inflation. While this might appear to be a trivial issue, it does more harm than many realize. In 2018, Joe Feldman, who has had over 20 years of experience in the education field, delivered his thoughts on the grading system and grade inflation in his book Grading for Equity. He points out that “Even when we increase students’ grades out of compassion or empathy, doing so misleads them and deprives them and their families of the dignity they have always deserved: knowing the truth about where they are in their learning, where they have to go, and that we’re here to support them” (Feldman). Grade inflation at first may appear to help students, but long term, it will only have negative effects. Transparency between teachers, parents, and students regarding where they are academically is for the student’s own benefit and will only help them in the future.
As a current high school student in Connecticut, I experienced the Covid-19 pandemic like many others, including online classes, Zoom calls, etc. Nothing could completely replace in-person learning, so across the country, schools were adapting their grading systems to try and benefit their students. Several schools shifted to a pass/fail option or did not give a student a grade below a C-. While many of these schools made policy changes to accommodate the turbulent times, mine did not. Instead, I had to maintain previous grades, be on time with deadlines, and continue my education journey without interruption. While there was some leniency because of the current events, our transcripts remained the same, and I finished freshman year with the knowledge I needed for my next steps.
At the time, I was not completely aware of how much of a positive impact this would have on me. When college admissions came rolling around the corner, I was able to give a complete transcript showing my improvement and success that directly reflected who I am. I had learned all the materials I needed and did not face any repercussions during the college process.
As we all know, the pandemic was unprecedented, and many decisions surrounding the education system were made rapidly. However, many of these changes were not made to the curriculum or content matter but to how students were being assessed on their knowledge. Now that we live in a (mostly) post-pandemic world, we can analyze the past year and evaluate the long-term effects of adjusted grading policies. Interestingly, new information has surfaced that suggests that grade inflation has been occurring for years.
A study by the ACT shows the differences in the national average composite ACT scores and the national average GPAs. From 2010–2021 GPAs across the country have increased from 3.22 to 3.39, suggesting that grade inflation has slowly increased in the years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. At first glance, this could be accredited to challenging classes weighted differently and AP courses. However, while grades increased, the national average ACT composite score decreased from 21.0 to 20.3 (Sanchez and Moore). This output was surprising because grades should also translate into test scores if grades were improving. Not only are GPA’s not accurately representing students, but from the information provided by ACT, overall comprehension and skills are decreasing. This is alarming because students are gaining a false sense of confidence that will lead to failure in their futures. Being told you know something that you, in reality, do not is dangerous and not just for ourselves but for the future of everyone. Incompetency should not be promoted, and for students, it is becoming uncontrollable to combat.
Giving students grades that do not accurately represent their knowledge or skill inaccurately represents them and limits their potential. Grades have a bad reputation, which is understandable at the end of a semester. However, it is also a way to see your knowledge of a topic. If the grading is inaccurate or inflated by attendance or participation points, what does that mean for coursework retention and academic ability? It could limit later academic successes and possible job opportunities, which are far more important than a grade received in high school.
Grade inflation and its impact on students’ futures is a real problem but also fixable. While it might be difficult on the individual level, it will be necessary for schools to notice their grade statistics and look for possible areas to improve. One source highlights the ideas from Michael Petrilli, a think tank owner, who describes, “The heart of the problem is that there aren’t any standards or guidelines for grading in most places, Teachers are on their own, and don’t get much, if any, guidance. Nor do they get much training in [education] schools.” (Jacobson). Essentially, schools must set baselines for grading criteria and stick to them. These baselines will offer more transparency with students and hopefully turn the curve for grade inflation.
Another solution that has had promising results is standard-based grading systems. This solution measures students’ abilities on four levels instead of a 100-point, A-F letter-based system. The benefits have shown that students are focused more on the learning process rather than satisfaction from a letter (Jacobson). With the help of ACT, a study was done in the Wisconsin Pewaukee Public school district with a population of 3,000 students. The town switched to standard-based grading in 2015. Since then, the district’s chief academic officer compared test scores to grade trends and saw that whenever grade fluctuation occurred the ACT score corresponded accurately (Jacobson). This is just one example of how standard-based grading could be a possible solution for grade inflation and is already proven effective.
As students, our primary purpose is to learn and improve our skills to help us later in life. Currently, these skills are disguised as a letter with no long-term significance. Grade inflation is not a future problem but an issue happening as we speak. Without immediate action, generations of students will continue having false confidence and soon experience setbacks in other academic situations and future careers. Grade inflation is not an issue that started because of a new grading system. It is simply a byproduct of one that has been in use for too long. As the education system advances, other fields of academia need to as well. Whether this is seen in a standard-based grading plan or a new idea altogether, thinking outside of the box will be critical for change to happen.
As a student preparing for my next steps, I am worried about how this issue will continue to affect my life. Am I being told the truth? Do my grades accurately represent me? All of these questions flow throughout my mind because my future and everyone’s future is important, not just individually but for the competence of the world. In order to know where I need improvement I deserve transparency and accurate, useful feedback.
Works Cited
Bar, Talia, et al. “Putting Grades in Context.” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 30, no. 2, 2012, pp. 445–78. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/66359. Accessed 12 Dec. 2022.
Boivin, Benjamin. “Lessons learned from the switch to online learning.” 18 Sept. 2020. KEYSTONE Education Group, Sept. 2020, www.keg.com/news/lessons-learned-from-the-switch-to-online-learning. Accessed 17 Jan. 2023.
Bouchrika, Imed. “Standards-Based Grading: Definition, Benefits & Comparison With Traditional Grading.” Research.com, 26 Sept. 2022, research.com/education/standards-based-grading. Accessed 17 Jan. 2023.
Feldman, Joe. Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, Corwin, a SAGE Company, 2019.
Hess, Frederick. “High School Grade Inflation Is A Problem. Getting Rid Of The SAT Would Make It Worse.” forbes.com, Forbes, inc, 30 Mar. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/frederickhess/2022/03/30/high-school-grade-inflation-is-a-problem-getting-rid-of-the-sat-would-make-it-worse/?sh=7c2b8885ae7a. Accessed 17 Jan. 2023.
Jacobson, Linda. “Grade Inflation ‘Persistent, Systemic’ Even Prior to Pandemic, ACT Study Finds.” The 74, 2023 The 74 Media, May 2022, www.the74million.org/article/grade-inflation-persistent-systemic-even-prior-to-pandemic-act-study-finds/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2023.
Marcus, Jon. “Pass/fail grades may help students during the COVID-19 crisis, but could cost them later.” pbs.org, NewsHour Productions, 7 Apr. 2020, www.pbs.org/newshour/education/pass-fail-grades-may-help-students-during-the-covid-19-crisis-but-could-cost-them-later. Accessed 17 Jan. 2023.
Sanchez, Edgar I., and Raeal Moore. “Grade Inflation Continues to Grow in the Past Decade.” ACT.org, ACT, May 2022, www.act.org/content/dam/act/secured/documents/pdfs/Grade-Inflation-Continues-to-Grow-in-the-Past-Decade-Final-Accessible.pdf. Accessed 17 Jan. 2023.
“2019 NAEP High School Transcript Study (HSTS) Results.” nationsreportcard.gov, The Nations Report Card, www.nationsreportcard.gov/hstsreport/#home_highlights. Accessed 17 Jan. 2023.
