Grade inflation is highly prevalent at many top higher education institutions, including the University, according to two decades of data recently cited by a retired Duke University professor.
Stuart Rojstaczer said his studies show that the average GPA among students at public colleges and universities has risen from 2.85 in 1991 to 3.01 in 2007. He also noted that the average GPA among students at private colleges and universities has risen from 3.09 in 1991 to 3.30 in 2007. Rojstaczer attributed the increase in GPA to grade inflation rather than an increase in student quality.
According to Rojstaczer’s data, the University’s average GPA has increased less than GPAs from other public colleges and universities, but has still risen in recent years. The data shows that the University’s average GPA of 3.213 in 2006 — up from 3.06 in 1991 — was still higher than the national average GPA of 3.01.
He said the sole reason for the rise in GPA is grade inflation, which occurs when professors grade students in a way that is not representative of their performances in class. Professors artificially boost students’ marks by grading assignments less rigorously, providing them with added padding for their grade point averages, Rojstaczer said.
Though he admits he has no concrete data to prove what causes grade inflation, he said the root cause may be some teachers’ sympathy toward students.
Faculty “wish that students do well and get good jobs,” he said. As a result, professors “consciously or unconsciously want to confer benefits on their students” in the form of higher grades.
Rojstaczer also said he felt there was a “perception among faculty that grading easier will get them higher evaluations from students,” and therefore, they will be able to obtain tenure more easily, as student evaluations often weigh heavily on tenure decisions.
Some University faculty, however, said they do not believe grade inflation is exceedingly prevalent at the University. The department of Spanish, Italian and Portugese recently modified its grading scale to address the issue, citing a wide disparity between grades received in introductory and more advanced courses.
History department Chair Duane Osheim said though faculty in the history department have discussed the issue of grade inflation, they do not feel it is a significant issue at the University and have not taken any steps to try to curb its influence. Osheim said grade inflation is often a difficult trend to identify because “grades will vary depending on a whole variety of things.”
Economics department Chair William Johnson agreed with Osheim’s assessment that grade inflation was not a widespread issue across University departments.
“My sense is that there hasn’t been grade inflation,” Johnson said. “It’s not something that we really noticed or worried about.”
On his Web site, gradeinlfation.com, Rojstaczer counters other studies that have tried linking GPA increase to an increase in student quality through improved SAT or ACT scores. He states that the College Board, the organization that administers both tests, cannot show whether high SAT or ACT scores are accurate indicators of college GPAs.
Third-year College student Yvonne Tinsley said she believed grade inflation was “an issue in the first- and second-year [classes], but once students declare their major, the classes start to get a lot tougher.”
Tinsley also said she felt that grade inflation was less of a problem at University compared to other higher education institutions, noting that she believes that most professors refuse to give students higher marks than they deserve.
Rojstaczer sees grade inflation as a pressing issue at colleges and universities because it “affects the motivational level of a significant percentage of the student body,” he said. “The intellectual level of the class diminishes if students know they can go through the motions with minimum effort.”
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