The Causes And Effects Of Grade Inflation In Education

Have you ever passed a class that you thought you were going to fail? This happens because of a huge thing called “grade inflation”. Grade inflation is when a teacher boosts a student’s grade. A student can get their grade boosted by participating during class, and acting like they’re trying in class by asking questions. I have personally experienced grade inflation. In one of my classes from high school, I believe the teacher graded on a curve. One day in this class he was updating everyone 's grades and he showed the grades (as he updated) on the smartboard. As he would change someone else’s grades I noticed my percent was actually rising. Someone in the class yelled “Hey my grade is rising” and he said “oh yea, watch again” and then he said how many people notice their grade go up. Everyone in the class had raised their hand. By

Colleges have been boosting grades to make the school look better in many different ways. As an example, “A recent study of 200 colleges and universities found that more than 40 percent of all grades awarded were in the A range” (Slavov). Colleges raise the grades of every student to make the college look better on a national ranking. Colleges love omit to say that they are one of the best colleges to attend. Seeing a college with A ranting will make people want to apply to that college. Next, many schools give their students higher ranking grades then the grades they deserve. “A” grades are the number one grades given out in American schools. For instance, “Most recently, about 43 percent of all letter grades given were A’s, an increase of 28 percentage points since 1960 and 12 percentage points since 1988” (Rampell). The amount of A grades have been increasing for decades. Schools will do anything to make their institution look better. Even if it means making students less prepared for jobs in the future. These schools love being able to say that they are an A