[1] Grade inflation is frequently discussed in relation to education in the United States, and to GCSEs and A levels in England and Wales.
It is also an issue in many other nations, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, South Korea, Japan, China and India.
[12] Main historical trends identified include: Until recently, the evidence for grade inflation in the US has been sparse, largely anecdotal, and sometimes even contradictory; firm data on this issue was not abundant, nor was it easily attainable or amenable for analysis.
Recent data leave little doubt that grades are rising at American colleges, universities and high schools.
[18] A 2021 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research has found a significant drop in completion rates between 1970 and 1990, particularly among male students.
The 2006–09 results also mark continued deflation from those reported a year ago, when A's accounted for 40.4% of undergraduate grades in the 2005–08 period.
Harvard graduate and professor Harvey Mansfield is a longtime vocal opponent of grade inflation at his alma mater.
[26] Some departments, however, are not adhering to such strict guidelines, as data from the UCB's Office of Student Research indicates that the average overall undergraduate GPA was about 3.25 in 2006.
Because of this, at Saint Anselm College, a curriculum committee was set up in 1980 to meet with the academic dean and review the grading policies on a monthly basis.
[30] The former president of the college, Father Jonathan DeFelice, is quoted as saying, "I cannot speak for everyone, but if I'm headed for the operating room, I will take the surgeon who earned his or her "A" the honest way," in support of Saint Anselm's stringent grading system.
[35] To clarify the grades on its graduates' transcripts, Reed College includes a card, the current edition of which reports that "The average GPA for all students in 2013–14 was 3.15 on a 4.00 scale.
[36] The number of students majoring in economics increased and other social sciences decreased though this may have been part of larger general trends at the time.
[39] A March 3, 2009, article in the same newspaper quoted Bill Hileman, a Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers staff representative, as saying, "The No.
Prior to 2008, high school students applying to UVic and UBC were required to write 4 provincial exams, including Grade 12 English.
Universities in central Canada do not require high school students to write provincial exams, and can offer early admission based on class marks alone.
A Vancouver high school principal criticized the change in requirements by charging that it would become difficult to detect grade inflation.
The British Columbia Teachers Federation supported the change because in the past some students avoided certain subjects for fear that poor marks on provincial exams would bring down their average.
[48] In the fall of 2009, Simon Fraser University (SFU) changed its requirements so that high school students only need to pass the English 12 provincial exam.
[49] As of 2007, 40% of Ontario high school graduates leave with A averages – 8 times as many as would be awarded in the traditional British system.
The Alberta Diploma exams are given in grade 12, covering core subjects such as biology, chemistry, English, math, physics and social studies.
It is also apparent that the inflated grades at Canadian universities are now taken for granted as normal, or as non-inflated, by many people, including professors who never knew the traditional system, have forgotten it, or are in denial".
In addition, it was found that a higher percentage of students received As and Bs and fewer got Cs, Ds and Fs.
In April 2012 Glenys Stacey, the chief executive of Ofqual, the UK public examinations regulator, acknowledged its presence and announced a series of measures to restrict further grade devaluation.
[52][53] Since the turn of the millennium the percentage of pupils obtaining 5 or more good GCSEs has increased by about 30%, while independent tests performed as part of the OECD PISA and IES TIMSS studies have reported Literacy, Maths and Science scores in England and Wales having fallen by about 6%, based on their own tests[54] In June 2012, The Telegraph[55] reported that teenagers' maths skills are no better than 30 years ago, despite soaring GCSE passes.
[56] The articles suggest rising GCSE scores owe more to 'teaching to the test' and grade inflation than to real gains in mathematical understanding.
The validity of this system was questioned in the early 1980s because, rather than reflecting a standard, norm referencing might have simply maintained a specific proportion of candidates at each grade.
The Students and Qualifiers data sets indicate that the percentage of "GOOD" first degree classifications have increased annually since 1995.
[83][84] Grade inflation in UK universities appears to be caused by administrators wishing to improve their league table standings, a desire to attract non-European students who can be charged full fees, academics who fear receiving unfavourable course evaluations from students, the breakdown of the external examiner system, and a growing indifference towards academic dishonesty and plagiarism.
[85][86] Note: The doubling of institutions and quadrupling of student numbers, following the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, makes any direct comparison of pre and post 1995 awards non trivial, if not meaningless.
CBSE called a meeting of all 40 school boards early in 2017 to urge them to discontinue “artificial spiking of marks”.