cawacko
Well-known member
Grade inflation started well before the pandemic but it looks like it's only picked up since. I don't know what it was like when Boomers were in school but when I was in high school I can remember a kid or two getting above a 4.0 but that was it. Today kids regularly get well above 4.0's, many of them. Are kids really that much smarter today? Of course not. It's still eye opening to see these 'SC alum talk about their kids with 4.2 - 4.4 GPA's and great test scores getting turned down by multiple schools. It's just a different world (when it comes to grading).
Teachers’ grading practices have changed and students’ grades have drifted up in recent years, a pandemic-era legacy that is being met with mixed reaction from educators across the country.
Dating back to 2020, when the pandemic upended American education overnight, many schools have adopted a more lenient approach to grading. Some eliminated zeros or removed penalties for late work. Many teachers report “giving grace” to struggling students. Others say they have felt pressure from administrators to limit failure rates.
Higher grades have come even as students’ test scores and attendance rates have dropped.
A study in Washington state found that in the 2021-22 school year, high-school grades were at or above levels seen before the pandemic. A national analysis of the class of 2022 found that among students who took the ACT, high-school grades had risen, even as ACT scores had dipped.
It is a trend that has sparked a debate among educators. Some see a lowering of standards, while others see a reasonable response to postpandemic challenges. And many teachers see both sides.
“We kept letting the line go further and further, and now we’ve got to pull it back in,” said Nicholas Ferroni, a high-school history teacher in New Jersey. He has tightened his grading practices this year, “but there is that level of empathy and compassion that I definitely showed a lot more of during the pandemic, which still trickles into my teaching and my methods today.”
After school buildings shut down in March of 2020, failing grades nearly vanished. Teachers and policymakers said this was a necessary response to pandemic chaos and the struggle of some students to access online instruction.
Since then, grading practices haven’t fully returned to normal, many teachers say.
Henry McCain, who taught high-school geometry in New Mexico last school year, said he felt the need to adjust grading policies because students were so far behind. He passed students so long as they tried, even if they hadn’t mastered the material. Now he teaches history to students in South Carolina virtually. An aide marks students’ work, and McCain says grades still tend to be elevated.
“You have to continue to give them a little bit of grace,” he said. “You keep punishing people, they’re not going to be successful.”
Many students have been dealing with a string of family challenges—such as caring for ill relatives or younger siblings—that have gotten in the way of schoolwork. Student behavior has deteriorated, many teachers said, and academic challenges expanded. Some teachers said holding students to an old standard isn’t fair and would destroy students’ motivation.
And many school systems have enacted new policies that continue to affect students’ grades.
One increasingly common approach is a minimum grade—often 50%—for each assignment, even if a student doesn’t turn it in. Some educators say that a handful of zeros can decimate students’ grades and cause them to disengage from class.
“It helps provide a little more motivation for students who needed more encouragement,” said Larry Ferlazzo, a high-school teacher in Sacramento, Calif., where the school district adopted a no-zeros policy in 2020.
High-school grades have been rising for at least two decades. A U.S. Department of Education study found that the typical GPA of a high-school graduate had risen from 2.7 (a C+) in 1990 to 3.1 (over a B) in 2019. Teachers cite pressure from parents and administrators, as well as the heightened competitiveness of college admissions.
But the recent divergence between grades and test scores has vexed education advocates. “Grades are sending signals that students are doing well at a time when there is serious reason for concern,” said a recent report released by three education groups.
Ian Fritz, a social-studies teacher at a charter school in West Virginia, said that he has made a point to hold the line on grading standards. “I don’t change my grading. I expect them to come up to my level,” he said. “And they do.”
Research has found that students tend to learn more in classes with teachers who are tougher graders.
Troy Olsen, a high-school English teacher in Arlington, Va., said he has seen standards slide since the district adopted a new approach known as equitable grading, in which students are evaluated on end of course mastery of content. Advocates contend that this approach is fairer than traditional grading, which typically relies on a blend of homework, classwork and tests.
Under Arlington’s policy, teachers are limited in docking late work and must allow test retakes. This has led students to procrastinate on assignments, Olsen said, and teachers to cut back on course content because they have to return to certain topics. The result is higher grades but less learning, he said.
“I can’t hold students accountable,” he said. “Then they graduate high school not really having learned certain things.”
Sarah Putnam, Arlington’s executive director for curriculum and instruction, said the new approach leads to more accurate grades. “A piece of work that is penalized because of the timing of the work no longer represents what the student knows about that content,” she said.
Putnam said that the district has already made some changes to the policy—including limiting retakes if students score above 80%—in response to teachers’ feedback.
Lisa Kieselbach, a sixth-grade teacher in Fargo, N.D., said her school’s move to mastery-based grading has helped teachers focus on specific skills where students are struggling.
“I’ve had to adjust my teaching,” she said. “But I personally do not feel like I have lowered the rigor.”
Test Scores Down, GPAs Up: The New Angst Over Grade Inflation
Teachers say they have to balance ‘giving grace’ to struggling students with maintaining high expectations
Teachers’ grading practices have changed and students’ grades have drifted up in recent years, a pandemic-era legacy that is being met with mixed reaction from educators across the country.
Dating back to 2020, when the pandemic upended American education overnight, many schools have adopted a more lenient approach to grading. Some eliminated zeros or removed penalties for late work. Many teachers report “giving grace” to struggling students. Others say they have felt pressure from administrators to limit failure rates.
Higher grades have come even as students’ test scores and attendance rates have dropped.
A study in Washington state found that in the 2021-22 school year, high-school grades were at or above levels seen before the pandemic. A national analysis of the class of 2022 found that among students who took the ACT, high-school grades had risen, even as ACT scores had dipped.
It is a trend that has sparked a debate among educators. Some see a lowering of standards, while others see a reasonable response to postpandemic challenges. And many teachers see both sides.
“We kept letting the line go further and further, and now we’ve got to pull it back in,” said Nicholas Ferroni, a high-school history teacher in New Jersey. He has tightened his grading practices this year, “but there is that level of empathy and compassion that I definitely showed a lot more of during the pandemic, which still trickles into my teaching and my methods today.”
After school buildings shut down in March of 2020, failing grades nearly vanished. Teachers and policymakers said this was a necessary response to pandemic chaos and the struggle of some students to access online instruction.
Since then, grading practices haven’t fully returned to normal, many teachers say.
Henry McCain, who taught high-school geometry in New Mexico last school year, said he felt the need to adjust grading policies because students were so far behind. He passed students so long as they tried, even if they hadn’t mastered the material. Now he teaches history to students in South Carolina virtually. An aide marks students’ work, and McCain says grades still tend to be elevated.
“You have to continue to give them a little bit of grace,” he said. “You keep punishing people, they’re not going to be successful.”
Many students have been dealing with a string of family challenges—such as caring for ill relatives or younger siblings—that have gotten in the way of schoolwork. Student behavior has deteriorated, many teachers said, and academic challenges expanded. Some teachers said holding students to an old standard isn’t fair and would destroy students’ motivation.
And many school systems have enacted new policies that continue to affect students’ grades.
One increasingly common approach is a minimum grade—often 50%—for each assignment, even if a student doesn’t turn it in. Some educators say that a handful of zeros can decimate students’ grades and cause them to disengage from class.
“It helps provide a little more motivation for students who needed more encouragement,” said Larry Ferlazzo, a high-school teacher in Sacramento, Calif., where the school district adopted a no-zeros policy in 2020.
High-school grades have been rising for at least two decades. A U.S. Department of Education study found that the typical GPA of a high-school graduate had risen from 2.7 (a C+) in 1990 to 3.1 (over a B) in 2019. Teachers cite pressure from parents and administrators, as well as the heightened competitiveness of college admissions.
But the recent divergence between grades and test scores has vexed education advocates. “Grades are sending signals that students are doing well at a time when there is serious reason for concern,” said a recent report released by three education groups.
Recently some officials from highly selective colleges have cited concerns about grade inflation as a reason to reinstate standardized tests for admissions.Ian Fritz, a social-studies teacher at a charter school in West Virginia, said that he has made a point to hold the line on grading standards. “I don’t change my grading. I expect them to come up to my level,” he said. “And they do.”
Research has found that students tend to learn more in classes with teachers who are tougher graders.
Troy Olsen, a high-school English teacher in Arlington, Va., said he has seen standards slide since the district adopted a new approach known as equitable grading, in which students are evaluated on end of course mastery of content. Advocates contend that this approach is fairer than traditional grading, which typically relies on a blend of homework, classwork and tests.
Under Arlington’s policy, teachers are limited in docking late work and must allow test retakes. This has led students to procrastinate on assignments, Olsen said, and teachers to cut back on course content because they have to return to certain topics. The result is higher grades but less learning, he said.
“I can’t hold students accountable,” he said. “Then they graduate high school not really having learned certain things.”
Sarah Putnam, Arlington’s executive director for curriculum and instruction, said the new approach leads to more accurate grades. “A piece of work that is penalized because of the timing of the work no longer represents what the student knows about that content,” she said.
Putnam said that the district has already made some changes to the policy—including limiting retakes if students score above 80%—in response to teachers’ feedback.
Lisa Kieselbach, a sixth-grade teacher in Fargo, N.D., said her school’s move to mastery-based grading has helped teachers focus on specific skills where students are struggling.
“I’ve had to adjust my teaching,” she said. “But I personally do not feel like I have lowered the rigor.”
