Grade inflation - it hurts kids

Educators are under increasing pressure from parents to see that their grades - indicators of learning progress - reflect their child's efforts. But what happens when there is a disconnect between grades, and proficiency? Two things stand out in this article, Inflated Grades: What Happens When Report Cards Lie:

1. The grades being given are increasing over time. "High school grades are increasing, and they are increasing more rapidly at wealthy schools." A study put out several years ago by the U.S. Department of Education showed that between about 1990 and 2009, average high school GPA’s of graduates increased by .32 GPA points - a very sharp increase, and without any related increase in NAEP (benchmark) scores. "The fact that certain schools did not inflate grades while others did inflate grades meant that it has become difficult to interpret what getting an A grade really indicates." 
2. "The National Assessment on Educational Progress (NAEP) has shown that only about a third of high school seniors are academically prepared for higher education. This is in spite of the fact that some of these students have GPA’s that would indicate otherwise."

In other words, students and their parents are being deceived into believing they are prepared for higher education. Another indication - with which I have first-hand experience - is the fact that increasingly colleges are requiring entering freshman to take remedial courses to ensure they are ready for the higher levels of learning. Yes, parents, that means you will pay for non-credit courses that do not contribute toward a degree.

A consequence of grade inflation is that “…the kids are suffering because they fundamentally believe the signals that we as grownups are sending them about how ready they are (for college).” By contrast, please read this article, Patriot Perspective: The power of 'yet', by a Minnesota elementary principal. She reports the pride her students take by simply adding this word to the end of a sentence: "I can't do this (or, haven't learned it) - yet." That's a school that embraces learning first; a growth mindset - the belief that intelligence is something we can grow, and to embrace risk-taking and failures as an opportunity to learn.

We run the risk of confusing grades with learning; to focus on grades is to let the tail wag the dog. The point of grades is to help students and parents know what critical learning has not been achieved - yet. As schools move from away from a focus on grades through averaging and towards one of proficiency, we will all need to adjust our thinking from what we have experienced, to what will best prepare our students to thrive in a dynamic world.  

Contact me about receiving a copy of Solution Tree's bestseller, Grading From the Inside Out - Bringing Accuracy to Student Assessment Through a Standards-Based Mindset by: Tom Schimmer, or to work directly with Tom.