Inflated GPAs: Killing U.S. competitive edge?
May 1, 2010 by Jacob HawleyPosted in: Academics, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Over the last 50 years, college GPAs have been trending upward. Who are the main offenders: public or private schools?
The national average of GPAs rose from 2.52 in the 1950s to about 3.11 in 2007, says a study examining historical data from the last 80 years. The 1950s is also when the private school students’ grades started rising higher than their public school equals in the 1950s.
The average GPA at private schools currently stands at 3.3, compared to 3.0 at public schools.
The study’s authors suggest these grading contrasts may explain why private school students are over-represented in top medical, law and business schools – admissions officers are attracted to the inflated grades.
Another finding of the study: Today’s science departments grade an average 0.4 points lower than humanities departments and 0.2 lower than social science departments.
The authors’ theory: Lower science grades discourage American students from studying such disciplines. This at least partially explains the United States’ lack of competitive edge in technology research and development.
Is there any chance students are just getting smarter? Or instructors are getting better at teaching? Share your theories in the comments section.
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May 5th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Don’t forget to factor in the requirements to get into private vs. public schools. I don’t doubt there’s been grade inflation, but I think you are missing some factors to be able to make a solid conclusion. You can’t assume that all other things are equal….
May 5th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Untenured instructors want to be retained and therefore avoid any complaints from their students. They could be lowering their standards to please their students. Adjunct instructors don’t get paid enough to put up with the hassle of a grade challenge, so they too may be lowering their standards to avoid problems with disgruntled students. Lots of college students think of themselvs as customers who PAID for their grade. Unfortunately, more and more administrators are running educational institutions, both private and public as if they are a business, the customer is always right. Add to that websites like Rate My Professor where students complain about professors who make them read the text, don’t let them use cell phones in class, expect them to be on time etc. and you have a generation of students who come to college underprepared, socially promoted and yet still expecting grades they did not earn. That’s a lot of pressure to withstand and unfortunately it has resulted in lower standards.
May 5th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
The Ivys are probably have the most egregious inflation. Over 60% of grades given at Brown are A’s, 35% B’s. Over 90% of Harvard biology majors graduate with honors. One might argue that these are superior students, but it is effectively double dipping. They already get addtional consideration for being at the Ivy, they should have the same bell shaped curve as other schools.
May 7th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Tenured professors want raises. Administration looks at student surveys of the class and if the students are not happy with grades, they rate the course low. Thus, administration has ready-made reason to give low raises. Happens all the time.