Grade Inflation Essay
Is Grade Inflation An Issue? Grade inflation is when instructors award higher academic grades for assignments to students who did not earn the grade they received. Grade inflation is an issue in the United States because students are graduating with grade point averages that they did not earn. While research paints a negative picture of what happens to students who fall behind in school, influencing policies and decisions that lead to grade inflation, the work force is demanding more of students coming out of school entering into professional careers. With increased pressure for student output, there remains a conflicting approach to preparing students well while maintaining a teacher's personal and professional livelihood. Evaluating how
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In each level, elementary, middle, and high schools inflate grades in an effort to keep students from giving up and also to keep students graduating on time. Research shows that if a student is retained one grade prior to 9th grade, they are 40-50 percent more likely to drop out (Robles- Pina and Kelley). In fact, high school drop-outs are five times more likely to have been retained in grade school. Due to the pressure to increase the high-school graduation rates, each school district and state sets minimum acceptable standards for passing course work/grade levels. North Carolina, for the 2015-16 school year, even changed the grading scale from seven points to ten points, making a 60 a passing grade in a high school course now. Dr. Heath Morrison, from Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, in a letter to NC Superintendents wrote, “The impact of a changing to a ten point scale could mean more students receiving As and Bs and becoming honor roll students. Graduation rates could improve. Students may qualify to enroll in Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment classes." Superintendents across the states supported this move, but teachers are conflicted. A student making a 60 in a math class is deemed by the grading policy prepared to be successful at the next level of mathematics, many times aided by an inflated exam score that may have helped them to
In each level, elementary, middle, and high schools inflate grades in an effort to keep students from giving up and also to keep students graduating on time. Research shows that if a student is retained one grade prior to 9th grade, they are 40-50 percent more likely to drop out (Robles- Pina and Kelley). In fact, high school drop-outs are five times more likely to have been retained in grade school. Due to the pressure to increase the high-school graduation rates, each school district and state sets minimum acceptable standards for passing course work/grade levels. North Carolina, for the 2015-16 school year, even changed the grading scale from seven points to ten points, making a 60 a passing grade in a high school course now. Dr. Heath Morrison, from Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, in a letter to NC Superintendents wrote, “The impact of a changing to a ten point scale could mean more students receiving As and Bs and becoming honor roll students. Graduation rates could improve. Students may qualify to enroll in Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment classes." Superintendents across the states supported this move, but teachers are conflicted. A student making a 60 in a math class is deemed by the grading policy prepared to be successful at the next level of mathematics, many times aided by an inflated exam score that may have helped them to