BY: Beanie Geoghegan
Grade inflation is real and becoming more prevalent across all levels of education. While education researchers like Adam Tyner and others have written about the harmful effects grade inflation can have on student learning, few people have examined the impact when the inflated grades are those associated with entire schools rather than individual students. It does happen and is a barrier to parents who are seeking the best fit for their child. One state has realized the problem and is taking bold steps to remove the barrier.
Grade inflation at the individual student level involves assigning higher grades than students earned or basing their grades on criteria that don’t accurately reflect what or if they’ve learned. There are a variety of reasons grade inflation occurs. Sometimes it is seen as a more compassionate or positive way of motivating students. Other times, higher grades are given because parents pressure the schools or teachers to alter them. Of course, the push for equity plays a role in the matter as well.
Whatever the reasons schools choose to inflate student grades the results are generally the same. Students develop a false sense of achievement. Parents acquire unrealistic expectations for their children. Teachers become increasingly frustrated as they are forced to compromise the truth to appease administrators and parents. And, the most harmful result is that problems or gaps in students’ learning and knowledge go undetected and therefore, unmitigated.
The same negative impacts of grade inflation for individual students apply to inflated “grades” for schools. Every state has an system that collects data and uses it to rate its public schools. Some states and districts use an accountability system with a grading scale where schools are assigned actual letter grades. Others use a color-coded performance rating system in which schools are rated red, yellow, orange, green, or blue. Regardless of the accountability system used, the system’s accuracy is what matters.
When Dr. Cade Brumley accepted the role of State Superintendent in Louisiana, he knew significant changes were needed to ensure families in his state had access to reliable information when choosing the best learning environment for their children. This meant exposing and facing the harsh realities of the “grade inflation” of schools that had been prevalent before he stepped into the role. While it may have felt like “ripping the band-aid off” at times, he knew it was a necessary step to restoring accountability and excellence to education in The Pelican State.
Just as no parent wants to hear that the grades on their child’s report card are disguising the fact that their child is not fully proficient in reading, it can be tough for teachers and administrators to come to terms with the fact that the ‘A’ their “school report card” shows fails to consider that the majority of their students are not proficient in reading. Neither of those truths is comfortable or easy to digest, but they are necessary if parents and schools truly care about the academic success of their students.
Grade inflation, at any level, temporarily pacifies parents and the public while perpetuating academic needs and discrepancies that can negatively impact students forever. Honest and transparent accountability systems are necessary, not just at the classroom level, but at the district and state levels too. It’s the only way parents can truly make informed decisions for their children and education leaders can make wise policy decisions for all the students they serve.
State education leaders would be wise to re-examine their school accountability systems to determine if they provide an honest picture of how well schools educate their students. If it isn’t, they should follow in the footsteps of the courageous education leaders in Louisiana, rip off the band-aid, and start the difficult, but necessary, process of providing families with the accurate information they need to ensure their children get the education they deserve.
