You might think that if the number of students with A averages has increased by almost 10%, students are getting smarter.
However, this is not exactly the case. Studies from the American College Testing (ACT) website indicate that grade inflation is the culprit for this seeming improvement, with GPAs increasing from 3.17 to 3.36 since 2010, and students with A averages went from 38.9% in 1998 to 47% in 2016, according to Inside Higher Education. However, other benchmarks portray a different picture of student intelligence.
The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and ACT were first implemented in the early to mid-20th century and have long been used to measure student aptitude; however, despite these increases in GPA and grades, average SAT and ACT scores have decreased. According to CollegeBoard, in 2023, the average SAT score declined from 1050 for the class of 2022 to 1028, and the ACT website shared that scores dropped 0.3 points from 2022.
There are arguments that SAT and ACT scores do not entirely reflect student intelligence because some can afford to pay for more tutoring resources than others. However, these tests are still a very reliable benchmark, as they are unaffected by different grading policies and teacher decisions at high schools nationwide.
The increase in grade inflation despite tests indicating student achievement is not improving is thus a problematic trend that needs to be addressed, especially because of its future implications.
If many students are solely focused on achieving a particular grade, not necessarily learning and retaining information, many will employ any available tactics to accomplish this. The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) platforms like ChatGPT has made cheating significantly more accessible, and even with a myriad of AI checkers, teachers cannot monitor and catch all usage.
As such, some students can get away with doing less work and still obtaining high grades, but they are not prepared for more challenging coursework. Giving more students A’s when the work does not necessarily merit this grade is detrimental to their future preparedness, particularly in college.
Studies have shown that students are less prepared for college than previous generations, with less than 35% meeting all four English, reading, math, and science college readiness benchmarks, according to EducationWeek.
These systems in high schools must change to ensure that students are prepared for college and future jobs.
