Herron 1

Haley Herron
English 111
15 December 2016
Deborah Erskine
Grade Inflation: Helpful or Harmful?
Grade inflation, does it help or hurt students? In recent studies, students grades have
been significantly increasing, as well as their GPAs, however, their academic achievements and
test scores have remained stagnant or even go down. Are teachers really giving the grades
students actually deserve or are they giving them grades in hopes of creating a better reputation
for themselves as well as their school. The quality of learning declines the moment grades are
introduced. Nowadays grades dont show how well a student retains knowledge. In fact, for most
teachers its too difficult to tell the difference between a B and an A. Students know that they
could give minimal amount of effort and still receive the same grade as if they put in 100%
effort. By giving students grades they dont deserve they are receiving a false sense of
knowledge. Although grade inflation may be harmful, it is also helpful in some ways. With
increasing grades those schools tend to receive more money for their success, as well as make
the institution look better. By creating a better reputation students and their families would be
more interested in going there. With grade inflation we are able to increase the countries GPA,
giving students a better chance to get into college, however, with increasing GPA's we aren't
helping students to achieve full potential in their future.
When grades and GPAs increase, both students and teachers believe their test scores will
increase as well. A recent study showed that, students entered with test scores four to five years
below grade level in reading and writing. Even the best students often had poor skills (It takes

Herron 2

more than teachers to raise standards). This shows that even the students who receive the best
grades, an A, are not able to handle college courses because they have poor skills. They had poor
skills because they were constantly being given an A grade and never had to work as hard to
actually earn it. When students bring these poor skills to college an increase in failures and need
for remediation will occur. This may lead to colleges now having to spend more money to get
tutors, or students would just dropout all together. When students dropout they have wasted
large amounts of money on tuition and have now taken spots away from other kids who could
have possibly done better than they would have. If students were given the grades they actually
deserved on assignments they would work harder to get a better grade and have better skills
overall in order to pass or be ready for college courses. Although, students are getting higher
grades in the classroom, their test scores are not reflecting the knowledge we believe them to
have based on grades and increased GPAs.
One study showed that, It Takes A Village Academy in Brooklyn got an A and scored
98.7 out of 100, the highest point of all, even though a mere 12 percent of graduates were ready
for college (no readin or rightin crazy High School grades). When graduates arent ready for
college they begin to not care and fail the course or just drop out of college. Again this wastes
their money and takes spots away from more potential candidates. If they arent ready for
college, whos to say they are even ready for a real job in the world. Also, with only a high
school diploma it will be hard for them to get a decent job that will pay well in order to support a
family. This then means taxpayers may have to pay even more due to unprepared students. This
all could have been avoided if grade inflation wasn't such a problem and students were more
prepared.

Herron 3

Most signs lead to grade inflation being harmful for students, however, there are many
ways grade inflation is helpful for students as well. The whole idea of grades is to help colleges
differentiate between great students and average students. With grade inflation students are
able to receive the higher grades which in turn will help them have a better chance of getting into
college. College can be very competitive so anything to help someone get in is very helpful, for
example, increased grades. Not only do students have a better chance of getting into college, but
the schools that are receiving the better grades will have greater chances in receiving more
money from the city to help increase education. This in turn gives students better learning
opportunities as well as a better learning environment.
If a student receives high grades in a class, but when it comes to the tests does terrible,
theyre confused as to what the problem is. Of course a teacher should want their students to do
well in class, however, they should give the student the chance to earn the grade rather than
being lenient with their grading. A study showed that, the National Assessment of Educational
Progress found that the reading skills of 12th graders tested in 2005 were significantly worse than
those of students in 1992. At the same time, however, grade-point averages have risen since
1990 (Jean A13). When grades are rising, but test scores are remaining stagnant or even
dropping there becomes an issue. Teachers should be challenging the students and preparing
them for more difficult tasks that would be presented in college. By doing this we are increasing
their chances of succeeding. Grade inflation not only constitutes false promises to students,
whose work is average or inferior, but it also demeans the accomplishments of students who
truly excel. If the student is given a false sense of knowledge of how well they truly perform in a
particular class, they will do very poorly in college and wont truly meet their full potential.

Herron 4

If giving students higher grades means the school gets more money, why wouldnt a
teacher be more lenient and give everyone an A. When the school gets more money they have the
option to use it for better and more supplies to help the students excel in their work and truly
succeed. More than 1,000 schools statewide earned the school recognition money with excellent
or improved test scores. Schools that rated an A grade from the state automatically qualified.
Schools that improved one or more letter grade also received money (Hegarty 13). This may
look like an excellent reason to give students better grades, however, that money can potentially
be used in the wrong way. The money earned from the students getting better grades could be
used as teacher bonuses. That means the teachers would be giving students grades, that wont
help for their preparedness for college, only so they could receive more money. Instead of
helping the students they would be using them. Students then again wouldnt be prepared for the
college courses in their future and increase percentages of college dropouts.
All in all grade inflation has both its pros and cons in society today, however, is it really
worth risking your preparedness for college in the future and increased money into the schools.
Or do students prefer to have the better grades based on how it affects their reputation and looks
in our society today. In the world we live in today we have placed so much pressure on students
and getting into college that grade inflation doesnt seem like such a bad thing after all.
Nevertheless, students will potentially suffer greatly from the consequences of having an easy
high school career. The real question is how you will let this affect yourself and your future. Will
you fall behind in college because of grade inflation or will you use this opportunity of receiving
outstanding grades and getting into college to have a successful future.