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Higher student grades a study in contrasts

BY LINDA J. SAX

Last January, UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) released the results of the Fall 2003 Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey. Conducted annually since 1966, it reports on the characteristics of full-time students entering U.S. colleges and universities for the first time. Questionnaires were completed by 389,338 freshmen from a national sample of 646 colleges and universities.

One of the most striking trends in the survey’s history is the soaring number of students who received 4.0 GPAs in high school, a phenomenon commonly described as “grade inflation.” In 2003, a record 46.6% earned “A” averages in high school, compared to a record low of 17.6% in 1968. Similarly, students reporting “C” grades or lower dropped to 5.1% from a record high of 23.1% in 1968.

Ironically, these record-setting grades coincide with declines in study time. In 2003, only 34% reported studying or doing homework six or more hours per week in their last year of high school, the second-lowest figure since that item was added to the survey in 1987, when 47% of students studied at least six hours weekly.

Are students today a higher-achieving group than their predecessors? Data from national assessments and standardized tests do suggest some recent improvements in students’ competencies, particularly in mathematics. But such increases are marginal compared to the sizable improvement in GPAs.

Higher grades may result, at least partly, from an increasingly competitive college admissions process that places a premium on grades. Students are filing more college applications than ever before: Nearly two-thirds of all entering freshmen applied to four or more colleges. And students may have become more savvy in their approach to coursework by finding shortcuts to better grades, such as practicing from prior tests and quizzes, seeking extra credit and becoming more assertive in contesting grades.

Another strategy for boosting GPAs is to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses, since many colleges add an extra point to grades earned in these courses. (A “B” grade earned in an AP course becomes an “A” when calculating high school GPA.) In fact, data from the College Board reveal that the number of students taking AP exams increased by a third over the past five years. Changing teacher attitudes also may be contributing to higher student grades. Well aware of their role in preparing students for college and concerned about boosting students’ self-esteem, teachers are increasingly pressured to give students the benefit of the doubt when assigning grades.

Whatever the reason behind grade escalation, its effect appears to be clear: Students have grown increasingly optimistic about their chances for academic success. Growing numbers of freshmen expect to earn at least a “B” average in college or to graduate college with honors. However, faculty don’t share this perspective. HERI’s latest national survey of faculty indicates that only one in three faculty believes that students are well prepared academically. Clearly, a large discrepancy exists between students’ and faculty’s perceptions of student preparedness. This discrepancy can create disillusionment as freshmen feel they are working harder than ever before, and faculty believe students are not working hard enough.

An associate professor-in-residence, Sax is director of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. For details on the survey, see www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/heri.html.