Grade inflation
February 22nd, 2007
Whenever you do something in the classroom with a performance increase in mind, you should try to measure its effect. Measuring is hard. Measuring the effectiveness of teaching and learning is very hard. But please, don’t you ever take seriously anyone claiming that something is working because grades have improved.
Case in point:
Today’s high school students are taking seemingly tougher courses and earning better grades, but their reading skills are not improving, according to the results of a national assessment released here today that cited grade inflation as a possible explanation.
From today’s New York Times, Grades Rise as Reading Skills Drop in H.S. Study.