Professor develops Internet database on grade inflation

Academe, May/Jun 2003

Professor Develops Internet Database on Grade Inflation

A professor at Duke University has developed a Web site to track grade inflation . Both public and private institutions have witnessed considerable grade inflation over the last thirty-five years, says the professor, Stuart Rojstaczer, who admits that he inflates grades in his own courses. Rojstaczer, who dismisses arguments that attribute the increase in average grade-point averages to improvements in student quality over the years, says he believes that grade inflation has been caused mainly by the emergence of a "consumer-based culture" in higher education. "Students are paying more for a product every year, and increasingly they want and get the reward of a good grade for their purchase," he writes. Rojstaczer has collected data from dozens of institutions and charted the progress of mean grade-point averages over the years; users of the Web site are encouraged to submit verifiable data on grading trends from additional institutions.