There is widespread speculation (e.g., Johnson, 2021; Klinger et al., 2022; Mathews, 2022; Walker, 2021) and some evidence (e.g., Sanchez & Moore, 2022, Sanchez, 2023) that grading standards have changed over the course of the pandemic, making higher grades relatively easier to achieve and less reflective of objective measures of learning. It…

There is widespread speculation and some evidence that grades and grading standards changed during the pandemic, making higher grades relatively easier to achieve. In this paper we use longitudinal data from students in Washington State to investigate middle and high school grades in math, science, and English pre- and post-pandemic. Our…