Grade inflation is causing student's hard work to be undervalued. As high grades get easier and easier to achieve, the highest grades can only go up so far. The difference between excellent and decent is compressed. Everybody wins is a system that guides and shapes the mindset of most American students--except a small number of kids who lose out…

What do students learn in school? In the 21 century, this question has become a political dilemma for countries around the globe. It is a deceptively simple question, but there has never been an easy answer. The problem of measuring student learning appears to express an educational problem: What and how much do students learn? Most student…

This report seeks to explore some of the reasons Sweden developed an independent school sector dominated by for-profit schools by drawing on prior scholarship and reports as well interview material from Swedish school entrepreneurs, researchers, and prior public representatives that helped create and implement the Swedish voucher program. This…

Academic institutions worldwide, from primary schools to universities, use grades or marks as a fundamental sorting and signaling mechanism for students. The grades awarded to students should be indicative of learning outcomes. However, do the grades awarded today accurately reflect student achievement in the classroom? Grade inflation has become…

In a radical school choice reform in 1992, Sweden's education system was opened to private competition from independent for-profit and non-profit schools funded by vouchers. Competition was expected to produce higher-quality education at lower cost, in both independent and public schools. This two-pronged study first examines to what extent the…

Educators and policy makers confront challenging questions of ethics, justice, and equity on a regular basis. Should teachers retain a struggling student if it means she will most certainly drop out? Should an assignment plan favor middle-class families if it means strengthening the school system for all? These everyday dilemmas are both utterly…

Although schools have always struggled with student failure, retention, and attrition, the turn of the new century has produced added pressures for schools to reduce student dropout rates. In the current political and economic environment, increased costs and reduced budgets are forcing difficult choices in how best to spend limited resources.…

Students who take classes in education departments at universities receive significantly higher grades than students who take classes in other academic departments. The higher grades awarded by education departments cannot be explained by differences in student quality or by structural differences across departments (i.e., differences in class…

In "Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin," Stephen Jay Gould swats at nostalgia over extinction of the .400 batter--due more to game improvements than slumping batters. The better the averages, the harder it is to be a standout. As for grade inflation, today's students are studying harder subjects, and general…

English is the associate official language in India and serves as a unifying force in this multilingual country. The teaching of English in K-12 settings focuses on the skills of reading and writing. Listening and speaking skills are not awarded much time, if any, in most classrooms or test settings; only two Boards of Examinations mandate their…

Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould contends that .400 hitter in baseball is thing of past because game has gotten better. The higher average, the harder to stand out from that average. Applies concept to education by comparing students' SAT scores over almost 20 years with grade-point averages. Students with highest grades received highest SAT…

This paper examines the issue of test score inflation in the context of test-based accountability. The first section provides some background on the topic, describing what exactly is meant by test score inflation, reviewing the existing evidence for such inflation, and discussing why one should or should not be concerned if scores are inflated.…

Grade inflation, which distorts the measurement process and reduces student effort, is caused, in part, by teachers' concern for students' emotional needs. Communication of classroom expectations and grading procedures, frequent evaluation, and utilization of standardized testing data can help reduce grade inflation. (Author/WD)

Although grades have been criticized for lack of reliability, end-of course grades and grade-point averages are reliable enough for most uses. The charge of unreliability applies only to grades on themes, tests, or other individual pieces of student work. On the other side of the controversy, grades have been said to be essential to the learning…

U.S. student scores in science compare unfavorably with those of other nations, and other standardized test scores by U.S. students are also comparatively lower. Polls of parents indicate dissatisfaction with U.S. education. College teachers and employers feel that high school graduates are weak in skills. This document offers negative perceptions…