Students like getting an A. To some it recognizes a personal accomplishment. Others value its scarcity. But these days that A means less and less.
Universities have noticed grade inflation over the last few years. There has been a study increase in the percentage of high school students getting A’s. But, the nation’s high schools have received little attention, and studies have shown that GPA’s are soaring.
According to a study by the University of California at Los Angeles, over two-thirds of incoming first-year students attending private universities leave high school with an A average. In public universities the number is one-third. The 2002 study was based on the responses of 282,549 first-year students at 437 of the nation’s baccalaureate colleges and universities.
The average GPA of students admitted to SMU in 2003 was 3.45, a B+ average. SMU’s admission office says high school grade inflation is not a problem for the university.
“We probably would not be aware of it, because we rely mostly on a counselor recommendation and the reputation of the high school,” said Chadd Bridwell, assistant director of admissions at SMU.
High school students believe good grades are easy to come by these days.
“I don’t study unless I have a test the next day, but I still get good grades,” said Kyle Meloney, a junior at Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, Ga. He is beginning his college search with a 94 average. “A B is easy, and the teacher will round you up to an A most of the time, if she likes you,” Meloney said.
Katherine Hargrove, a former high school teacher now teaching graduate classes at SMU, said she is not one of those teachers. She is a professor known for making students earn an A.
“My job is to hold my class to a high standard, whether it’s at the high school or the graduate level,” Hargrove said.
Several educators suggest that one reason some teachers are not setting those same standards is because of the pressure they feel to give students good grades.
“Sympathy of professors always plays a role,” said Tom Fomby, a professor of economics at SMU. “There is pressure on faculty to provide support to help students get into college.”
But Hargrove said it is up to students to help themselves.
“Teachers want their students to do well, but only if they deserve to do well,” Hargrove said. Although teasing students call her “Ms. Hardgrove,” if a student meets the requirements to get an A in her class, that student will get an A.
The reality is that students sign up for classes where they know they will get a good grade, said Stuart Rojstaczer, a professor at Duke University.
Students have done this on college campuses for years. More recently high school students are using the same strategy for choosing a class.
“My friends try to switch into classes where it’s easy to get an A,” said Liz Healy, a senior at Highland Park High School in Dallas who will attend SMU in the fall. “Some teachers say grades don’t matter, but they do.”
Healy said getting an A will continue to be important in college. She said she has high expectations for her grades in college, similar to the standard she held herself to in high school.
“I’m disappointed now when I get less than a 95 on anything, and that probably won’t change,” said Healy.
So what happens to these A students during their first college semester?
Jen Dudney, a resident assistant in Perkins Hall, a first-year dorm said it is not always easy to get an A at the university level, and many students end up frustrated.
“Students who were very strong in high school were a bit shocked at the different structure of college, which affected their grades,” she said.
Educators acknowledge there is no easy solution to the problem of grade inflation.
“If there was a simple answer to grade inflation, someone would have come up with it by now,” said Hargrove.