The most common grade received by college students across the country, for decades a C, is now an A due to a national grade inflation occurring over the past 50 years, according to research published by Stuart Rojstaczer, a former professor at Duke University.

Likewise, the average grade point average at Syracuse University has been on a steady upswing, with the most recent data available showing GPAs increased by .14 over a nine-year period.

Rojstaczer’s research shows the most common grade in the early 1960s was a C, and grades began to rise in the later part of the decade but leveled off in the 1970s. Starting in 1980, the average GPA began to rise again about .10 to .15 points per decade.

Rojstaczer’s research found that at private universities, the average GPA has risen from a 3.09 during the 1992-93 academic year to a 3.30 in the 2006-07 academic year.

‘At an average college campus, 43 percent of all grades are As,’ Rojstaczer said. ‘After 50 years of grade inflation, an A represents ordinary achievement.’

At SU, the average GPA for graduating seniors in the 2005-06 class was a 3.28, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment’s most recent analysis that examined GPAs from 1998 to 2006.

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications had the highest average GPA in 2006, coming in with a 3.49. Students in the College of Human Ecology had the lowest GPAs at 3.11, according to the analysis.

An additional report by the University Senate Committee on Instruction filed in October 2007 said the increase in average GPAs was modest but moving consistently upward.

‘Syracuse was typical. Our general trends were consistent with nationwide trends, a low but steady upward rise in grades,’ said Robert Van Gulick, a philosophy professor at SU who served as the chair of the Committee on Instruction when the report was filed.

The USen report also commented on the ambiguity of the significance of grades at SU. Other than Fs, there is no indication in university rules for what grades should mean, according to the report.

‘There used to be a description in undergraduate college as to what each grade meant. Then people said these descriptions don’t correspond to reality,’ Van Gulick said. ‘People were no longer receiving Cs for average work.’

Rojstaczer, the researcher from Duke University, said he believes grade inflation is caused primarily by a professor’s desire for positive student evaluations at the end of each semester, although there are other factors influencing the GPA inflation. He said professors believe if they grade easier and keep the workloads light, they will have happier students and, in return, receive higher evaluations.

Rojstaczer calls for a return to honest evaluation to fix this national problem.

‘We have created a fiction that excellence is common in college performance. Grade inflation creates disincentives for students to work hard and excel,’ he said. ‘It’s one reason why student engagement in the classroom and student study hours are so meager today.’

Denise De Jesus, a senior psychology major, said she thinks technology has played a role in the national GPA rise. Information is more accessible with computers, so students have an easier time completing essays and class work, she said.

Anthony Perna, a senior information management and technology major, said he thinks the number of students receiving As at SU should be lower.

‘It seems like everyone is worried about their grades,’ Perna said. ‘I don’t get the sense that everybody is comfortable and carefree.’

medelane@syr.edu

Published on December 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meghin: medelane@syr.edu | @meghinwithani