For the creator of the tests, it may be helpful to conduct research that shows that grades in high school are rising and less reliable. Yes, this is a rationale for why high school students should not be exempted from the difficult exams for college, but it is also even more proof that the inflation rate is significant and deserves closer attention.
The latter is analysis of more than 4 million high school students who passed the ACT from 2010 to 2021. ACT researchers estimated that the number of test participants with an average of A exceeded the number of B students after 2016. Today, A students make up the majority of ACT test participants, some of whom do not enroll in college and take the test as a a high school grade is required.
As grades rose, success fell. These recent A students, for example, posted lower ACT scores than A students ten years ago. Decreases in achievement were observed in all areas among students who also scored middle and lower scores. This is an alarming sign that today’s students are no better and no more hardworking and more deserving of higher grades.
“Even after considering all these other factors, we still see evidence of class inflation,” said Edgar Sanchez, an ACT researcher who presented his study in April 2022 at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurements in Education (NCME). “Something interesting is happening in 2016. At this point, the rate at which class inflation is really increasing. ”
One of the shortcomings of the study is that it draws on the self-assessment that students disclose during an additional survey when they enroll in the ACT. Students could lie, but it is unlikely that the lie in recent years has suddenly increased so much that it explains the increase in grades.
Another bad sign is that the inflation of the classes detected by the ACT accurately reflects the research of the Ministry of Education. У studying the actual transcript of a U.S. high school across the country the average score rose by 0.11 points from 3.0 – a B – in 2009 to 3.11 in 2019. This study ended shortly before the pandemic years, when ACT researchers discovered the fastest inflation. Just as ACT scores dropped, so did 12th grade math scores in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the national achievement test. Rising inflation has prompted the head of the Institute of Educational Sciences, a research unit of the Department of Education, to post a warning on the agency’s website: “Education works on lies».
Raising grades is not a new phenomenon. Studies that reveal sporadic bursts of inflation in high school date back at least 1970s. The college board that runs the SAT also has documented class inflation by comparing SAT scores with high school grades. A 2017 study by a college council researcher found that inflation scores were worse richer schools.
In a new ACT study, the average high school score (GPA) rose 0.17 points from 3.22 (a B) in 2010 to 3.39 (a B-plus) in 2021. take off after 2016. Grades in high schools rose sharply between 2018 and 2021, jumping to a full tenth of a point as many schools struggled to put students during disruptions to school closures and distance learning.
At the same time, the average ACT score fell by almost one point from 21 in 2010 to 20 in 2021. (Highest score – 36.) For any given ACT score, student scores increased. For example, a student who scored 25 points, which is among the top 25 percent of test takers, had a grade point average of 3.5 in 2010 but 3.7 in 2021. 19 ACT points in 2010, but only 15 in 2021.
ACT researchers found that the number of high school students taking ACT had changed over the decade, and checked to make sure it didn’t confuse the analysis. But after monitoring the differences between students and schools, scores among students in each income group, both poor and rich, continued to grow. Black, Hispanic, white, and Asian students received higher grades. Inflation was observed both in schools with a high poverty rate and in the more affluent. (According to estimates, inflation rates were sometimes considered higher among black students than whites, and sometimes considered higher in schools with wealthier students.)
The ACT study did not take into account the bonus points awarded by high schools for Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes. This means that the scores reached a high of 4.0, and inflation was not detected among the highest ACT scores, which were at 4.0 for the entire decade.
It is unclear exactly what happened in 2016 that prompted so many high school teachers across the country to issue higher grades. But I wonder if inflation estimates could have been an unintended consequence of the optional test shift that unfolded in 2016 as more than 900 colleges abolished the requirement to submit ACT or SAT scores in applications. The the vast majority of colleges after passing the test are optional during a pandemic to accommodate students who failed to pass college exams. As a result, College admissions staff relied more on both grades and advanced coursework to make decisions.
Previous academic research showed that college entrance tests are not a strong indicator of college readiness, and it the scores were much better predict which students will do well, and can help increase diversity on campuses. This study, as well as the costs and stress associated with preparing for tests, has inspired many colleges to drop out of exams. However, research against testing was conducted before the recent escalation of inflation classes, and it is unclear whether the scores will still be a good indicator now that the As is richer.
This story is about class inflation written by Jill Barshey and produced Hechinger’s report, a non-profit independent information organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Subscribe to Hechinger Newsletter.
