Grading standards in higher education: Trends, context, and prognosis

Abstract

Concerns about diluted grading standards in higher education have been an easy conversation starter over the past 30 years in developed Western nations. Why have these concerns arisen? Are they well founded? If real, does grade inflation present a threat to the higher education sector or to scientific progress - And if so, why? What is the prognosis for grading standards in the future? This chapter surveys the existing evidence about the phenomenon of grade inflation in Western universities and then discusses the underlying socioeconomic and political factors that lead to it, for what reasons it might be considered a problem, A macro-behavioral view of the motivations and interactions of the parties involved (governments, universities, students, and academics) is employed to analyze the issue and suggest responses.