Grade Inflation in the US Education System - Essay Example

This is with no doubt an indicator that the USA's system of education is losing value. It is out of this that employers in the country's job industry are having huge considerations when it comes to employing graduates from the country's various institutions.

All this can be attributed to the grade inflation taking place in the country's education system where students are credited with honors they do not deserve if the standard grading system was to be used. For example, according to a study done in 1993, more students received grade A, while fewer students received grade B (Alfie, 2002). This was in comparison to the grading of graduates from 1969 and 1976. Does this mean that students graduating in1993 studied harder than those students of 1969 and 1976? This is not the case. This simply shows the diminishing quality of education over the years in the United States of America.

There is an increase in students' grades while there is lacking a corresponding shift in achievement. However, the main issues concerning motivation and grading are being ignored or obscured. One major issue that contributes to grade inflation is the fact that substantiating such claims has been difficult. This is because reports revealing grade inflation are often self-reports, which are rendered unreliable by the government and stakeholders in the education sector. For example, in the study done to study the grades in 1993 and those in 1969 and 1976, the survey did not substantiate the grades that were gotten in 1969 and 1976, thus they cannot be compared to establish the facts (Alfie, 2002).

However, other researches done have been used by the government and stakeholders to show the “accurate” scenario about grade inflation. Clifford Adelman conducted such a study where, he compared over 3000 transcripts (Alfie, 2002). According to this research, grades had dropped in the past two decades. The main question here is whether this is the fact on the ground. The number of students who get A’s might, for example, drop but this does that mean that those who got A’s necessarily had the required achievements.

One can use a simple and practical example to illustrate and determine whether indeed grade inflation is present in America's education system. For instance, let us assume that it is true more students are getting A’s today than those in the past. Does this necessarily mean that there is grade inflation? When using this example, several factors must be considered to determine whether it is a fact that students' grades are inflated. One factor is the nature and value of assignments in the course work. In the past, both students and lecturers did not regard assignments as being very important in the improvement of grades. However, in recent times assignments and group work have greatly played a role in students' final results with the realization that students understand what has been taught better through assignments and group work. As a result, students have been focusing on assignments where they perform extremely well thus significantly strengthening their final grade. Another factor that can be used to establish whether grade inflation is indeed present is examining the method of assessment. One will notice that in the past, the method of assessment aimed at picking out the best from a group of students. However, over the years, assessment systems have changed in that, what students have known and learned from the course is assessed; hence, they attain better grades. After examining the two factors, does it mean that today’s students put less effort than those in the past? This is a very convincing argument, however, is it true?

As one can see, various arguments have been put across to disapprove the presence of grade inflation in the Education System of the United States. However, very few people acknowledge its presence, and though their propositions are met with countermeasures to disprove their notion that there is grade inflation in America, the fact on the ground remains. For example, people have cited technological advancement to be a key contributor to the rise in grades since today’s students are more technologically advanced than students from the past.

In micro and macroeconomics, it is not the face value of the income that households have that determines the quality of the economy, but rather it is the purchasing power of the income that determines the economic position of the country. This can as well apply in the education system, especially in higher education where it is not the number of people who graduate with first-class honors from the university that determines their output, but rather it is the quality of skills they attained during their course work that will determine their output. Based on this, the government and stakeholders in the education sector need to acknowledge that indeed, there is grade inflation and it will result in adverse effects. This is so since if everybody is given high grades irrespective of their performance in school, then this will affect the job industry whereby, people will have very impressive credentials yet on the ground, they are unable to perform. It is for this reason that high-ranking medical institutions in the United States are opting for professionals from countries such as Germany, India, and South Africa.

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