Federal reports raise suspicion of grade-point inflation

Federal reports raise suspicion of grade-point inflation
No improvement in reading skills on latest national tests, but GPAs continue to climb

Twelth-graders' reading skills have hit a new low, but their grades continue to climb, according to federal officials who suspect the nation's schools are inflating grades.

Suspicions that teens' rising grade-point averages may be unmerited are fueled by two new national reports released yesterday at a Washington, D.C., news conference. Both reports are from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a U.S.-sponsored program that tests representative samples of students in academic subjects.

According to one report, the latest nationwide test results in 12th-grade reading have hit their lowest point since testing in that subject first began. On average, students nationwide scored 286 on a scale of zero to 500 during the last round of tests in 2005 -- down one point from 2002 and six points from the first year, 1992.

Meanwhile, grade-point averages have continued their steady rise, according to a companion report on high-school transcripts. In 1990, the typical students' grade average in English was 2.52 out of a possible 4.0, or the equivalent of a C-plus. By 2005, the typical grade average was 2.82, equivalent to a B-minus.

Federal authorities say they can't be sure whether this reflects a conscious effort by schools to puff students' achievements, or whether it may involve other factors as well, such as teacher inexperience in grading.

"What we're saying is that grade inflation is one of a variety of factors that could be at play here," said Stephanie Germeraad, spokeswoman for the National Assessment's governing board. "We need to find out what's going on in classrooms."

This marks the first time that National Assessment has drawn such a sharp contrast between declining student achievement and inflated transcripts. However, sponsors of private testing programs such as the SAT have voiced concern over the same phenomenon for years.

Research analysts critical of federal testing say declining scores could simply reflect the fact that students are weary of exams, and don't take them seriously when they don't count toward grades. However, many Long Island educators do believe that inflated grades are an inevitable result of mounting college-admission pressures.

"I think grade inflation has in recent years been endemic to every high school, especially to those that are college-prep institutions," said Jeff Rozran, an English teacher at Syosset High School and a director of the New York State United Teachers union.

"Obviously, the pressure from parents and administrators to keep grades high is very real. But I don't think there's any conscious effort to give higher grades."