Addressing the Grade Inflation Collective Action Problem

Originally published by the U.S. Department of Education

From 1990-2020, four-year college grade point averages (GPAs) rose more than 16% at public and non-profit universities. “A” is now the most common grade awarded at American universities—sometimes by comical proportions. For example, in 2020-21, Harvard University awarded “A’s” 79% of the time—and Yale recorded the same rate of awarding A’s in 2022-23. When top marks are awarded to nearly every student, grading becomes a farce.

This trend of declining grading rigor is commonly referred to as “grade inflation.” Research suggests the primary drivers of grade inflation are first, educators responding to “consumer demand” for higher grades from students and second, students self-selecting into less rigorous courses and disciplines. Without question, sites like RateMyProfessor compound both drivers.

If students’ motivations behind wanting higher grades are obvious, educators’ motivations are only slightly less so: happy students are easier to deal with, and they write more favorable evaluations. So, if lax grading makes everyone happy, what’s the problem? Why can’t everyone be winners?

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