Though recent decades have seen a rise in college students' GPAs, their seemingly improved academic performance is not attributed to higher intelligence, but to grade inflation that is becoming more prominent across colleges and universities, The Atlantic reported.
A study by the Department of Economics at the University of North Texas found various factors that account for the recent inflations. Among the factors are class subject — with humanities courses facing more inflation than science and math courses — , class size, the type of degree program, and the gender of the instructor. The study also suggests that professors might inflate grades in order to receive higher scores on course evaluations.
Grade inflation poses a problem for students and employers alike, as employers are increasingly unable to accurately asseses the "caliber" of job applicants and students are inappropriately informed on their academic "strengths and weaknesses."
Read the full Atlantic article here.
