A recent article by PhD student Jeonghyun Kim and Professor Cory Koedel in the Chronicle of Higher Education shows college grades keep rising, despite declining indicators of pre-college academic preparation—like ACT scores and SAT scores—and widespread anecdotal evidence that students are spending less and less time studying. 

The article discusses some of the consequences of grade inflation, such as further reductions in student effort and higher costs borne by truly high-achieving students, who need to go to greater lengths (outside the classroom) in order to distinguish themselves. It also discusses simple changes universities can make to curb grade inflation, including designating teaching awards for faculty who maintain high standards and reporting course-average grades alongside students’ own grades on their transcripts.