Persistently Low Achieving...Better than Consistently Overinflated?

A friend recently returned from a conference in Richmond where, among other topics, the status of TC Williams came up.  What was of great interest to those at the conference was not TC's Persistently Low Achieving (PLA) position, nor was it the course that the city opted to take to remedy PLA standing--the so called TCW Transformation.  No, what had the room abuzz was the approach to grading in the city of Alexandria's only high school.  Word has reached the capital of the commonwealth that the approach to evaluating our students has taken a turn that has parents, colleges and teachers alike scratching their heads.  

If the intent of wholesale changing (raising) of grades by administrators, the ban on issuing 'F's' and the insistence that summative assessments be administered ad infinitum was to project a positive image, the result has been just the opposite.  According to those in the world of academia who study the effects of such radical grade inflation and manipulation, TC is making yet another foolish mistake.  While some parents will be lulled into thinking that pumping up GPA's and forcing higher enrollment in AP courses are signs of progress, colleges and universities are not so easily fooled.   In fact, the trend toward higher GPA's among the lowest achieving high schools is already the subject of scholarly studies.  To wit:

Grade Inflation: The Current Fraud

By M. Donald Thomas, Ph.D. President Emeritus, School Management Study Group
William Bainbridge, Ph.D. President, SchoolMatch Corporation, Columbus, Ohio

After conducting a large number of audits, the auditors were amazed to find that some grade inflation was apparent in most schools. What was unexpected was that the highest amount of grade infaltion existed in the lowest achieving schools. Five high schools in one school district showed these results:

School	SAT	Norm Ref. Test		Grade Point
		Reading	Mathematics
A	750	35 %tile	26 %tile	3.6
B	900	40 %tile	42 %tile	3.2
C	990	48 %tile	48 %tile	2.8
D	1050	58 %tile	55 %tile	2.6
E	1125	67 %tile	74 %tile	2.5

It is extremely difficult to explain how the lowest achieving school can have a higher grade point average than the higher achieving schools. Yet, this same pattern is found in most of the school districts in which the authors have conducted "School Effectiveness Audits."
The conclusion can be drawn that in low achieving schools with high grade point averages, expectations are extremely low—just the opposite of what research indicates should be done. Having low expectations begets low achievement. The fraud is that the high grade point average gives a FALSE message to the students. Schools which expect little and provide high grades, regardless of the level of academic achievement, are fraudulent educational systems and should be corrected.
It is our position that every high school examine its grade point averages to uncover grade inflation. Wherever it exists, it should be forcefully and quickly eradicated.


The short term, 'feel good' fix that is grade inflation is a danger.   It is the responsibility of every teacher and administrator who knows of this wrong to report it.  Why not begin by sharing your account here, anonymously.  State officials are reading this blog.

"Everything's fine today, that is our illusion. "
— Voltaire