“Concerns about UK grade inflation are now such a regular feature in the media that most of us are probably in the terminal stages of grade inflation fatigue. It is also the case that the term itself is interpreted in two different ways leading to two (intertwined) debates where both require a different policy response …” (more)
[David Allen, Wonkhe, 15 July]
“On Thursday morning, I travelled to another university to act as an external examiner for one of their degrees. Before I left the house, I listened to the Today programme. On the show, I heard Tom Richmond from the think-tank Reform complaining that universities were ‘handing out incredible numbers of top degrees’ because the system allows them to ‘mark their own homework’ …” (more)
[Alice Bennett, New Statesman, 22 June]
“Universities risk losing their credibility due to ‘rocketing’ grade inflation, a think tank has said. According to Reform, the proportion of firsts awarded almost doubled between 1997-2009 and rose by 26% since 2010 …” (more)
[BBC News, 21 June]
“British universities have been handing out higher-class degrees at an unprecedented rate over the past decade, according to detailed figures released by the higher education regulator. The figures, from a selection of universities taking part in the government’s latest teaching excellence framework, known as Tef3, show huge variation …” (more)
[Richard Adams, Guardian, 13 June]
“Grade inflation is endemic in our higher education system. What’s more, its pace appears to be accelerating and neither high tariff nor low tariff institutions are immune. The regular newspaper articles showcasing the latest growth in firsts and 2:1s have become an expected feature of the summer, yet the sector still shows a failure to truly grip this nettle. Too often, debates over whether it really exists are still taking the place of genuine attempts to reform …” (more)
[Iain Mansfield, Wonkhe, 17 May]
“Staff at a Russell Group university have been told that they will face investigation over their grading if they award average marks lower than a 2:1. In an email seen by Times Higher Education, lecturers at Queen Mary University of London’s School of Business and Management are told that they must remember what is called the ’60:60:60 principle’ when assessing students’ work …” (more)
[Jack Grove, Times Higher Education, 1 February]
“Data published by HESA in January 2018 shows that more than a quarter of UK undergraduates completing their studies in 2017 were awarded first-class honours. In 2012, the corresponding figure was only 18% …” (more)
[Allan Howells, Wonkhe, 25 January]
“It’s mid-summer, and so of course it’s the time of year for breathless comments about grade inflation in universities, and particularly about the number of students being awarded a top grade in their final examinations and assessments …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 21 August]
“The news this week that the number of first-class degrees awarded by Trinity has increased by 33% between 2013 and 2015 will likely evoke concern that this is the latest symptom of a general trend of grade inflation in Irish third-level sector. Indeed, with some courses seeing as many as 61% of graduates awarded a first, one could probably be forgiven for thinking …” (more)
[University Times, 12 February]
“The recent and impressive study on grade inflation in the IoT sector comes at an appropriate time. Exam boards are coming to an end and the various drivers of student grades are fresh in our minds. There is absolutely no doubt that grade inflation is occurring, ie third level students are getting higher grades and doing so even when their second level performance would suggest that their grades should be getting lower …” (more)
[educationandstuff, 16 June]
“Grade inflation is a fire that simply will not be quenched, at least in so far as the Institutes of Technology are concerned, according to the latest data collected and analyzed in Paper 11 published by the Network for Irish Educational Standards …” (more)
[Network for Irish Educational Standards, 13 June]
“Consider the data presented below. It’s a plot of the percentage of H1 and H2.1 degrees from a single third level programme over an 11 year period versus median CAO Points at entry. The lack of any correlation between the two variables is striking …” (more)
[educationandstuff, 21 November]
“There is ‘internal consistency’ in the awarding of first and upper second-class honours degrees across the past ten years, Trinity College Dublin has said. The comment has been offered as a response to a recent Irish Times report that Trinity students are more likely to graduate with a first or 2.1 degree than students in any of the state’s other universities …” (more)
[Patrick Lavelle, University Times, 28 October]
“Why is it that if students work harder and get better grades that the media latch on to the ‘grade inflation’ bandwagon? This week the Irish Times blasts that ‘DCU, UCC award more “firsts” in new indicator of grade inflation’ and that some students ‘have a much higher chance of graduating with a first class honours degree than other college-goers’ …” (more)
[Careful With That Axe, Eugene, 17 October]
“Amid concerns and debate about the existence of grade inflation, more than half of small business owners surveyed here believe a third level qualification is becoming increasingly devalued, according to a poll published yesterday …” (more)
[Colm Kelpie, Independent, 16 October]
“Are students becoming smarter or are university honours qualifications becoming easier to obtain? Controversy over grade inflation rumbles on with pressure being exerted from inside and outside of the educational system …” (more)
[Irish Times, 15 October]
“Sir, – Joe Humphreys (‘Are university grades being inflated to suit jobs market?’), October 13th suggests that companies demanding a first or 2.1 for entry level jobs or internships is a factor in the proportion of such degrees awarded …” (more)
[James Quinn, Irish Times, 14 October]
“This is my last post for a while due to changing circumstances. It’ll be back in the New Year I hope. One of the core drivers of the grade inflation debate is the idea that the ‘quality’ of the student intake should correlate (strongly?) with the grade distribution on exit …” (more)
[educationandstuff, 13 October]
“Students attending Dublin City University (DCU) or University College Cork (UCC) have a much higher chance of graduating with a first class honours degree than other college-goers, new figures show in a fresh indicator of ‘grade inflation’ …” (more)
[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 13 October]
“Education may be priceless, but increasingly the marketplace is putting a monetary value on a 2.1. For a long time, people wishing to do postgraduate studies had to obtain this grade, or higher (a “first”), in what was meant to be a marker of academic aptitude …” (more)
[Joe Humphreys, Irish Times, 13 October]
