Inflated grades still perturb officials

Last semester, students taking classes in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication boasted an average 2.9 grade point average.

Spring semester five years ago, students brought home the same grades.

But the average 2.5 GPA students earned 23 years ago wouldn’t qualify for admission to the journalism school today.

The long-term increase in grade point averages among all UNC students has called into question the consistency and rigidity of University grading practices.

Since the 1960s, the average GPA of University undergraduates has improved gradually. Although the changes from five years ago might seem insignificant, GPA growth from more than 15 years ago shows a noticeable upward trend.

Letter-grade distribution has shifted during the years as well. A’s and B’s made up almost 74 percent of grades last spring, compared to about 66 percent in 1987.

For the last several years, the Faculty Council’s Education Policy Committee has investigated issues surrounding grade inflation at UNC. In 2000, the “Turchi Report,” a policy committee report compiled by economics professor Boone Turchi, documented grade increase from 1967 to 1999.

With the arrival of new data, the committee has continued its evaluation of grade inflation and issues a report to the Faculty Council every year. Members now are preparing a report to present this spring.

In its report last April, the policy committee wrote at length about the issue:

“It is not controversial that average grades have gotten higher over the last 40 years, but there is strong disagreement about why this has happened, what it means, and whether anything should be done about it,” the report states.

Peter Gordon, chairman of the Education Policy Committee, said the group has recognized the trend and is searching for solutions.

At one point, the committee suggested creating a mean grade point average of 2.7 for all departments. As enforcement, those that failed to maintain this average would receive budget sanctions.

Gordon said the committee never gave the suggestion serious consideration, and is now focusing on in-depth methods of evaluation.

“This year, we are focusing not on whether grades are getting higher — they have been increasing slowly but not dramatically over the years — but on some disparities in grading practices,” he said.

Gordon said differences in grading practices are obvious. The issue, he said, is determining whether these disparities breed inequality.

Judith Wegner, chairwoman of the faculty, said she recognizes the difficulty of creating a University-wide solution.

“There are different faculty, different courses, different studies and different scenarios, so it’s hard to create uniformity,” she said.

Wegner said the Faculty Council continues to discuss other means of measuring academic progress and accomplishment by evaluating students on what they have learned and what skills they have mastered.

The policy committee suggested a grade-ranking system to augment the current grading system. Similar to the Ratings Percentage Index used in college sports, this system would rank student performance against classmates to get a better performance assessment.

Gordon said students should not be penalized for taking classes with teachers who grade more harshly.

“If you want to extend the metaphor, students should be judged not just by wins and losses, but also by the strength of their schedule,” he said. “We’re just trying to find ways of evening the playing field.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.