Over the years, the idea of failing has become something to look down upon, however some believe it needs to be a common occurrence in youth. The inflation of grade point averages or GPA’s is an academic equivalent to participation trophies in sports, which have become prevalent in the culture. Grade inflation, or grade leniency, is a systemic issue in current academia, which is defined as awarding higher grades than students deserve. This results in a higher grade point average. Although GPA inflation has been an issue for the past few decades, there has been a significant increase since the pandemic.
ACT or American College Testing published research that discovered there was a 0.19 increase in the national average GPA from 3.17 in 2010 to 3.36 in 2021. This can affect a student’s admission process to colleges as many universities are beginning to notice trends. Woodgrove’s College and Career Advisor Ms. Annie Harding recently had a conversation with a college admissions representative and shared, “They [universities] do sometimes notice this with certain schools or districts. The more students who apply from the same school the more apparent it can be.” While the main argument is that students would not get accepted into colleges, Harding explains that another issue is students are going to college with unrealistic understandings of their grades and preparedness for college.
Grade inflation should be something that students, teachers, and parents are worried about. It may not impact a school’s reputation unless there are multiple schools in the area inflating grades, but it does impact students’ expectations for college, which can add to student’s stress when they do not perform as well as they previously had. Harding shared, “Typically, college freshmen find it harder to maintain the grades they had in high school.” She also suggested LCPS should prepare upperclassmen for college more than they already do by reintroducing midterms and finals that count as higher percentages and less projects, classwork, and homework. She stated, “Better to experience that type of grading when mistakes and setbacks are not as costly.”
LCPS policies are inadvertently geared to support grade inflation. Recent changes to policies allow students to retake major summatives, which are each worth more than 10 percent of a quarter’s grade, for up to an 80 percent and still receive significant credit for late work. Woodgrove junior, Grady Berlik, shared, “I’ve personally heard teachers talk about Loudoun County’s reputation across the country as being one of the most grade inflated counties.” Berlik continues to explain that he thinks colleges are aware of the issue and that it will not have a significant impact on college applications reasoning, “It is still nearly impossible to achieve a flawless report card while still taking challenging courses.” However, he emphasizes that although grade inflation is an issue and needs to be addressed, teachers should not try to confront the issue individually, as it will only harm the students in their class.
While a good GPA plays a major role in college admissions, students should also work to be well rounded members of their community. Colleges take interest in students who participate in extracurriculars like sports or clubs, while also maintaining a good GPA. Letters of recommendation can play a vital role in college applications, students who are active in their school community and build strong relationships with teachers or faculty are more likely to have a strong letter of recommendation. College acceptance and preparedness is more than being a number or statistic, students need to show that they are people with a personality who know how to balance school, a social life, and extracurriculars. No one said it would be easy, the journey is daunting and difficult, but the experiences you have along the way is what makes you the standout candidate in college admissions.
