Is high school grade inflation part of the reason why college admissions seems more competitive?
I.e. for any given college, the high school GPAs presented by applicants are higher than they were in the past. For the most selective colleges, that means that there are more applicants whose GPAs are pressed up against the maximum (3.9-4.0 unweighted high school GPAs in the most rigorous courses) and therefore must be distinguished by other aspects (e.g. test scores and subjectively graded items like essays, recommendations, and/or extracurricular activities).
Not only high school grade inflation but radically different standards of teaching. The reality is that an “A isn’t always an A”. But I suspect three factors are involved: (1) the growing popularity of the Common Application; (2) the increasing availability of financial aid at top tier universities; and (3) a belief that “holistic” admissions means it is easier to get in if you are less able. In the case of holistic admissions, there is an argument to be made that it has made it much HARDER to be admitted since you now need to excel in numerous dimensions.
In the case of the UCs, I’ve also heard parents say that you have “nothing to lose but the application fee” in applying for admission. As a result, many candidates who would never have applied in the past are doing so now.
Finally, this must be kept it perspective. There are probably no more than 50 universities that are “exceptionally competitive”. The vast majority of students go to their local university or universities that are not highly competitive. It is only on CC that the universe revolves around a small group of highly selective universities.
In addition, over the last few decades, we’ve seen an explosion in AP, IB, AICE, DE, etc…, type of classes and programs. The top quartile of high school students are far better prepared for college, than generations in the past. It’s this group of students that apply to the most selective universities.
It’s a much larger pool of competitive students, applying to the same limited number of selective universities. You’ll see the effect on student ability, at schools from the Ivy league, all the way to directional state schools.
I don’t know if I would call it grade inflation, because that’s implies that it’s easier to get an A today, than in the past and I don’t think, in general, that’s the case. I think it’s harder as the classes are now more rigorous, but we have a far large pool of competitive students in high schools, so more students are applying to the limited number of slots. That drives up what’s required as a competitive GPA for admissions.
The roll out of the Common App, really showcases this effect.
Probably not. It has become too easy to apply to college. It used to be a lot of work, taking hours and hours for each application. Teachers 20 years ago would never have typed 10-15 letters of recommendation. Likewise, students would never have typed that many essays and applications. It is very much technology driven.
No grade inflation at my kid’s school. Getting an A is an achievement, certainly for any honors or AP courses.
In fact, this is,why I think AP test scores should definitely matter, though I have seen numerous posters who say they don’t count for much. A good AP score and a good garde in the AP class should be a good indication that grade inflation hasn’t occurred.
Most colleges recalculate gpa and many have a good sense of what grades really mean at different high schools. I have heard ad coms from more than one school say, we know an A from school x really means an A. They can sniff out grade inflation and are adept at comparing schools who offer tons of APs and honors classes and those who don’t.
As someone who looks at hs transcripts for incoming freshman, I’d say yes. Did you know a 3.0 will put a student in the bottom half of his or her class? Yep, a B average is below average.
I’d also throw out that the test prep industry and multiple attempts at standardized tests (essentially practicing until perfect) increase the pool of competitive applicants
The grade inflation may account for higher GPA requirements at colleges, but I think that the explosion of international applications, a higher % of Americans applying to college, and the ease of applying to multiple schools with the common app, have make the biggest difference.
I’m astounded at the numbers of 4.0+ HS GPA holders* and the phenomenon of multiple Vals and Sals based on GPA. Just~2 decades ago when I was in HS, only a tiny handful of students could ever get their GPAs close to the 4.0 mark and there was ONLY 1 val and 1 sal and they were selected on whether he/she was #1 and #2 in the class in terms of GPA ranking.
Someone once posted an account of how up to 50% of a graduating HS class had 4.0+ HS GPAs. Mindboggling.
quote a belief that “holistic” admissions means it is easier to get in if you are less able. In the case of holistic admissions, there is an argument to be made that it has made it much HARDER to be admitted since you now need to excel in numerous dimensions.
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Holistic admissions can make it easier for some to get in.
That is, provided one has an attribute a given selective university wants beyond GPA/standarized tests/application. Some examples are being a medalist in the Olympics, being a child of a family who have had a history of or have the great potential of being large donors, being a child of a prominent politician/famous celebrities with positive reputations/connections, being a child of an alum who regularly donates substantial amounts(Not $50-100/year or less)*, etc.
A.K.A.: A genuine legacy candidate. According to my HS GC, if one donates $50-100 or nothing, even if the parent is an alum, the child who is applying to the parent's selective alma mater is unlikely to give him/her a legacy tip so if he/she was admitted, the admissions was provided on the same basis as a non-legacy/non-hooked applicant.
While in high school back in the stone age, we used the 0-100 grading scale. I think if we still used this scale, the number of kids with the perfect GPA would drop but the percentage of kids with an “A” grade over 90% would be the same.
I think the letter grading system lends itself to having more students with a perfect GPA.
My DDs attended small private all girls high schools in the Philadelphia, PA area. There was no grade inflation. An A did not begin until 94 and they were not easy to achieve. In my DD12’s class, there was 1 val and 1 sal. Interestingly enough, while attending a boys’ school’s senior prom, the sal was caught in a social media posting about pre-prom drinking. She was stripped of the sal title and #3 promoted to sal. My DD16 is co-valedictorian of her class and since there are 2 vals, there is NO sal this year.
What types of schools are granting multiple vals and sals?
@dadoftwingirls is right. If a 91 and a 99 are both equal under the 4 point system, my kids school would have loads of kids with 4.0s. The % helps differentiate among them better. This year’s class was much stronger grade wise than last year for some reason.
No, the average GPA has risen. Teachers at my kids’ school employ all kinds of grade-propping methods that were unheard of in my high school. Test corrections, where they re-do everything they got wrong on each test and can earn half the points back–that alone will likely push a C to a B and a B to an A. Grades for “notebook checks”, making flash cards, homework completion, group projects (yes, we had a few of those, but not nearly to the extent they do now and never in subjects like math) and group tests (!), these last two often being deliberately assigned such that the best students are distributed to “help” the weaker ones.
Oh, almost forgot the generous “extra credit” points on tests and projects which also can amount to a full grade.
Grade inflation is hardly a factor if at all. Admission officers can easliy figure out an applicant’s academic performance. The ever decreasing admission rates are mostly a result of students applying to more schools. I don’t really believe it is getting more competitive. For truly excellent students, their odds of getting into a top tier school are as good as years before.
Not always. YMMV depending on the school district or even individual school concerned. For instance, a 90% in the schools I attended or most of the ones I know of wouldn’t have been considered enough to even merit an -A.