PORTLAND, Ore. — Nationwide, student learning has been slowly recovering after the pandemic took students out of the classroom. In Oregon, a recent study shows students are continuing to lose ground in math and reading. Now, some researchers claim that "grade inflation" could be an issue in students' recovery, both in Oregon throughout the country.
Since the pandemic, some researchers have concluded that grading has shifted as teachers have become more lenient, giving students higher grades, even though they may be less proficient in the material.
"I think schools have been hesitant to tell parents that children are still behind," said Thomas Kane, a Harvard professor of education and economics.
Kane said he's noticed teachers becoming more reluctant to give students lower grades. The change comes at a time when students are already struggling from lost learning — and receiving higher grades could make it more difficult for parents to notice a problem.
"Even in the fall of 2022, only 9% of parents reported that they thought their students had lost ground and were worried that they would catch up," Kane said.
Recently, Kane participated in a study by the Education Recovery Scorecard, which found Oregon elementary and middle school students are three quarters of a year behind in math and two thirds of a year behind in reading.
"Those things become permanent, because students aren't pushing themselves to the limit to try to overcome those losses," said Tim Daly, the CEO of EdNavigator, a nonprofit connecting families with medical providers to navigate educational needs.
Grade inflation also contributes to higher absenteeism, Daly added.
"Students are missing more school and performing worse on assessments — and yet many are getting As and Bs, which are higher grades than they received before," Daly said.
But not all experts agree that grade inflation is happening.
"The truth is there's not a lot of firm data on grade inflation, if it's even a thing," said Madhu Narayanan, an associate professor of educational leadership at Portland State University.
While there is clear learning loss, grades have always fluctuated due to a multitude of factors, Narayanan said.
"There's never been this hard, ultimate reality of what a grade represents," he added.
While experts disagree on whether or not inflation is playing an impact on students' education, they agree that if parents are concerned, they should connect with teachers to learn what students have mastered, and what they’re struggling with learning.