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Grade Inflation Is Not Go Unnoticed

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The prolonged phenomenon of grade inflation has caused much debate for a number of decades. Following the recent article, from The Guardian, I believe the issue of grade inflation is yet to be resolved. Anything that affects the quality of education should not go unnoticed, and grade inflation is one of them. Pupils have been receiving higher grades than they should, clearly affecting the way the government, teachers and students are portrayed. Let us start by considering this: Awarding students higher grades helps to develop more self-esteem and greater feelings of pride if they have something to work for. Whereas if they are continuously receiving low grades this could lead to pupils thinking they’re not ‘good enough’ or ‘smart enough.’ …show more content…

This essentially means that in order to get even a B, at least five or six more marks will be required of them, and in this case, more marks means more work. Bill Watkin, operational director of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, said: "It would appear that changes to grade boundaries have resulted in a discrepancy between predicted results and actual results in a number of schools....” To some students, predicted grades are just what they need to sit back and “work” effortlessly to get a common C/D. Watkin also quoted, “What I 've been told is that the grade boundary change has resulted in a high number of children just below the boundary...” With the boundary being the “C”, this means that a large number of students have been predicted the B/C grade and received a D or below, which in reality will not help them get where it is they want to be. Many teachers and head teachers that are in a situation where the vast majority of the cohort are bundled around the C/D borderline, generally means that at least more than 50% of their final grades will be a C or below. Statistics like this can easily damage not only the reputation of students and teachers but also the school. Richard Thomas, executive director of the Association of Secondary Head teachers in Essex, said: "I started getting concerns from schools about English results, not just in schools in challenging areas, but in some outstanding schools and schools with more comprehensive

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