As the college football season approaches its climax, a just-released set of statistics should give fans of Bowl-bound teams pause. According to three University of Oregon economists, when a university’s football team has a winning season, the grade point average of male students goes down. At least, that was the case at their own school over the course of nine recent seasons. Given that the University of Oregon is “largely representative of other four-year public institutions,” they have no reason to believe the equation won’t apply elsewhere. “Our estimates suggest male ... Read More
Deflating the Grade Inflation Scare
December 15, 2009 • By • 10 Comments
Remember what it felt like when you were battling for a C in Chemistry while your roommate pulled an easy A in Introduction to Theater? If you do, you're going to hate a new study of rising grades at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Right from the start, Alexandra A. Killewald, a doctoral candidate in sociology and public policy, and Paul N. Courant, a professor of economics and public policy, dispense with the usual harrumphing about falling standards and professors who rain A's and B's on unexceptional students. "The term 'grade inflation,'" Killewald and Courant say in a ... Read More
