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Changes in High School Grading Standards in Mathematics, 1982-1992

Chester E. Finn, Jr.
10.17.2001

Dan Koretz and Mark Berends, RAND, 2001

The RAND Corporation's Dan Koretz and Mark Berends went hunting for evidence of grade inflation in U.S. high schools during the decade 1982-92. (They were only able to get data for math courses.) They found no nationwide grade inflation, but they did find some among high-income students and in urban schools. They also found general improvement in students' math proficiency. This 80-page report gets pretty technical and jargony ("after disattenuating for unreliability....") but you may want to have a look. You can find ordering information or download a (PDF) copy by surfing to http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1445/.

Tags: RAND Corporation

Chester E. Finn, Jr., scholar, educator and public servant, has devoted his career to improving education in the United States. At Fordham, he is now Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus. He’s also a Volker Senior Fellow at…

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