3 ms·

Could there be grade inflation in HS grades (likely) or ACTs (maybe)?

alephnerd 3y ago
> grade inflation in HS grades (likely) Unlikely, as grade inflation would imply less need to take AP Classes, but proportion of students who have taken AP classes and tests has risen from 2013 [0] to 2021 [1]. Also, GPA is based on UC HS A-G classes, which are regulated at the state level. > ACTs (maybe) Unlikely, it's the same damn test (source: took it in the early 2010s, and helped prep family friends in 2021-22). ------ The main difference is California had a baby boom in the 1990s-early 2000s due to tech and immigration from Asia+Latin America [2][3]. In the 2009-11 period you wouldn't see portable trailer classrooms in top Californian HSes, but by 2011-15 they were everywhere, as the 1995-2005 cohort began entering middle and high school. By 2020-21, the glut was largely over, and Californian school districts began shutting down elementary schools due to low attendance. California in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2021 had a TFR of 2.5, 2.0, 1.95, and 1.5 respectively. [0] - https://www.dailynews.com/2013/02/20/numbers-taking-passing-advanced-placement-rises-again/ https://www.dailynews.com/2013/02/20/numbers-taking-passing-... [1] - https://reports.collegeboard.org/ap-program-results/class-of-2021 https://reports.collegeboard.org/ap-program-results/class-of... [2] - https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/02/national/population-growth-in-1990s-exceeded-baby-boom-in-1950s.html https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/02/national/population-growt... [3] - https://calmatters.org/commentary/2019/01/california-sees-slower-population-growth/ https://calmatters.org/commentary/2019/01/california-sees-sl...
- sickofparadox 3y ago
  Why would grade inflation imply less need to take AP classes? That doesn't follow at all. AP tests offer a chance to get college credits early, and many colleges provide preferential status to students with a number of AP classes. The incentives for taking them remain whether classes are easier or not.
  - alephnerd 3y ago
    > Why would grade inflation imply less need to take AP classes AP Classes act as a GPA and Admissions booster in UC admissions. The traditional scale is 0-4, but if you take AP Classes, your GPA can be modified to a 0-5 scale as long as you pass the exam and/or maintain at least a B average in the class. Anyone with a GPA >4.0 means they took at least 2-3 APs with an A-B average along with an A average in general classes. The fact that the 75th percentile HS GPA at UCR in 2019 is 4.11 compared to it being in the mid 3s in 2012 implies that the student body has changed. In 2010-13 you could get accepted in UCR without having ever taken an AP course - that doesn't happen anymore since 2019 onwards. Heck, in the 2019 freshman class 32% of incoming freshman had a 4.0 GPA (aka straight As) [0]. Education standards in CA at the high school level didn't change between 2012 and 2019, nor was there remote education. Even bottom tier UC admissions have become extremely competitive nowadays, and any parent or current student can attest to that. Most HNers seem to have finished HS around the early 2010s at the latest based on the kind of commentary I've seen on here, so I think they don't have experience with how much more impacted admissions in UCs have become since 2018-19. [0] - https://ir.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/cds_2019-2020.pdf https://ir.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/cds_2019-2020...
    - Jensson 3y ago
      > The fact that the 75th percentile HS GPA at UCR in 2019 is 4.11 compared to it being in the mid 3s in 2012 implies that the student body has changed. Or it implies that grades are inflated, including the grades for AP classes. Not sure why you think that such grade inflation is impossible.
- gnicholas 3y ago
  Grade inflation makes people more likely to take AP tests. Grade inflation makes grades a less reliable indicator of ability, which means students need extrinsic measures (standardized tests) to demonstrate this.

> grade inflation in HS grades (likely) Unlikely, as grade inflation would imply less need to take AP Classes, but proportion of students who have taken AP classes and tests has risen from 2013 [0] to 2021 [1]. Also, GPA is based on UC HS A-G classes, which are regulated at the state level. > ACTs (maybe) Unlikely, it's the same damn test (source: took it in the early 2010s, and helped prep family friends in 2021-22). ------ The main difference is California had a baby boom in the 1990s-early 2000s due to tech and immigration from Asia+Latin America [2][3]. In the 2009-11 period you wouldn't see portable trailer classrooms in top Californian HSes, but by 2011-15 they were everywhere, as the 1995-2005 cohort began entering middle and high school. By 2020-21, the glut was largely over, and Californian school districts began shutting down elementary schools due to low attendance. California in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2021 had a TFR of 2.5, 2.0, 1.95, and 1.5 respectively. [0] - https://www.dailynews.com/2013/02/20/numbers-taking-passing-advanced-placement-rises-again/ https://www.dailynews.com/2013/02/20/numbers-taking-passing-... [1] - https://reports.collegeboard.org/ap-program-results/class-of-2021 https://reports.collegeboard.org/ap-program-results/class-of... [2] - https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/02/national/population-growth-in-1990s-exceeded-baby-boom-in-1950s.html https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/02/national/population-growt... [3] - https://calmatters.org/commentary/2019/01/california-sees-slower-population-growth/ https://calmatters.org/commentary/2019/01/california-sees-sl...

sickofparadox 3y ago
Why would grade inflation imply less need to take AP classes? That doesn't follow at all. AP tests offer a chance to get college credits early, and many colleges provide preferential status to students with a number of AP classes. The incentives for taking them remain whether classes are easier or not.
- alephnerd 3y ago
  > Why would grade inflation imply less need to take AP classes AP Classes act as a GPA and Admissions booster in UC admissions. The traditional scale is 0-4, but if you take AP Classes, your GPA can be modified to a 0-5 scale as long as you pass the exam and/or maintain at least a B average in the class. Anyone with a GPA >4.0 means they took at least 2-3 APs with an A-B average along with an A average in general classes. The fact that the 75th percentile HS GPA at UCR in 2019 is 4.11 compared to it being in the mid 3s in 2012 implies that the student body has changed. In 2010-13 you could get accepted in UCR without having ever taken an AP course - that doesn't happen anymore since 2019 onwards. Heck, in the 2019 freshman class 32% of incoming freshman had a 4.0 GPA (aka straight As) [0]. Education standards in CA at the high school level didn't change between 2012 and 2019, nor was there remote education. Even bottom tier UC admissions have become extremely competitive nowadays, and any parent or current student can attest to that. Most HNers seem to have finished HS around the early 2010s at the latest based on the kind of commentary I've seen on here, so I think they don't have experience with how much more impacted admissions in UCs have become since 2018-19. [0] - https://ir.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/cds_2019-2020.pdf https://ir.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/2022-05/cds_2019-2020...
  - Jensson 3y ago
    > The fact that the 75th percentile HS GPA at UCR in 2019 is 4.11 compared to it being in the mid 3s in 2012 implies that the student body has changed. Or it implies that grades are inflated, including the grades for AP classes. Not sure why you think that such grade inflation is impossible.
gnicholas 3y ago
Grade inflation makes people more likely to take AP tests. Grade inflation makes grades a less reliable indicator of ability, which means students need extrinsic measures (standardized tests) to demonstrate this.