Grade inflation and weakened standardized testing are hiding students' true academic performance from parents
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/by/ariel-kalil. "Opinion | What Your Kid’s Report Card Isn’t Telling You - The New York Times." May 26, 2026. www.nytimes.com
The Gist
Parents think their kids are doing well in school based on good grades, but standardized test scores show most students aren't actually learning at grade level. Schools are giving out higher grades while making tests easier, which tricks parents into thinking everything is fine when their children might need extra help.
Conclusion
Parents cannot accurately assess their children's academic performance due to grade inflation and the undermining of standardized testing, which prevents them from providing appropriate educational support
Premises
- Nearly 90% of parents believe their child performs at or above grade level, but actual proficiency rates are only 30% in reading and 28% in math
- Grade inflation has worsened over the past 15 years, with average high school GPAs rising significantly while standardized test performance remains flat
- Multiple states have lowered proficiency standards on state tests, creating artificial improvements that don't reflect real learning gains
- Parents systematically overweight grades compared to test scores when deciding whether their child needs academic support
- Standardized tests provide a more objective, common-scale measure of student learning compared to grades, which vary by teacher and school
Assumptions
- Standardized test scores are more accurate measures of student learning than grades
- Parents need accurate information about their children's academic performance to make good educational decisions
- Grade-level proficiency as measured by standardized tests represents meaningful educational achievement
- The current system of grading lacks sufficient rigor and consistency across schools