Inflated grades costing Maryland students thousands in career earnings, per study

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Grade inflation could be costing Maryland students tens of thousands of dollars in future earnings. That, according to a recent study co-authored by a professor from the University of Maryland.

Long-term effects of grade inflation are not a new issue. Parents in Baltimore City have been concerned for years. In 2019, Project Baltimore first interview Gregory Gray, whose son attends City Schools.

“How did my son pass, if he didn’t know none of this math?” Gray questioned back in 2019.

At the time, Gray was blowing the whistle on how City Schools was failing to properly educate his son by inflating his son’s failing grades to passing to move him through the system.

“Easy A’s, Less Pay: The Long-Term Effects of Grade Inflation” analyzed high school grade inflation data from Los Angeles and Maryland and compared it to future outcomes (WBFF)

Gray says the education his son has received from City Schools has been a “roller-coaster”. And seven years after first speaking with Fox45 News, Gray says he’s still fighting.

“I already told them, don’t give him no grades if he didn’t earn them,” said Gray.

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Gray’s son is now a senior – set to graduate in August. For the past seven years, Gray tells FOX45 News, his fear has been that City Schools inflating his son’s grades would have a lasting negative impact. And according to a recent study, entitled, “Easy A’s, Less Pay: The Long-Term Effects of Grade Inflation”, it appears Gray was right to be worried.

“I think that study is correct,” remarked Gray.” They’re not doing nothing for the kids. They’re just passing them along.”

Earlier this year, researchers, including a professor from the University of Maryland, analyzed high school student achievement data from Los Angeles and Maryland and compared it to future outcomes.

Researchers concluded inflating student grades, “reduces a student’s future test scores, the likelihood of graduating from high school, college enrollment, and ultimately earnings.”

The study found if a teacher engages in “mean grade inflation” – where passing grades are inflated to a higher grade, it can reduce the “lifetime earnings” of that teacher’s entire class of students by a total of “$213,872 per year”. In other words, if a teacher inflates the grades of 20 students in a class; each student will lose on average about $10,600 in lifetime earnings. And that number is multiplied for every teacher who inflates a student’s grade.

The study found if a teacher engages in “mean grade” inflation, then those students will could miss out on future earnings (WBFF)

Gray worries his son will miss out on earnings.

“Yes. Yes. That is generational,” responded Gray. “It can mess up a generation. Some of these kids can’t even read.”

“Passing grade inflation”, according to the study, is where a student’s failing grade is changed to passing, which has been a significant issue in City Schools – an issue the district tried to keep from the public.

In 2017, FOX45 News sued City Schools for withholding public records related to grade changing. In 2019, a Baltimore judge ruled in FOX45 News’ favor– saying the school system “willfully and knowingly” violated the law by not releasing the documents.

As a result of that lawsuit, the school system turned over thousands of documents, including emails indicating teachers were pressured to change grades and promote students. In 2019, and again in 2022, City Schools adopted new grade changing policies, following Project Baltimore’s reporting, intended to fix the problem.

Researchers in this study concluded inflating a student’s grade from failing to passing does increase “high school graduation”, which was a similar conclusion reached by now former Maryland Inspector General for Education Rick Henry.

In 2022, Henry investigated and found that City Schools improperly changed at least 12,542 failing grades to passing from 2016-2020, which according to Henry, inflated the graduation rate at some schools by as much as 10 percent.

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“I want him to grow up and succeed and be a productive young man in society,” said Gray.

Gray tells FOX45 News for the past seven years he’s been proactive by fighting for his son, by fighting the school system to stop them from giving his son grades he did not earn.

Gregory Gray’s son is set to graduate this summer from Baltimore City Public Schools (WBFF)

“Like I told you before, I will never stop fighting for my son. And that’s the truth,” stated Gray.

But Gray worries about the future of the students whose parents are not as proactive. What will happen to those students? If the study, “Easy A’s, Less Pay: The Long-Term Effects of Grade Inflation” is correct, we already know.

“If they’re not helping my kid and I’m an advocate for my kid,” concluded Gray, “you can just imagine the parents that are not speaking up and believe in everything the school system is telling them.”

Follow Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst on X and Facebook. Send news tips to cjpapst@sbgtv.com