[In This Economy] Let’s discuss grade inflation in the Philippines
Grade inflation is typically understood as the overall rise of grades students receive for the same level or quality of effort — not unlike the inflation of prices we’re all too familiar with.
Both empirical and anecdotal evidence suggest grade inflation was especially high amid the pandemic.
In my home university, the University of the Philippines Diliman, one stark piece of evidence comes from the number of graduates with Latin honors.
For example, the number of summa cum laude graduates dramatically rose in 2022 and reached a record high of 305 in 2023 (see Figure 1).
(Here’s some context: In UP, the highest grade is 1.0, the lowest passing grade is 3.0, and the failing grade is 5.0. To graduate summa cum laude, your cumulative average grade by the time of graduation must be no greater than 1.20. The threshold for magna cum laude is 1.45; for cum laude it’s 1.75.)
For comparison, when I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in economics in 2009, we were only 18 summa cum laude graduates. A decade before that, in 1999, there were only 5.
The yearly average of summa graduates from 2000 to 2009 was 8.5; from 2010 to2019, it was 27.8. So 305 is definitely a lot. This year, 2024, the number of summa graduates dropped slightly to 286. But that’s still a lot.
Figure 1.
The evidence for grade inflation in UP goes well beyond the trend of summa cum laude graduates.
Figure 2 below shows that since 2022, there have been more magna cum laude graduates than cum laude graduates in UP Diliman every year. In 2024, for example, 1,109 graduated magna cum laude, and only 788 graduated cum laude.
Also, since 2022, there have been more graduates with Latin honors than those without. In 2024, 62% or the majority of all graduates (of baccalaureate degree programs, non-degree programs, and certificate programs) had Latin honors, while only 38% had none.
These are all very different from the historical trends.
Figure 2.
All of these numbers point to grade inflation amid the pandemic. When I pointed out these stats on Twitter last year, I drew tons — and I mean TONS — of flak. I was canceled to death. Rather than spark honest-to-goodness discussions about this last year, I inadvertently sparked outrage.
To many, my tweets on this topic came off as needlessly showy or boastful (which, in hindsight, I admit they were). Others thought that I was belittling the honor graduates, begrudging them for their honors, or diminishing their hard work — which is not at all what I intended. Still others denied the existence of grade inflation; some said students now are simply more intelligent than previous batches.
I regret the manner in which I attempted to spark discussion on this topic. But I’m still glad I generated some interest and discussion around grade inflation. Recent discussions are turning out to be more calm and objective.
An August 1 article by the Philippine Collegian, the official student publication of UP Diliman, featured data they obtained from the Office of the University Registrar. Apparently, since 2022, almost half of all numerical grades in UP Diliman were 1.0 or 1.25 — the highest grades possible.
The author, Reg Dipasupil, said, “While some may see this data as an indication that grade inflation — the increase in the average grade given to students over time — exists, the connection remains nebulous, especially since no pre-pandemic data is available.”
I agree that more data needs to be analyzed. But although pre-pandemic registration grades data are difficult to get, I would say that the ballooning number of summa and magna cum laude graduates is evidence of grade inflation since 2022, since the thresholds for achieving these honors have remained constant over time. Remember that grade inflation is not just a rise in overall grades, but a rise of grades for the same level or quality of effort.
At any rate, I appreciate this sober take: “Talk of the increased number of graduates with Latin honors is not just born out of a desire to keep the group limited and prestigious. Some say that practical considerations apply, too. In Yale, for example, critics ask if employers should even look at grades at all if students from a batch are all considered ‘excellent.’”
Why grade inflation?
Grade inflation at the tertiary level is by no means unique to the Philippines. The education economics literature, for example, has extensively documented grade inflation in the US.
A 2022 article in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics showed that college completion rates in the US have generally risen since the 1990s. And a big factor behind this is grade inflation, since grades are a good predictor of graduation rates, and grades have risen steadily in the US. They were able to rule out other possible factors like students’ characteristics and institutional resources.
In the case of UP, grade inflation may have been present well before the pandemic. But it has been especially drastic since 2022.
One of the most likely explanations is the suspension of academic rules, including a ban on giving 4.0 (conditional failure) and 5.0. There were also more lenient rules on force-dropping students and giving incomplete grades. Rules on scholastic delinquency — warning, probation, dismissal, and permanent disqualification — were also suspended. All this was done “in the spirit of compassion and flexibility.”
After five semesters, the no-fail and other leniency rules were lifted. Since then, there has been a decline in top grades — at least in some colleges — as shown in the Collegian article. Colleagues from other UP constituent units are also beginning to see a return to pre-pandemic grading trends.
Another possible manifestation of this is the decline in the number of summa and magna graduates in 2024, accompanied by an increase in cum laude graduates.
I hope more research is done to study the seeming reversal of trends of late. I’m also curious about trends in other universities nationwide.
Grade inflation in basic education
It would be a big mistake to think that grade inflation is present only in higher education. In fact, it’s also rife in basic education.
An Inquirer piece recently featured a viral Facebook post showing the “stellar” high school grades of an applicant to a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management program. The applicant’s grades contrast with a horrible answer to an essay question (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Source: MaRose Rodriguez on Facebook.
Said MaRose Rodriguez who posted this on Facebook, “This isn’t just an isolated case. Many of them are like this. It’s a symptom of a larger issue in our educational system. This post is not about blaming teachers or students. It’s about hoping to wake everyone to the crisis in our educational system. I think this issue is more important than the price of rice. #EducationReformNow”
Unlike grade inflation in UP, grade inflation in basic education is the more serious problem, affecting dozens of millions of students yearly.
It is likely caused by a bunch of factors including the “mass promotion” culture, where students are allowed to move up to higher grade levels even if they can’t read or write properly. This is aided by almost absurd transmutation tables where a class standing of, say, 60-61.59 is automatically transmuted into 75.
The inevitable result is that nearly everyone moves up in basic education or graduates from it with honors, as recently observed by journalist Barnaby Lo.
Effects of grade inflation
On the one hand, grade inflation — whether in basic education or higher education — may mean higher graduation rates or a higher probability of graduating, insofar as grades could predict graduation (like in the US and other countries).
On the other hand, persistent grade inflation will likely devalue grades and honors as useful signals of skills and merit outside the university.
Potential employers may find it more difficult to assess the competencies of prospective hires, increasing the risk of job mismatch or increasing the costs of job search. Inflated grades can also mask deficiencies that only become apparent on the job, leading to performance issues that can be a liability for both the individual and their organization.
In sum, raising the issue of grade inflation is not at all about the need to maintain elite clubs of those with high grades or honors. We need to discuss grade inflation soberly and objectively because it has massive ramifications not just for students in and out of school, but also for parents, teachers, administrators, and employers.
Using grades may at times feel tyrannical and even oppressive. But so long as they’re here, and viable alternatives at scale are still unfeasible, we must guard against grade inflation to preserve the value of grades as a signal of skill and merit — just as we strive to prevent price inflation from eroding the purchasing power of the peso. – Rappler.com
JC Punongbayan, PhD is an assistant professor at the UP School of Economics and the author of False Nostalgia: The Marcos “Golden Age” Myths and How to Debunk Them. In 2024, he received The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award for economics. JC’s views are independent of his affiliations. Follow him on Twitter/X (@jcpunongbayan) and Usapang Econ Podcast.