The news this week that the number of first-class degrees awarded by Trinity has increased by 33 per cent between 2013 and 2015 will likely evoke concern that this is the latest symptom of a general trend of grade inflation in Irish third-level sector. Indeed, with some courses seeing as many as 61 per cent of graduates awarded a first, one could probably be forgiven for thinking that the obstacles to achieving these grades are quickly diminishing. It is not difficult to envisage negative consequences from an overly liberal approach to grades and marking schemes in universities. Grades could be stripped of their value and meaning, and their utility for employers, if universities too widely extend the significant endorsement of character and competence that is a first-class degree.
This concern is similar to one which has been levelled at the Leaving Certificate examinations and the system of CAO points, which has also revealed signs of steadily rising grades. In 2000, for example, 37.8 per cent of Leaving Certificate students earned 350 points or more, with this figure rising to 49.5 per cent by 2016. While this may well be problematic and perhaps analogous to grade inflation in universities, there is a definite need for caution when comparing university grades with the case of the Leaving Certificate.
The overwhelming majority of Leaving Certificate candidates go on to apply for third-level education through the CAO, where grades are converted into points. These points then serve as a currency for the allocation of third-level places, with the grades required for particular courses fluctuating according to supply and demand. The purpose of the CAO as it processes all of these applications is to stratify people, to place candidates on a spectrum and mediate competing demands for college places. When grades in these exams are inflated, the effect is immediate because essentially all applications are being channelled into this “market”.
Universities are dealing with a very different situation. An increase in grades, if done responsibly and in pursuit of a desire to reward only genuinely deserving students, is unlikely to have as significant an impact because graduates will spread out over very different career paths. Some will go on to study for further qualifications, some will enter the job market, but in all likelihood looking to do very different things. In contrast to the highly impersonal system of the CAO, one would also hope that experience, attitude and personality might matter that bit more to employers in the selection of graduates.
In addition, an emphasis on stratifying students makes a lot less sense in universities. Unlike the CAO, which is dealing with the entire spectrum of students’ ability, stringent entry requirements mean that many courses will be populated almost exclusively by very high-achieving candidates. An undue focus on stratification would almost penalise students at graduation for having done so well at Leaving Certificate level.
Before criticising Trinity for grade inflation, and deriding graduates for getting an easy reward, greater reflection on the specific consequences of grade inflation in universities is needed.
