Project of the Month: INFLATE

In Germany, there is a perception that good grades are being awarded more often today – without students actually having to work harder for them. The term “grade inflation” has become established to describe this phenomenon. But is this assumption justified?

School grades shape everyday school life and play a central role in (post-)school transitions. They serve as a signal, form the basis for degrees, transition recommendations, and the allocation of training and study places. They are also intended to communicate performance levels and provide motivational incentives. Despite the high importance of grades within a school career, however, there has been little empirical research on possible grade inflation in Germany to date.

The project  “INFLATE – Between Inflation, Stability, and Deflation” aims to change this and examines grade inflation using existing data.

INFLATE is a joint project involving researchers from DIPF, the University of Bonn, and  the Health and Medical University Potsdam (HMU). Other partners in the collaboration include the Institute for Quality Development in Education (IQB) and TU Dortmund University. DIPF researcher Dr. Marko Neumann is leading the DFG-funded project together with Prof. Dr. Malte Jansen (HMU) and Prof. Dr. Nicolas Hübner (University of Bonn). Judith Weinecke is strengthening the team at DIPF with a doctoral position.

To answer the research questions, the team is drawing on existing data and using international and national school performance studies from the last 25 years, such as PISA, TIMSS, IGLU, and the IQB Education Trend. 
The researchers are currently compiling data sets for evaluation and preparing them for analysis. Preparations are also underway for the first scientific publications, primarily within the framework of two doctoral positions based in the INFLATE project. Initial results are also to be presented at national and international conferences starting in autumn.