Jun 21, 2005

Are Adjuncts to Blame for Grade Inflation?

by Liberty and Power

Economist Mark Thoma focuses on the increasing reliance on adjunct faculty as a factor in the rise of grade inflation. His study

"broke down grade inflation by instructor rank and found it is much higher among assistant professors, adjuncts, TAs, instructors, etc. than for associate or full professors. These are instructors who are usually hired year-to-year or need to demonstrate teaching effectiveness for the job market, so they have an incentive to inflate evaluations as much as possible, and high grades are one means of manipulating student course evaluations."

To a great extent, this coincides with our experience at the University of Alabama. My study of grade distortion (co-authored by L and P blogger, Charles W. Nuckolls) found that departments which rely heavily on adjuncts or part-timers often had a high percentage of A's in introductory courses. Nearly 80 percent of the students in introductory Women's Studies courses, for example. had A's for a two year average.

On the other hand, one of the most notorious inflationary units on campus is the College of Education which relies mostly on full-time faculty. Instructors in that college awarded over 50 percent A's for a two year average.

Hat tip Ralph Luker at Cliopatria.