grade inflation

noun

: a rise in the average grade assigned to students

especially : the assigning of grades higher than previously assigned for given levels of achievement

Examples of grade inflation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Parents can no longer rely on grades to gauge their child’s actual knowledge, but that’s also true in many wealthy school districts and even in some private schools, where grade inflation is rampant. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026

The new policy was approved in May by 70% of Harvard faculty in the school of arts and sciences, in one of the strongest moves against grade inflation in US higher education in decades. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 19 Aug. 2026

And address grade inflation through faculty governance and academic leadership. — David Rosowsky, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Writers argue in our opinion section about calculator theft, the cure for teenage sleep deprivation, grade inflation, AI policies, and more. — Annabelle Garland, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for grade inflation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration