![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/tacthyptxt\/files\/2012\/10\/economix-13gradeinflation-custom2.jpg\")
<\/a>Distribution of grades over the decades, 1960s-2000s. Source: New York Times Economix Blog<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n A separate study performed by data scientists at the National Bureau of Economic Research indicates a simultaneous and opposite shift in the number of hours spent by American university students per week working on homework — a reduction from 40 hours in 1961 to just 27 hours<\/em> in 2003. Reasons for the shift are inexplicable by any other phenomenon than ‘a fundamental change in the human capital production on American university and college campus’, according to the study.<\/p>\n Regardless of the forces motivating such a shift — including a competitive job market<\/strong>, where students need the best GPA achievable, rising college costs<\/strong>, and increasing numbers of job-oriented majors<\/strong>, where students might expect 100% (i.e. an ‘A’ grade) for comprehension and synthesis of all subject material — it’s an inherently devaluing and dangerous<\/a> one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The average cumulative grade point average has been improving steadily since the early 1960s, according to ex-professor of geophysics and grade inflation expert, Stuart Rojstaczer. Since abandoning the academic realm, Rojstaczer has dedicated himself to in-depth study of the trend … Continue reading