Study: Lower standards fuelling better grades
Martin O’Grady, a psychology lecturer at Institute of Technology Tralee, said that the “rampant grade inflation” he and a colleague found in research in 2007 had slowed. However, he said, as colleges and examiners lowered standards, students are working less, fuelling employer concerns about standards of graduates.
The Irish Universities Association did not comment yesterday on the latest research paper from the Network for Irish Educational Standards, which covers graduation awards from 2005 to 2009. The web-based forum was set up by Mr O’Grady and two colleagues at IT Tralee to research threats to quality of education, with emphasis on the risks of grade inflation.
The report compares average percentages of first class (1:1) and upper second (2:1) degrees awarded across the seven universities in 2008 and 2009 with the averages for 2002, 2004 and 2005. The analysis of data from the Higher Education Authority shows an 11.4% increase in students getting firsts and a 13.9% rise in upper seconds.
All the universities showed increases, except for 1:1 hon-ours degrees at Dublin City University where they dropped by 18%.
A longer-term comparison of most recent grades to those awarded in 1994 and 1995 showed the proportion of 1:1s has more than doubled and 70% more 2:1s being awarded. The figures mask wide ranges of increases, from 75% more firsts at University College Dublin to over seven times more at NUI Maynooth, and rises in 2:1 awards from 32% at UCD to 283% at NUIM.
Mr O’Grady said part of the problem is the pressure on colleges to increase their intake, with Leaving Certificate results and CAO points of average students falling. But this is not reflected in the numbers getting higher degree grades
“The pressure has been on examiners to pass larger numbers of students. The only way that will change is if all universities agree to tell examiners to uphold standards and fail people if they don’t meet the standard.”
