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Between inflation, stability, and deflation: New perspectives and in-depth analyses of the differential development of grades, achievement-related psychosocial characteristics, recommendations, and aspirations in primary and secondary education

Laufzeit  |  Timeline                                      2025-2028  

Leitung   |  Project Leads                            

Prof. Dr. Nicolas Hübner (Universität Bonn),

Dr. Marko Neumann (DIPF),

Prof. Dr. Malte Jansen (IQB/HMU)

Mitwirkende  |  Collaborators                    

Prof. Dr. Petra Stanat,

Prof. Dr. Michael Becker, 

Dr. Lars Hoffmann

Mittelgeber  |  Funding Organization        

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

School grades are a central source of information in the contexts of transition recommendations and decisions after elementary and lower secondary school, vocational selection processes, and access to restricted degree programs in universities. In addition, grades influence students’ aspirations of what to do after graduating from school or vocational training and predict subsequent occupational employment, academic success, and the decision to leave the educational pathway. Despite the great importance of school grades, difficulties regarding their validity and comparability have been extensively documented, especially in the past two decades. Controversies regarding the inflationary awarding of good or very good school grades, so-called grade inflation, form a kind of culmination of these debates. The academic literature discusses grade inflation as a phenomenon characterized by systematic improvement in grades or grade point averages without a concomitant increase in actual achievement or competencies. This research project is aimed at conducting a comprehensive investigation of this phenomenon in German primary and lower secondary education using different large-scale data sets (e.g., data from the National Assessment Studies).