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grade inflation

American  

noun

Education.

  1. the awarding of higher grades than students deserve either to maintain a school's academic reputation or as a result of diminished teacher expectations.

  2. a rise in the average grade given to students.

grade inflation British  

noun

  1. an apparently continual increase in numbers of students attaining high examination grades, or the practice of awarding grades in this way

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of grade inflation

First recorded in 1980–85

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.