Are female teachers more likely to practice grade inflation? Evidence from China

Abstract

Grade inflation has become a global phenomenon that raises concerns in the academia and the public. This study examines whether high grades accompanying with the growth of female teachers arise from student improvement or grade inflation. We use randomly assigned samples from the China Education Panel Survey and obtain the following results. (1) Students taught by female teachers obtain 1.57 grades point higher compared with those taught by male teachers. High grades do not result from student progress but from grade inflation. (2) Female teachers practice grade inflation for different students, and the effect is more pronounced among female students, low-ability students, and students in senior grades. (3) Female teachers may adopt a high-grades practice due to potential pressures under discrimination and uncertainty rather than for the sake of course or students. (4) Last, high grades brought by female teachers lead to less effort for students in the second year. This paper not only provides data support for understanding the increasing grade inflation, but also offers clear implications for the improvement of evaluation systems.