Despite Grade Inflation, Children From Married Families Do Better

Has grading leniency in primary and secondary schools across the US leveled the playing field for students of different family backgrounds? This was one aspiration of the remarkable grade inflation observed in the last quarter of a century. But rather than resolve the discrepancy, grade inflation from 1996 to 2019 has brought with it an even greater gap between children from married-intact families and children from unmarried and non-intact families, growing from 9% to 13%. Needless to say, family stability still matters – arguably more than ever – for children’s success in school.

by Sophie Anderson