Grades carry a lot of weight in K–12 education with students, families, and administrators. But despite being a core responsibility of every classroom teacher, grading itself is not easy. All too often, inaccurate and inconsistent grading slips into classrooms. Grade inflation and deflation can greatly affect students’ learning trajectories as well as their growth opportunities in school and beyond. This article breaks down what grade inflation and deflation look like in practice, how each negatively impacts student learning, and what administrators can do to mitigate the issue. How Grade Inflation and Deflation Affects Learners Grade inflation refers to instances in which students receive grades that do not reflect the learning and growth they actually achieved in the classroom. Conversely, grade deflation means that students receive a lower grade in a class, despite demonstrating greater proficiency or achievement in that content area. Here’s an example of grade inflation in action. One study by the American Institutes of Research found that, before the pandemic, grades given to middle and high school students in Washington correlated with state assessment scores. This is what most educators would expect—that grades and assessment scores increase or decrease in tandem with one another. However, after school shutdowns began in 2020, researchers found that the percentage of students receiving A grades radically increased, despite these students scoring in lower percentiles on subsequent state standardized tests. These students likely received inflated grades that did not reflect their true grasp of related content. Why does this matter? When a student’s grades do not trend consistently with their proficiency, it sends mixed (or worse, false) signals to the adults in their life about their learning needs, including their teachers, school principals, counselors, and families. As a result, one of two outcomes is likely to occur: A student may not receive the resources they need to bolster their learning. As this student faces more complex material in higher grades and beyond K–12, they may struggle academically and fall more and more behind their peers. A student may not have access to more rigorous learning opportunities to match their knowledge and skills. They may miss out on more advanced content and coursework, college admissions, scholarship opportunities, and more. Some arguments link grade inflation and deflation to academic complacency, both from the students and important adults in their lives. For instance, if parents see that their child receives mostly As and Bs, they may not pursue additional learning opportunities such as tutoring, even if the student’s proficiency scores are low. These phenomena are also related to grading practices that may harm specific student groups in the long run. In particular, Black students, Hispanic students, and students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch are most negatively affected by mismatches between grades earned and standardized test scores achieved. The Gray Areas of Better Grading With these concerns in mind, it may seem like the solution is simple: ensure students’ grades match actual proficiency. But as anyone with classroom experience can share, improving grading accuracy comes with a lot of gray areas. First, grading is rarely consistent between teachers and even between schools in the same district. Some tools, like a grading rubric, can reduce these variances and, in turn the likelihood of grade inflation or deflation. Yet few schools create clear, consistent, and rigorous guidelines around grading, and enforcing those rubrics can be tricky. Second, educators disagree on which approaches to grading most accurately reflect a student’s achievement. Some argue for separating non-academic factors (like attendance) and grades to clarify that grades are purely an academic measure of learning. Others stand against the traditional A to F scale entirely, pointing to more binary options indicating a student’s mastery of content. Last, teachers, administrators, parents, and even students may not agree on the purpose of grading itself. It can be especially difficult to change grading practices when these perspectives do not align. 3 Actions To Counter Grade Inflation and Deflation Even with these challenges, administrators have a responsibility to minimize grade inflation and deflation. The trajectory of a student’s future in high school and beyond still greatly depends on grades, so it becomes critical to make grading accurate and consistent. Here are three steps that a district administrator, principal, or instructional coach can use to: Determine if there is potential grade inflation or deflation in an organization. Understand the nature of these inaccuracies. Strategize how to reduce these instances and improve grading practices. 1. Carefully analyze grades against standardized or screening assessments This step is crucial for understanding where and how possible grade inflation or deflation may be occurring within an organization. First, compare students’ class grades against relevant standardized test and universal screening test scores in one content area. Review data at the classroom, school, and district levels to isolate where grading mismatches are occurring. Here’s an example: An elementary school principal examines all report card data across third-grade math against proficiency scores from NWEA Math. They notice a few unusual trends in their comparison. Of the students assigned an A grade, nine percent were not proficient on the NWEA Math post-assessment. Conversely, of those students who received an F letter grade, three percent were proficient. The principal also sees that, in one classroom, some students were not proficient on their NWEA Math post-assessment, yet still earned a letter grade A or B for math on their last report card. Analyzing class grade data and proficiency scores like these surfaces unusual discrepancies to then investigate more deeply. Additional Tips Consider the degree of possible inflation or deflation in any analysis. The bigger the gap between a grade and its corresponding test scores, the bigger the concern. Review these comparisons at least twice per school year, if not more frequently as data become available. This allows teams to make incremental shifts to grading practices throughout the year. Invest in a comprehensive digital solution to make these comparisons (and deeper analyses) accurate and accessible. Solutions like Level Data’s Return On Instruction platform house academic achievement, program…

Level Data, Inc. is proud to announce that three of its innovative K–12 solutions—ROI (Return on Instruction), Brolly, and Grow—have been named winners in the 2025 Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence: Back to School within the Secondary Education category. The annual Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence celebrate the most outstanding education technology products that demonstrate versatility, value, and the ability to solve real challenges in schools. Judged by a panel of industry experts, these awards recognize products that go above and beyond to support effective teaching and learning as districts prepare for the new school year. Tech & Learning’s editorial team shared: “The 2025 awards welcomed an abundance of high-quality entries. Our panel of industry experts judged the winning products and solutions to be of the highest standard in supporting effective teaching and learning practices when moving into the new school year. Every winner should be immensely proud of their accomplishments—a well-deserved congratulations from the entire Tech & Learning awards team.” How ROI Helps K–12 Leaders Maximize Educational Impact with Data-Driven Spending Empowering K–12 leaders to connect spending with student outcomes, ROI is an educational return-on-investment (eROI) platform that helps districts link cost, participation, and performance data across all instructional resources, digital and analog alike. Instead of relying on fragmented systems or usage reports, ROI provides clear, actionable insights into what’s working, for whom, and why. With intuitive dashboards and automated data integration, district leaders can evaluate programs for effectiveness, equity, and impact—all in one place. Judges praised ROI for its ability to bring clarity and inclusivity to district decision-making: “What makes this product stand out for me is its ability to track both digital and analog resources. Being able to compare the use and success of all learning resources is extremely important. Also, access to their in-house data people to help disaggregate the data is very helpful.” Brolly Simplifies IEP Tracking and Compliance for Special Education Teams Brolly streamlines IEP service tracking and compliance for special and general education teams. It is a web-based platform that replaces spreadsheets and paper logs with an easy-to-use digital system for managing IEP services, accommodations, and modifications. Educators can log services, link them to goals, and monitor progress in real time—while administrators gain visibility into fulfillment and compliance across the district. By simplifying documentation and improving collaboration, Brolly ensures that students receive the support they’re entitled to, while giving teachers more time to focus on instruction. Judges recognized Brolly as an essential solution for overextended special education teams: “This is a much needed solution that helps the very busy and over-extended CST members track compliance. This can help improve outcomes for the CST and most importantly the students.” Grow Elevates Instructional Coaching and Teacher Development in K–12 Districts Grow is a unified platform for instructional coaching and professional growth. It transforms how schools support teacher development by centralizing observations, feedback, and progress tracking in one powerful platform. Districts can customize Grow to align with their coaching frameworks, giving leaders visibility into every coaching interaction and ensuring consistent, high-quality support across schools. The result: stronger instructional leadership, better teacher retention, and measurable student growth. The judges commended Grow for fostering collaboration and a shared language around professional learning: “This is a great tool for documenting and tracking professional growth. The use of a common language is so important in any organization and can keep all stakeholders on the same page and focused on goals.” This recognition underscores Level Data’s commitment to delivering powerful, easy-to-use solutions that remove the complexity from K–12 data management—helping educators focus on what matters most: improving student outcomes. Learn more about Level Data’s award-winning solutions on the Tech & Learning website and in upcoming features from the publication.

A corporate CEO and a district superintendent walk into a coffee bar… These two leaders have more in common than one might initially think.  Both are charged with making smart decisions to drive strategic goals. Both oversee many programs and people that bring their organizations’ visions to life. Both must carefully steward their funds, investing in those efforts that make the biggest impact. And both leaders need the right data to understand the returns on investment, also known as ROI.  How they analyze ROI, however, is where the similarities end. This article will answer essential questions about ROI in the context of K–12 education, such as: What is “educational return on investment” (eROI)? How does it differ from the traditional ROI of the business world? Why is eROI both critical and complicated to measure?  How can districts leverage this metric to make better financial and instructional decisions?  Let’s dive in. What is eROI, anyway? To understand eROI, we must first look at its counterpart in the corporate world. ROI is calculated as a ratio of costs and profits and guides crucial business decisions for organizations across most sectors.  Costs also matter to school districts, but the real “profits” in this case are student learning outcomes. Educators sometimes think of eROI as a measure of their “return on instruction” or “academic ROI.” But it involves more than curriculum or instruction alone. Other investments, such as professional learning for teachers, recruiting efforts to fill vacancies, supplemental learning tools, after-school programs, and more, also contribute to student success. Why does eROI matter? Understanding the eROI of even one educational investment is a game-changer for many districts. With eROI, leaders clearly see how their dollars correlate with student achievement.  It is the difference between hiking with a compass and trail map, versus wandering the path based on gut checks and a hazy memory of the park map. Take, for example, an online math program purchased to boost third-grade math scores. A district leader measuring its success with eROI will understand not only how many purchased seats have been filled, but also how many students experience gains in their math scores based on their use of the program, whether particular subsets of students gain more or less than others, what dosage or frequency of program use correlates with maximum gains, and more.  With this insight into the program’s eROI, this leader can take a number of actions to minimize costs while maximizing impact, such as scale the program to new grade levels, train teachers on effective usage strategies to maximize the program’s potential, eliminate or redistribute unused seats, use program data to advocate to the school board to redirect funds away or towards the program, and so on.  That is the power of eROI.   What makes eROI difficult to measure? However, what makes eROI powerful is also what makes it complex to calculate.  Districts quickly become overwhelmed while trying to quantify the cost of their many investments against specific learning outcomes. Below are just a few challenges districts face when measuring eROI: Staying at the surface with usage data: Most instructional products, programs, and services tend to focus on usage as a signal of success. However, this data cannot reveal how students benefit from a particular investment, let alone how it maximally impacts learning per dollar spent.  Limited data accuracy and availability: Even if districts dig past usage data, it is cumbersome for teams to pull together the right metrics from the right places. Some data may be inaccessible or only available at certain times of the year; other data is not accurate to begin with. Efforts to clean and retrieve data cost valuable team time and effort. Isolated teams and conversations: How often do teams like Curriculum, Student Services, Operations, Human Resources, Finance, and more sit down together to jointly assess student outcomes against funding? Despite conceptually understanding the many factors affecting student learning and their costs, these conversations tend to be isolated to specific departments. This makes it tough for the organization as a whole to invest limited funds strategically to boost student achievement.  Fortunately, any district can work through these challenges with the right systems and processes in place. Read this blog to discover three critical strategies for measuring eROI successfully.  How can districts use eROI? There are two ways to apply eROI in district decision-making: eliminate wasteful spending and maximize the impact of investments made. Save district money eROI offers a quick way to save money by illuminating which resources are underutilized. Whether a district discovers unused licenses for a program or double-purchases at the district and school levels, they can easily align costs with usage accordingly.  However, those resources with 100% utilization also require scrutiny. Why? Districts have an obligation to ensure funds are well spent, achieving their goals for student learning. As we will explore below, eROI helps districts examine if even their most popular or well-used investments deliver on their promises. Districts can further leverage eROI to determine how to continue or adjust programs with at-risk funding sources, especially with the ongoing budget concerns unique to the 2025-2026 school year. eROI allows leaders to tease apart which programs may be worth reinvesting dollars from another source based on their impact, and which to cut. Watch our webinar to learn how Lee County Schools aligned their budget with their strategic plan by measuring every instructional investment. Maximize limited funding eROI continues to support leaders by detailing how well remaining investments deliver on student learning outcomes. This assessment involves understanding not only which resources drive student growth but also how they maximally impact learning.  This latter piece is essential. By understanding the “how” of a program’s impact on learning, districts can focus on spreading these best practices across schools.  Let’s revisit that online math program we discussed earlier. Perhaps this district discovers that students who utilize the program according to vendor instructions see double the gains in their math scores within one school year. Equipped with this insight, the…