A’s the most common college grade?

In an opinion column published by the Austin American-Statesman, Thomas K. Lindsay of the Texas Public Policy Foundation declared that American college students study less than they once did.

We didn’t delve into that.

At a reader’s nudge, though, we poked behind Lindsay’s next statement: “Approximately 43 percent of all college grades today are A’s, an increase of 28 percentage points since 1960.”

That’s right, according to a study whose authors took our follow-up questions.

Broadly, grade inflation took root in the Vietnam war era, though A’s came harder to earn for a spell in the late 1970s and early 1980s before renewed easing. Texas institutions figuring into this national analysis include Texas A&M University and Texas State University.

The full item is posted to the right.

This will not be on the final.