Grading Reports

CSUSB Grade Distribution Trends
This PDF file gives the grade distribution trends and letter grade averages for the entire University, each College and each Discipline from the Academic Years 1994-95 through 2000-01. The tables and graphs also report at the course division level (lower, upper and graduate). This report was generated from an Excel database and associated pivot tables. A variation on the Excel report is currently being developed and "beta tested" for the Colleges and Disciplines which will enable similar trend analyses at the individual faculty and course level. Deans and Chairs are invited to contact the Office of Institutional Research if they are interested in participating in the development process or in receiving training on accessing the detailed data for their area when it becomes available.

Trends in Letter Grades Assigned
This PDF report examines grading over a longer period than the above report. It contains a chart which shows the trends in annual average undergraduate letter grades going back to the beginning of the institution in 1965. From 1970 to 1990 the Spring grades for the campus and the CSU as a whole were available and have been plotted. It is clear that "grade inflation" has been a long term phenomena.

Also given are the percentage of letter grades at each course level from Pre-College ("000") through Graduate ("600") for each Academic Year from 1990-91 through 2000-01. The total of all courses at the "100" level or higher have shown an increase in the percentage of "A" grades assigned with the greatest being for "400" level upper division courses which went from an average of 21.3% "A" in 1990-91 to 36.7% "A" in 2000-01 for an absolute increase of 15.4% of the total. The lowest increase among college level courses was for "300" level courses which went from 22.8% to 26.8%: an increase of 4.0%.

CSUSB Section Letter Grade Averages by Faculty Rank
This PDF report examined in detail the letter grades assigned during calendar year 2001 focusing on the impact of class type, class level, and faculty rank. Lecture/Seminar grades tended to be lower than for other modes of instruction. While the average grade assigned increased with the level of the class, grade averages tended to decrease with the faculty rank of the instructor.