Effect of Increased Evaluation Objectivity on Grade Inflation: Precise Grading Rubrics and Rigorously Developed Tests.

This retrospective, comparative study examined the effect of increasing objectivity of evaluation methods on grade inflation in a graduate nursing research course. Multiple-choice testing and increased precision in grading rubrics were added to the course. Outcome measures of student grade distributions for the course were measured pre/post course revision. Statistically significant reductions in grade distributions were observed after course evaluation method revisions were implemented (U = 4575.0, P < .001).