| Abstract: | Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is one of the quality parameters routinely employed to set the
students’ performance in higher institutions. It has long been used as a yardstick in various competition
types and enrolment at higher educational institutions. Recently, several institutions (Public and Private)
had phenomenally mushroomed where a wide spectrum of grading schemes is expected. Variations in
grading system could be reflected on the CGPA scored by graduates: either from similar departments of
different institutions, or from different batches of the same institutions. The observed heterogeneity has
induced scepticism from stakeholders on the efficacy and objectivity of CGPA, which eventually call for
systematic standardization tool.
This study has attempted to (1) identify the patterns of grade inflation across institutions and through time;
and (2) generate a standardization technique, which enables across-college and across-batch objectification.
CGPA of sample graduates from business-oriented departments of Public and Private institutions were
collected and interpreted. Besides, pertinent data were collected from college instructors and employing
organization through structured questionnaire.
Results of the study showed that there is a trend of grade inflation (1) as one moves from the Public to
Private owned institutions, (2) within different Public colleges, and (3) across years within Public-owned
departments. In a bid to standardize the quality of graduates across institutions, this study developed a
Normalized Index (computed as
CGPA ESLCE
CGPA ESLCE
+
−
), which took into account CGPA and ESLCE (Ethiopian
School Leaving Certificate Examination) scores. An equation ACGPA = CGPA ± NI was derived to
calculate the Adjusted CGPA. A Look up Table was prepared for all grading scenarios, which enables a
user-friendly adjustment to the CGPA of college graduates. This study recommends that ACGPA should be
fine-tuned to take into account other variables and needs to be validated on un-sampled institutions. |
