Too many A’s, not enough honesty? Episode 1011 of The Education Gadfly Show

Bibb Hubbard, founder and CEO of Learning Heroes, joins the Education Gadfly Show to discuss grade inflation and the disconnect between what parents think report cards are telling them and how students are actually performing. As families rely on grades and teacher feedback to understand student progress, can stronger school-family communication help give parents a more honest picture of how their children are doing? Then on the Research Minute, Amber Northern looks at new research on Chicago’s merit-based free community college program and what it suggests about college choice, degree attainment, and whether free tuition at two-year colleges steers students away from four-year success. Recommended content: B-flation | How Good Grades Can Sideline Parents —Gallup, Inc The Engagement Advantage — Dr. Eyal Bergman and Dr. Zenzile Riddick, Learning Heroes Fixing grade inflation via clear policies and cultural change —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED Fixing grade inflation through incentives and transparency —Michael J. Petrilli, SCHOOLED The Effect of Merit-Based Free Community College —Emileigh Harrison, Kelly Hallberg, Elijah Ruiz, and Marvin Slaughter, EdWorking Papers (March 2026) Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show? We would love to hear them. Send them to thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org

You can listen to Too many A’s, not enough honesty? Episode 1011 of The Education Gadfly Show online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Too many A’s, not enough honesty? Episode 1011 of The Education Gadfly Show is an episode from The Education Gadfly Show by Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

This episode is 39:42 long.

This episode was published on Mar 25, 2026.

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