A recent study raises grave worries about the declining value of college degrees by connecting ChatGPT to grade inflation in writing and coding courses. In comparison to courses where AI cannot readily substitute student effort, an analysis of over 500,000 grades showed that “A” marks rose by 30% in courses exposed to AI.
The results imply that students who were previously getting C grades are now getting A grades—not because they learned more, but rather because AI completed their homework.
The Research Behind the Headlines
Dr. Igor Chirikov of UC Berkeley investigated almost 500,000 student enrollments in 319 courses across 84 departments at a significant Texas research institution between 2018 and 2025 for his working paper, “Artificial Intelligence and Grade Inflation.”
The results are shocking: classes that heavily depended on AI-vulnerable tasks, such as writing essays and coding, saw the largest grade increases following the release of ChatGPT.
Chirikov told Axios that students who had previously received C grades are now obtaining A grades.
Quick Facts
| Key Detail | Information |
| Lead Researcher | Dr. Igor Chirikov (UC Berkeley) |
| Data Size | 500,000+ student enrollments |
| Courses Analyzed | 319 courses in 84 departments |
| Key Finding | 30% increase in A grades in AI-exposed courses |
| Most Affected Fields | Writing-intensive courses, coding courses |
How Researchers Isolated AI’s Impact on Grades
Chirikov had a problem: he was unable to arbitrarily grant ChatGPT access to certain courses while excluding others.
In order to compare grade trends in more AI-exposed courses vs less AI-exposed courses before and after ChatGPT’s release, he employed a difference-in-difference research design.
“AI-exposed” courses: what are they?
with a higher proportion of assignments that AI can successfully replace student labor, mainly essay writing and coding jobs completed as unsupervised homework.
“Less AI-exposed” courses: what are they?
Sculpting, lab work, live oral presentations, and class debates are examples of courses that AI finds difficult to imitate.
The Placebo Test
Chirikov used the percentage of oral presentations in a course as the exposure measure in a placebo test to validate his findings.
If his primary conclusions were about AI task substitution, this metric shouldn’t predict grade gains
because live oral presentation performance cannot be replaced by current AI technologies.
Chirikov clarified, “The interpretation that the grade increases are specific to course tasks where AI
capabilities are strongest is supported by the placebo test, which found no significant effect on grades.”
Why This Matters for Employers: The Signaling Problem
Employers use Grade Point Averages (GPAs) as crucial signals. GPA is now used by 42% of businesses to select applicants, up from 37% in 2023.
The issue is that the signal becomes less trustworthy if grades increase because AI is enhancing submitted work rather than because students are learning more.
Chirikov warns, “My study shows that AI may worsen this problem by inflating grades the most in courses where students can most easily substitute AI for their own effort.”
Employer Responses to Grade Inflation
Some companies are already responding:
| Company | Action |
| Barclays | Removed minimum GPA requirement for internships |
| Morgan Stanley | Removed GPA thresholds for certain roles |
| General trend | Nearly 25% of job postings requiring GPA now ask for 3.5 or higher (up from 9% in 2020) |
However, even prestigious universities are raising concerns. According to a Yale University report:
“The purpose of grades is to communicate what students have learned. At Yale—and at many peer institutions—they no longer serve that function.
In a similar vein, Harvard’s February 2026 research said that businesses find it challenging to compare pupils due to the present grading methods.
Chelsea Schein, an adjunct professor at Wharton and vice president of Veris Insights, pointed out the dilemma that employers encounter:
“They make contradicting claims. Employers value graduates who are proficient in AI technologies, but they remain wary of applicants who use these technologies during the application process.
Reporter Perception: AI-driven grade inflation might harm the most honest students in Pakistan, where there are few university spots and intense rivalry for jobs. The student who uses ChatGPT for all of their assignments may now appear better on paper than the student who completes their own work. Universities must quickly adjust.
Conclusion
What many educators and employers have suspected is confirmed by Dr. Chirikov’s research:
| Before ChatGPT (Pre-2022) | After ChatGPT (2023–2025) |
| Grades reflected student effort and learning | Grades increasingly reflect AI use |
| GPAs were reliable signals for employers | GPAs are becoming unreliable |
| C students stayed C students | C students became A students overnight |
What needs to happen:
- Oral exams, in-person coding, and proctored writing must all be redesigned by universities to be resistant to artificial intelligence.
- Employers ought to use skills-based assessment in addition to GPA.
- Students should understand that utilizing AI to cheat is detrimental to their own education and could result in detection.
Grades are meant to convey what students have learned. The system as a whole collapses when they are no longer used for that purpose.
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