Grading after reform: How policy change affected teachers’ grading for university entrance qualifications

This paper investigates the impact of a 2020 Austrian grading reform on teachers’ grading practices for university entrance qualifications. The reform introduced a combined model integrating teacher-awarded classroom grades with standardized exam scores. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, we analyze longitudinal data on classroom grades in German and Mathematics from 2017 to 2023, alongside 14 in-depth teacher interviews. Quantitative findings reveal significant grade inflation following the reform, particularly in Mathematics. Qualitative results offer insight into the reform’s influence on teachers’ grading behavior, highlighting a shift toward greater leniency and strategic decision-making to secure students’ passing of final exams. Teachers reported a decline in grading standards, along with increased internal conflict and external pressure, raising concerns about the credibility of final outcomes. These studies contribute to educational research by highlighting how policy changes can affect final grades and teacher decision-making, revealing far-reaching, unintended consequences of structural shifts in high-stakes contexts. • Study longitudinally examines effects of Austria’s 2020 grading reform • Grade inflation increased after the reform, especially in mathematics • Reform induced strategic grading to secure university entrance qualifications • Reform weakened perceived value of standardized examinations