Job Market Paper
From A-Minus to A: Generative AI and Grade Compression at the Top
Grades are already close to the top of the scale. Did generative AI push them even higher? I use a large language model to read every course syllabus at the University of Texas at Austin from 2015 to 2025 and measure how much of each course grade comes from unproctored work that AI can do. After ChatGPT arrived, courses with more of this work gave more A grades and fewer A- and B+ grades, while low grades did not change. Instructors quickly added AI rules to their syllabi, but they barely changed grade weights or proctoring.