Although many may not have shared in the wealth, University students received more As and A-minuses on their transcripts last spring than any other class earned in the past 20 years.

But what exactly that statistic means remains somewhat of a mystery. As University officials and professors struggle to make sense of grade distribution, changes abound at universities nationwide, creating new and confusing variables that have yet to be examined in depth.

"Nobody is ever going to be able to answer this question properly," said James Rambeau, associate dean for undergraduate education.

Those at Penn State who have studied changes in grade distribution have concluded that no grade-inflation problem is apparent, but the complexity of the issue prevents them from ruling out the possibility. Sometimes, a shift toward too many grades at the higher end of the scale can indicate that professors are grading easier, lessening the value of an A.

"You just can't tell," said Robert Melton, associate professor of aerospace engineering. "There may be something there."

Merely charting what grades professors distribute cannot result in a complete analysis of Penn State's grade situation, said Melton, who chairs the Faculty Senate committee on undergraduate education. Whether students are learning more, instructors are teaching better or students are obtaining higher grades more easily are factors that remain unknown.

"It's impossible to answer that question by looking at the aggregate data," Melton said. "All that the data could reveal is if there is an ever-increasing shift of grades toward the A-end of the scale. As to why that happens, you have no way of determining that."

Since 1988, the total of As and A-minuses received by students at all Penn State campuses except the College of Medicine has risen from 28.8 percent to 31.9 percent -- the highest total percentage of As and A-minuses in 20 years.

Despite the jump, the University's grading system is not necessarily failing.

"A change that small over that period of time doesn't have any unique meaning," said David Shirley, senior vice president for research and graduate education.

Analysis of the University's grade distribution is muddled by several changes -- both intentional and accidental -- that have transformed the face of Penn State.

"Things are complicated," Melton said. "It's about 20 years' worth of data, and things have changed over 20 years."

Some institutional changes that have affected grade distribution are creation of a 10-week drop rule in 1984, a 12-week drop rule in 1990 and, most significantly, creation of a plus/minus grading system in 1988.

The rise of telecommunications, television and general awareness about the world also may account for an understandable rise in grades, Shirley said.

Rambeau suggested another possible reason for higher grades: University officials stress keeping students in college more nowadays, and that pressure could translate into professors giving better grades.

"Nobody talks about flunk-out rates anymore," Rambeau said. "Everyone talks about retention rates."

Other potential reasons for grade inflation range from pressure on colleges to turn out more graduate school-bound students to an influx of adult students returning to college, said Dennis Roberts, professor of educational psychology.

"The fact is that you really don't know," Roberts said. "If grades go up, it could be due to a number of things. No one thing is a satisfactory answer. It doesn't have to be stated, it can be under the surface."

But grades do not need to shift dramatically before concerned educators need to raise red flags.

"Suppose we saw no change whatsoever in the distribution of grades," Melton said. "It may be that the ability of the class is increasing or declining. Either way, there is no way to determine that."

University Registrar J. James Wager said an important element of studying grade inflation is to realize that letter grades at the University signify a greater accomplishment than those same grades at many other schools because of Penn State's competitive atmosphere.

An A at Penn State, for instance, may be harder to achieve than an A at a less competitive school, Wager said. What becomes most important is what occurs within the school, he said.

"The whole issue is if (grades) are being skewed for valid reasons or invalid reasons," Wager said. "There appears to be no evidence that this distribution is for anything other than valid reasons. What we've seen as we watch these numbers over time is that we don't have a grade-inflation problem."

Valid reasons for grades to rise would be a correlating rise in quality of students or quality of instruction, Wager said.

One way professors help keep grades within expected distribution ranges is by evaluating students on a curved grading scale. But sometimes a curve can obscure grading problems by producing a deceptively normal score distribution.

"I'm not a fan of grading on the curve," Shirley said. "If you really know what you're teaching and you really know what people are learning, then you shouldn't have to apply a mathematical curve."

Jenny Pratt (sophomore-premedicine) does not think some professors properly use a curved grading system to evaluate students' performances in a few of her upper-level biology and chemistry classes.

"I think it's more along the lines that they want to get tenure and they don't want to fail too many people," she said. "I think the curve has entirely too much to do with the grade you have to get."

Some professors seem to expect too much, and ask too many questions that students do know, Pratt said.

"I don't understand why they couldn't make a test that's reflective of what you're learning in a course," Pratt said.

Pratt cited one course she took where the professor used the median scores as the cutoff point between Bs and Cs. From there, the professor then divided grades evenly among the class.

Roberts believes many people place too much emphasis on grade-point averages when trying to gauge the overall education and accomplishments of students at the University. Gradual grade shifts should not be cause for alarm or action, he said.

"I think there should be more emphasis on looking at the overall accomplishments of a student," Roberts said. "Anybody who infers much more into grades is just misleading people."

Shirley agrees that a rise in grades is not necessarily a reason to assume that a problem exists.

"My opinion is that the average grade does not have a major impact on how the University is perceived outside the University," he said. "As far as I'm aware, the students work hard and the faculty is objective in allocating grades."