Every student in every high school and college around the world is constantly reminded that the single, most important quantity one can possess is a high, if not perfect, grade point average. Frankly, I believe it is myopic to judge someone’s intellectual and academic capabilities by a single number when there are numerous qualitative characteristics that will always trump the perfect 4.0.

Alas, this is not the world we live in, nor will it change anytime soon. In the wise words of many urban philosophers, “you gotta play the game to change the game.”

Yet the game of attaining a high GPA actually results in a misrepresentation of your academic success and, thus, an illusory facade of your intellectual capabilities. The University of Alabama itself is notoriously known to inflate the grades of the introductory classes to supposedly balance the hardness of the upper level classes.

And if you think this problem is only isolated to The University of Alabama, I encourage you to visit whatwouldmyharvardgrade.be and smile at the bright red ‘A’ that appears on your screen. For those unaware, in December, Harvard – that old and prestigious university in Cambridge, Mass., – was publicly critiqued by a tenured professor because the most common grade given to a student at Harvard is close to an ‘A.’

But Harvard and The University of Alabama are not the only academic institutions slowly inflating the grades of students. A Duke researcher said, “The average GPA at four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. rose from 2.52 (on a 4.0 scale) in the 1950s to 3.11 in 2006 and continues to climb.” The slow inflation of grades reduces the intellectual intensity a student must possess to earn a high grade.

It also lowers the overall intensity of the class because the professor has to dumb down the course because students lack the intellectual fervor that was once expected and demanded. Furthermore, a professor aiming for tenure wants better student evaluations, so they further reduce the workload and give out higher grades to please students. This systemic crisis in all of academia promotes a vicious cycle, ultimately resulting in a lesser academic education but with higher grades for students and easier tenure tracks for faculty members.

So what seems great on paper – an inflated GPA – is in reality just an inaccurate measurement of a student’s academic success and future potential. For example, because of all the tremendously high GPAs at Harvard, the only true academic honor is to graduate without any honors. (Around 90 percent of Harvard students graduate with academic honors, the other 10 percent have the real honor, though.)

An inflated GPA not only reduces the prestige of an academic honor, but also impairs a student’s ability to judge her academic success and intellectual potential relative to her peers. As college students seeking advantageous opportunities, it is about being better than everyone else – or at least pretending to be better.

It would be naive as students to ascribe blame solely to administrators and faculty when much of the academic curriculum and classes are dictated by the caliber of the students. Still, faculty and administration should not merely disregard this issue in favor of boasting about an increasing amount of academically excellent UA students.

The inimical action of grade inflation will reduce the opportunities for the University, faculty and, most importantly, students. I believe the University should promote a fairer, more rigorous academic system, but I still have to play the game to change the game. Or do I? I just can’t decide with my inflated GPA.

Patrick Crowley is a junior majoring in mathematics, finance and economics. His columns runs weekly on Mondays.