In a not-to-be-missed article, “Three Can’t-Miss School Reforms,” Cato Institute’s Arnold Kling advocates, among other sensible ideas, that high school teachers and professors “not be allowed to construct and grade their own exams”–in order to curb grade inflation.

Kling writes:

A simple way to separate the teacher from the exam is to exchange grading responsibilities. For example, have the teacher of “algebra 2″ make up and grade the final exam given to the students taking “algebra 1″ from a different teacher. Chances are, the algebra 2 teacher has a good idea of what it is really important for students to master in algebra 1.
Exterminal examinations would eliminate most of the incentives for grade inflation. Many professors face budgetary pressure to lure students into classes, and what students most want is the “easy A.” With the standard practice, where professors make up their own exams, the students put pressure on the professor to make the course as easy as possible. If instead the exam were made up externally, then the pressure would be on the professor to teach the course rigorously.