Harvard caps A's as selective colleges attack grade inflation

"The new policy will limit A's to 20% of the letter grades awarded in a course, with an allowance for as many as four additional A's. Faculty voted on the proposal this month, and the results were announced Wednesday. In a course with 100 students, for example, a professor would be permitted to award up to 24 A's. There is no limit on grades of A-minus or lower, and the cap applies only to undergraduates."

"Grades at Harvard have been creeping upward for decades. In the 2024-25 school year, about two-thirds of undergraduate letter grades were A's, a distinction that is supposed to be reserved for extraordinary work, according to the student handbook. A little over a decade earlier, in 2012-13, just 35% of Harvard letter grades were A's."

"Grade inflation is a national problem that experts say reduces the value of grades. If most students get an A, grades become less valuable to employers, graduate school admissions officers and the students themselves as measures of their subject mastery. In a report on grade inflation last fall, Harvard's Office of Undergraduate Education urged faculty to be tougher graders."

""This is a consequential vote," Amanda Claybaugh, the dean of undergraduate education, said in a statement. "It will, I believe, strengthen the academic culture of Harvard; it will also, I hope, encourage other institutions to confront similar questions with the same level of rigor and courage.""

Harvard faculty voted to limit the number of top grades undergraduate students can receive in each course. The policy caps A grades at 20% of letter grades awarded, with an allowance for up to four additional A’s. In a course with 100 students, this permits up to 24 A’s. There is no cap on A-minus or lower grades, and the limit applies only to undergraduates. Faculty voted 458 in favor and 201 against. The change takes effect in the 2027 academic year and aims to address long-term grade inflation, where A’s have risen from 35% of letter grades in 2012-13 to about two-thirds in 2024-25.

Read at Boston.com