Harvard Will Cap A Grades

"The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences on Tuesday wrapped up a vote to cap the number of A grades at 20 percent per course, plus or minus four A's. The policy proposal, which faculty have deliberated over for months, passed in a 458-to-201 vote and will take effect in fall 2027."

"The new cap will be "broadly advertised, including interpretive text on transcripts," according to the policy. In addition to the A-grade cap, the faculty also passed a policy to use average percentile rank-students' relative academic performance compared to their peers-rather than GPA to determine who should receive internal honors, prizes and awards like the Sophia Freund Prize. A student's average percentile rank will not appear on their transcript."

"The final proposal up for vote failed. Faculty were asked whether the new policy should allow faculty to petition the Office of Undergraduate Education to opt out of the A-grade limit for certain courses and use satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading designations instead."

""I'm incredibly grateful to the members of the grading subcommittee for their extraordinary work. For nearly a year, they dug deeply into a complex and thorny issue-grappling with a problem that many people have recognized, but no one has solved," Amanda Claybaugh, dean of undergraduate education, said in an emailed statement Wednesday. "This is a consequential vote. 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 of Arts and Sciences approved a policy capping A grades at 20 percent per course, with a tolerance of plus or minus four A grades. The measure passed 458-to-201 and will take effect in fall 2027. The policy will be broadly advertised, including interpretive text on transcripts. Faculty also approved a policy to use average percentile rank, rather than GPA, to determine recipients of internal honors, prizes, and awards such as the Sophia Freund Prize. Average percentile rank will not appear on transcripts. A related proposal to allow opt-outs for certain courses using satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading failed. The grading subcommittee members and the dean of undergraduate education emphasized the importance of the vote for students and academic culture.

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