Harvard says it gives too many grades to students

About 60% of the grades given in the university’s undergraduate program classes are A’s, compared with 40% a decade ago and less than a quarter 20 years ago, according to a report released Monday by Harvard’s Office of Undergraduate Education. Other elite universities, including Ivy League rival schools, are struggling to rein in grade inflation.

Harvard Dean Amanda Claybaugh, author of the report, urged faculty to curb the practice of awarding top grades to the majority of students, saying it undermines academic culture.

“Current practices not only fail to perform key grading functions, they are also harmful to the college’s overall academic culture,” she said in the report.

Harvard’s academic programs are under additional scrutiny due to the Trump administration’s investigations into the university and broader efforts to reshape higher education in the United States. Federal officials asked universities to sign a Built-in It includes commitments to “classroom integrity” and the use of “defensible standards” when assessing students.

One reason for the increase in grade inflation at Harvard is concern among faculty about being more rigorous than their peers and thus discouraging enrollment in their courses, Claybaugh said in the study. I mentioned Earlier by Harvard Crimson University.

She said administrators have contributed to the issue by telling professors they should be aware that some students suffer from “impostor syndrome” or face difficult family situations. In addition, Harvard students, although not the “snowflake” stereotypes they are sometimes portrayed as, put pressure on their professors to get better grades, according to the report.

The cut-off for magna cum laude honors at Harvard is now 3.989, which is higher than in previous years. However, the number of first-year students with a 4.0 grade point average decreased by about 12% in the last completed academic year compared to the previous period. This is a sign of progress and a reminder that the university is not “at the mercy of stubborn trends, and that the grades we award don’t always have to go up,” Claybaugh said.

The Harvard report recommended that faculty share average grades for courses and review the distribution of grades over time. A separate university committee is considering allowing faculty to award a limited number of A+ grades, a break from Harvard’s current top grade of A. Such a move “would increase the information our grades provide by distinguishing among the best students,” Claybaugh said.

Administrators can also help mitigate grade inflation by better evaluating rigorous teaching processes in faculty reviews, she said.