Harvard Limits A Grades in Bid to Address Grade Inflation

Getting straight A’s at Harvard is becoming more challenging.

On Wednesday, Harvard University’s School of Humanities announced a decision to cap the number of A grades awarded to undergraduate students. This move, motivated by a faculty vote earlier this month, is seen as a significant step to tackle grade inflation—a particularly pressing issue at major universities.

Some faculty members have expressed concerns that A grades have become so frequent that they no longer reflect exceptional performance.

Data shows that over 60% of grades awarded to undergraduates in recent years have been A’s, a statistic that the faculty proponents of this reform pointed out.

Joshua Green, a psychology professor at Harvard and a member of the faculty subcommittee behind the proposal, noted that the goal is to combat what he refers to as “the tyranny of the perfect transcript.” When A grades are rare, Green believes, students may feel more comfortable taking risks and prioritizing genuine learning over maintaining a flawless transcript.

The faculty subcommittee explained, “Harvard’s faculty voted to ensure that grades truly reflect what they signify.” They argued that the change would make A grades meaningful not just for students, but also for employers and graduate schools assessing student achievements.

Harvard is not the first prestigious institution to confront grade inflation. Princeton University implemented a similar policy in 2004, restricting A-range grades to 35% but scrapped it a decade later due to concerns that it disadvantaged students in job applications and graduate admissions.

Alisha Holland, a government professor at Harvard who previously studied at Princeton, shared that Harvard’s approach specifically targets A’s rather than A-minuses, hoping to minimize GPA impacts for students.

Faculty view these reforms as beneficial for students, aiming to restore the integrity of Harvard’s transcripts amid increasing scrutiny of universities.

“This sends a strong message,” Holland stated, emphasizing the importance of universities being able to adapt and reform to face contemporary challenges.

The policy is set for implementation in 2027.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, GPAs at four-year public and nonprofit colleges surged by over 16% between 1990 and 2020.

Amanda Claibaugh, Dean of Undergraduate Education at Harvard, remarked on the complexity of grade inflation, recognizing it as a “thorny problem” that is widely acknowledged but not yet resolved.

Steven Pinker, a cognitive scientist and Harvard psychology professor who has criticized grade inflation, expressed his approval in correspondence with The Associated Press, stating he was “delighted” by the decision.

Pinker pointed out that professors maintaining rigorous standards often suffer from decreased enrollment. He argued that the failure to tackle this issue has turned universities into a “laughingstock.”

“Grade inflation has created a race to the bottom,” he added, stressing that systemic solutions from universities are necessary to address it.

Zack Berg and Daniel Chao, co-presidents of the Harvard Undergraduate Association, acknowledged the concerns about the grading system but felt disheartened that “student voices are not centered” in these decisions.

In a survey, nearly 85% of around 800 undergraduates opposed the idea of limiting A grades in Harvard courses.

When the policy takes effect in fall 2027, teachers will be allowed to assign A grades to a maximum of 20% of students in any class, plus four extra students.

The department has also approved shifting from GPA to average percentile rank for honors and awards assessments.

Another proposal that failed was to let courses bypass the A cap by switching to a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading system along with a new SAT+ designation for outstanding performance.

This new system will undergo review after three years. The School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard is the university’s largest, housing 40 departments and all undergraduate and doctoral programs.

Max Abrams, a political science professor at Northeastern University, praised the move from outside the institution, stating that universal A’s send unclear signals.

Stuart Roystasser, a former Duke University professor who has monitored grade inflation for years, welcomed the change, hoping it could inspire similar adjustments in other universities.

“For years, Harvard faculty believed all students deserved an A. This marks a real cultural shift,” he noted, questioning whether this policy would be embraced elsewhere and how long it might last.