Harvard moves to curb grade inflation by limiting A grades
AP News • • general
Key Points:
- Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to limit the number of A grades awarded to undergraduates, aiming to address grade inflation and restore meaningful distinctions for exceptional work starting in the 2027 academic year.
- The new policy caps A grades at 20% of students per class plus four additional students, while A-minus grades remain unrestricted, to minimize GPA impact and encourage academic risk-taking.
- The reform reflects a broader cultural shift in elite education, with faculty emphasizing the importance of authentic grading signals for students, employers, and graduate schools, despite some student opposition to the change.
- Harvard will use average percentile rank instead of GPA for honors and awards, and the policy will be reviewed after three years to assess its effectiveness.
- The move has drawn praise from both Harvard faculty and external academics as a significant step toward combating grade inflation, though its long-term adoption and influence on other institutions remain uncertain.