Harvard to Tackle Grade Inflation With Cap on A's

"It's kind of nutty. We've completely erased the distinction between an A and A-minus. The proposal to cap the top grade represents the least bad solution to address this problem at Harvard, where grade inflation has become so severe that the vast majority of students receive top grades."

"Churchill once described democracy as the worst system of government except for all of the other alternatives that have been tried, and that's how I view this reform. It's clumsy, arbitrary and represents some degree of invasion into faculty autonomy. It is not ideal. But the alternative is the status quo, and the status quo is awful."

"Grade inflation at Harvard and many other selective universities has been a topic of discussion for decades. Princeton University overhauled its grading system in 2004, capping the number of A-pluses, A's and A-minuses in each department, but repealed the policy a decade later. Since then, the number of A and A-minus grades has exploded."

Harvard University is considering a proposal to limit A grades to 20 percent of students in each class plus four additional students, effectively halving the current percentage of A grades awarded. This initiative directly addresses grade inflation, where 66 percent of Harvard undergraduates earned A's and 84 percent earned A or A-minus grades in 2024-25. Under the new system, A's would signify extraordinary work while A-minus grades would remain unlimited. The proposal has been developed over eighteen months and will face a faculty vote next month. Grade inflation has plagued Harvard and other selective universities for decades, with Princeton attempting similar reforms in 2004 before repealing them a decade later, after which A and A-minus grades increased dramatically.

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