Harvard faculty vote on proposal to cap undergraduate A grades amid grade-inflation concerns

Harvard Weighs Major Crackdown On "Grade Inflation" Harvard faculty begin voting Tuesday on what may be the most aggressive effort in decades to curb grade inflation, a long-running issue that has also drawn attention from the White House as it pushes broader higher-ed reforms, according to Bloomberg. The proposal would cap A grades in undergraduate classes at 20% of students, plus four additional students. The move comes after A grades surged at Harvard: about 60% of grades were A’s in the 2024–25 academic year, more than double the rate in 2006. After administrators pushed for stricter grading last fall, that number dropped to 53%. Faculty have one week to vote, with results expected May 20. Supporters say grade inflation has made academic distinctions less meaningful. Last year, Harvard seniors needed a 3.989 GPA to earn summa cum laude, and an award traditionally given to one student ended in a 54-way tie. As professor Jason Furman said, “It’s fundamentally dishonest to give the best students in the class the same grade as someone in the bottom half.” Bloomberg writes that students have strongly opposed the plan, arguing it would increase stress, discourage academic risk-taking, and push students toward easier courses. Nearly 85% of undergraduates surveyed by The Harvard Crimson opposed the proposal. Student leader Caleb Thompson said “people really are against this,” while senior Summer Tan said students are already seeking easier classes instead of more challenging ones. Some faculty members agree. Scott Duke Kominers warned the policy could discourage ambitious students and make Harvard less attractive to top applicants. Harvard’s decision could influence other elite schools. Yale recently considered an even stricter proposal for a campus-wide average GPA of 3.0. Earlier efforts at Princeton and Wellesley initially reduced top grades but were eventually reversed after student backlash. Critics argue schools hesitate to grade more strictly because students could be disadvantaged if peer institutions do not follow. Still, supporters believe Harvard’s prestige could set off broader reform. If approved, the policy would take effect in fall 2027. Faculty are also voting on allowing some courses to opt out through a satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading system and on replacing GPA with percentile rank for academic honors. Tyler Durden Fri, 05/15/2026 - 18:50

As if college students didn’t have enough to worry about, now undergrads at Harvard University may see their A grades go up in smoke. With over 60% of Harvard students getting A’s in the mid-2025 academic year, faculty are currently weighing a proposal that would cap that to no more than 20% of the class, plus four students. (A more detailed breakdown: 66% of undergraduates earned A’s, and 84% earned an A or A-minus in the 2024–25 academic year.) “The Student Handbook recognizes an A grade as one reserved for work of ‘extraordinary distinction.’ We recommend returning to this definition,” the February 2026 proposal reads. “While any changes to grading policies may raise concerns about fostering a competitive culture, we believe that these recommendations take critical steps toward the College’s goal to re-center academics, restoring confidence in the College’s grading system, and better aligning incentives with pedagogical goals.” Just for context, less than half of the Ivy’s student body earned an A back in 2006. Also, as the administration clamped down on grade inflation during the fall 2025 semester, the number fell to 53%. “It’s kind of nutty,” Steven Levitsky, a Latin American studies professor at Harvard, told Inside Higher Ed. “We’ve completely erased the distinction between an A and A-minus,” he said, adding that the proposal is the “least bad solution.” Faculty are voting on the measure this week, with results due next Wednesday, May 20. It’s unclear whether it will pass, as students—already dealing with a weak job market and skyrocketing tuition costs (now surpassing $80,000)—are said to be furious, with some 85% opposing the cap, per the Harvard Crimson. Grade inflation isn’t anything new Of course, grade inflation at Harvard, and other U.S. colleges, isn’t anything new. It can be traced back to the Vietnam War, when professors used it to protect students from being drafted. More recently, from 1990–2020, grade point averages (GPAs) at four-year colleges increased more than 16%, according to a post by the U.S. Department of Education. It cited students’ “consumer demand” for higher grades, and the rating of professors, in driving the trend. “It’s true that grades always seem to be rising [at Harvard] . . . and has become extreme in recent years,” says a 2025 report about grading trends at Harvard from Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh. “A slow rise in the early 2010s, continuous with longstanding trends, followed by a more rapid rise in the late 2010s, then an additional spike during the year of remote instruction and a flattening out after that.” As students await a decision, one thing to note: Recent attempts at Princeton University and Wellesley College to rein in runaway grade inflation failed, Bloomberg reported.