Our March-April cover story, “The Last A’s You’ll Ever Need,” explored grade inflation at the College—and described a controversial proposal from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to impose a 20-percent cap on A grades in any class. We asked readers to weigh in on what Harvard should do about grade inflation.
Here’s a sampling of the answers we received:
In my experience at the College from 2019-2022, there was just not a huge variation in quality between the work my peers and I were producing. It seems unfair to make the largely subjective process of grading essays even more meaningless by deciding that there can be a maximum of 20 percent worthy of the top mark. If anything, we should stop letter-grading altogether. —Molly G.
I’m a faculty member at another Ivy League school. Everything in this piece rings true. —Richard S.
Debasing the currency is never a good idea. —David E.
Harvard has to lead the way on this issue. —Joseph S.
As a parent of a son who graduated summa cum laude, if he met the criteria to receive an A in a class and did not get it, I would have been a very irate mom. My suggestion is to make the class requirements of attaining an A more difficult. —Kelley S.
Harvard must take concerted, reasoned action. It cannot do nothing, and it cannot wait for other schools to do what Harvard should do itself. —Matthew N.
We all cannot be exemplary in everything. Realistic grading policies help us learn where we need to improve and help us grow as individuals. —Barb
The fact that two-thirds of the students master enough of the material for a Harvard professor to give an A speaks to the caliber of the students, not grade inflation. —Lisa W.
