Harvard Proposes Capping As at 20 Percent to Curb Grade Inflation

A faculty committee at Harvard has proposed limiting the number of A grades awarded in undergraduate courses in an effort to curb grade inflation. During the last school year about two-thirds of all undergraduate letter grades were A’s. Under the proposal, A grades would be capped at 20 percent of the grades in a course, with an allowance of four additional As.

For example, a professor teaching 100 students could award up to 24 As. There would be no limits on A-minus and lower grades. Grades of A are supposed to denote work of "extraordinary distinction," but they have become the majority of grades awarded. Alisha Holland, a member of the committee, said the group aimed to "give meaning to the shared standards we already have around grading." The committee also dropped an earlier idea of adding a limited number of A+ grades from the current proposal.

The plan would change how honors and awards are determined by using average percentile rank for internal rankings, not on transcripts.