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Princeton commits to grade deflation and hopes to inspire other ivy league schools follow their lead
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Princeton has adopted a new policy of grade deflation. Based on this new policy, only 35% of students in a department can receive A’s. There is no grade quota per individual class.
Grade inflation is prevalent in Ivy League schools. A study conducted at Harvard by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002 revealed that in 1966 about 22% of undergraduate students received A’s, by 1996 that percent had doubled. Princeton’s grade inflation reached a disquieting high in the past decade, which prompted school officials and faculty to spearhead efforts to curb inflation.
Most other Ivy League schools, while aware of the issue, are hesitant to take the kind of drastic actions Princeton has to resolve the issue. Many professors assert that the excellence of student performance has increased and that grades should be given out at the professor’s discretion. Some instructors, however, do feel pressure to dole out higher grades, as classes that are deemed “difficult” are unpopular among students. Harvey Mansfield Jr., a government professor at Harvard, who doesn’t agree with grade inflation, but knows that students view a B as an atrocity, has found his own way to reconcile the issue: he gives two grades - one that goes on the official transcript and one that he feels reflects what the student actually earned.
Princeton is happy to play the role of intrepid maverick. The school is committed to changing the culture of the academic world. Other Ivy League schools, such as Columbia and University of Pennsylvania, are watching Princeton closely to see how they fair under this new policy. If Princeton is successful, it may encourage other universities to follow suit.
As indicated by a survey conducted by Princeton’s student government president, the majority of students at Princeton feel that the new policy has had a negative affect. Among 68 pages of comments from the student body were statements asserting that students avoid classes that appear to be difficult or they drop classes if highly competitive students enroll. In spite of the fact that students still feel Princeton is the best school in the country, students fear that a B-plus in a course at Princeton will not be regarded as highly as an A from other top tier schools by potential employers or graduate schools.
According to Princeton officials, the rate of students gaining employment or being accepted to graduate programs after completing their undergraduate work has increased in the two years since the new policy was put into place.
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