Report finds Harvard coursework evaluation 'failing to perform the key functions of grading'
University study reveals six in ten students receive A’s, as administrators push to restore academic credibility
Harvard University’s grading system is facing intense scrutiny after a new internal review found that widespread grade inflation is damaging the college’s academic culture and that the university’s course evaluation is “failing to perform the key functions of grading.”
The report, released Monday by the university’s Office of Undergraduate Education to students and faculty, concludes that Harvard’s grading practices are “undermining” the institution’s standards and blurring the distinction between excellence and mediocrity.
The 25-page report, reviewed by The Harvard Crimson, shows that more than 60 percent of all grades awarded to undergraduates are now A’s, double the rate from twenty years ago.
The analysis found that the median GPA at Harvard has hovered around 3.8 for the past several years, meaning the typical student graduates with straight-A averages. The report pointed to rising grade inflation during the 2010s, which was then accelerated under the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning.
According to the report, many instructors feel pressured to give higher grades to avoid negative student evaluations and subsequent professional consequences. Another issue noted in the analysis is Harvard encouraging faculty to be sensitive to students who may arrive less prepared for college than others.
The report identified several proposed reforms, including new transcript disclosures listing each course’s median grade and a possible expansion of the grading scale to include a limited number of A+ designations. Both measures aim to restore distinctions among students’ performance levels.
Other recommendations include requiring in-person exams to limit reliance on artificial intelligence tools and setting consistent grading standards across class sections.
Despite concerns about rigor, Harvard’s data show that student self-reported study hours have remained largely unchanged over the past two decades, averaging about six hours per week per course.
The release follows a string of national headlines criticizing academic leniency at elite universities. Campus Reform has covered both grade inflation and attempts at checking it.
Harvard’s leadership now faces the challenge of restoring public trust in the value of its degrees. The report concludes that the university’s grading system has become “too compressed and too inflated” to serve its intended purpose and warns that continued inflation could further erode the credibility of one of the nation’s most prestigious colleges.
Campus Reform has reached out to Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
