Harvard faculty to vote on proposal to limit number of A grades in each course

https://beehaw.org/post/25607524

Harvard faculty to vote on proposal to limit number of A grades in each course - Beehaw

> Harvard’s faculty is set to vote next week on a faculty committee proposal to cap the number of A grades per course in an effort to curb grade inflation. > > The proposal, which was first reported earlier this year by the Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s student newspaper, would cap A grades to 20% of students in a course, with an allowance for four additional As. It also would introduce a new internal “average percentile rank” system, which would rely on raw scores rather than grade point average (GPA) to determine honors and awards. > > If approved, the policy would take effect in fall 2027, according to the Wall Street Journal. > > The proposed cap has faced criticism from students, including those on the Crimson’s editorial board, which claimed it “falls flat” in trying to resolve concerns over grading.

I remember a Harvard professor saying someplace that at Harvard, great papers get A+, good ones get A, average ones get A-, and bad ones get B. Give someone a C and you’ll have a whole mess on your hands with student, parents, admin, etc.

Is this from a class or just some guy?

At Duke it’s quite similar. Most receive A-/A’s with profs acting like a 1/3 a letter grade somehow affects students. Told to go for a 92 total average for classes

The university I went to is a state university that isn’t nearly as well known as Duke and Harvard are.

Letter grades spanned the whole spectrum. I had one friend fail a calc class two times before finally passing with a B on his third attempt.

Is the issue that professors are afraid of giving lower grades? Seems like a simple pass/fail would be more effective if the letter itself has no meaning.

You clearly didn’t go to UW. There were no letter grades.
Nope, I went to school in Missouri.
Mizzou?
Nope. Same system, different school though.
Tf, which UW school? I’m over at UWM and I’ve gotten a couple D’s?