Grade Inflation at Harvard: What Does It Mean for Academic Rigor?

If you’re thinking about applying to Harvard, or other Ivy League schools, this post takes a hard look at grade inflation and how it might impact your experience. With A-grades rising to 79% of all grades awarded in recent years at Harvard, some wonder how this impacts the university’s reputation for top-flight instruction and academic rigor. We examine the forces likely to be contributing to grade inflation at Harvard and beyond, what it means for students, and what, if anything, is being done to combat grade inflation. If you're weighing the pros and cons of applying to or accepting an offer from Harvard, this blog will show you the many ways grade inflation can impact both academic rigor and Harvard's larger campus climate.

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Given Harvard’s ability to attract outstanding scholars, it's natural to expect your courses there will be exceptionally challenging and, academically, very rigorous. Today, however, the problem of grade inflation at Harvard has reached new extremes. Writing in the Harvard Political Review, a Harvard-watcher recently quipped  that the school’s new motto could be “The only thing harder than getting in is failing out.”

You could almost say that Harvard is essentially giving out A-grades like candy on Halloween. How might this impact school climate, and in particular academic rigor and integrity, and students’ educational experience if they do choose to attend Harvard?

In this blog post, the second in a series of four posts shining a critical spotlight on Harvard, we’ll look at how prevalent and persistent grade inflation is at Harvard, with some insights into larger grade inflation trends, possible causes and solutions, and the potential impacts of grade inflation on learning experiences, campus climate, and academic rigor.

Finally, we’ll try to help you put all of this into perspective — what might these concerns mean for your own college journey, especially if you’re seriously considering applying to or enrolling at Harvard?

Harvard’s Crimson Tide: A Rising Tide of A's

Grade inflation at Harvard College — the university's undergraduate setting — has become the focus of some significant criticism, with one of Harvard’s own faculty members bluntly saying the grading practices are “indefensible.”

How much “inflation” are we talking about? The average GPA of Harvard undergraduates has climbed from from approximately 2.5 in 1950 to an all-time high of about 3.8 today.

These statistics reflect grade inflation — meaning the dominant grades assigned are steadily going higher and higher in trend lines that persist over extended periods.

The same trends also result in grade compression — when a large proportion of students receive grades in the same narrow grade range.

This erosion of academic rigor also impacted the number of students being awarded honors. In 2001, nearly 90% of Harvard students graduated with honors, prompting the college to cap this number at 60% in subsequent years. However, no such caps have been used at Harvard for grades, and by 2021 the average Harvard GPA had reached an all-time high of 3.8.

A commentary in the Harvard Political Review, put it bluntly: "Giving every student a stellar transcript does not mean they are all excelling." Instead, the author argues, grade inflation left unchecked perpetuates a system where grades become less meaningful, making it harder for students to stand out.

If you’re considering going to Harvard or trying to weigh the value the school offers, it’s worth considering that most students there are earning A-range grades in most of their courses. That may be encouraging for your own prospects, on the one hand. On the other, you need to consider what Harvard's grade inflation means for the quality of your education and educational experience — especially when almost everyone is getting top grades!

This sharp rise in grades over the decades raises some important questions:

• What’s behind grade inflation at Harvard and how does Harvard’s experience fit in with larger trends?
• Is grade inflation happening or are students just coming to college “more prepared”?
• Is academic rigor being compromised at one of the most prestigious universities in the world?
• What are the implications of grade inflation for students, employers, and the broader landscape of higher education?
• Is Harvard attempting to counter grade inflation? If so, how?

Putting Harvard's GPA Boom Into Perspective

While Harvard’s history of grade inflation and current grading practices certainly raise questions about teaching, grading standards, and academic rigor, Harvard is hardly alone.

Averaged across US colleges and universities, grades for undergraduates rose about 0.1 points per decade between 1983 and 2013. This means the average GPA for all four-year colleges and universities was on the border between C+ and B- in 1983, and by 2013 the average had risen to a solid B grade.

Two prominent grade inflation trackers, S. Rojstaczer and C. Healy, have monitored some 400 four-year colleges and universities. In all of them, grades were found to be rising over the past fifty years. But some schools have more inflation, others less. Harvard, however, is leading the pack, or close to it.

What’s Behind Harvard's Grade Inflation — A Closer Look

There are several theories as to what might be driving grade inflation at Harvard and at other top private universities. You, the reader, probably have some ideas of your own — or maybe you’re forming some ideas as you read this... Let’s take a look at some of the primary causes — or probable causes — often highlighted by researchers.

Changes in Student Ability OR Lax Grading Standards?

One of the first questions people ask about grade inflation at a top school like Harvard is, shouldn’t we expect that students at such a top school will all get top grades?

One problem with this assumption is that Harvard has been a top school for decades, so why would grades go up steadily year after year?

On a more empirical note, the authors of a 2021 National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) study set out to answer the question with some real number crunching.

Testing for a range of correlating demographic and academic factors — from zip codes to SAT scores and more — the NBER researchers found that “increases in college GPAs cannot be explained away by student demographics, preparation, and school factors” and instead the grading trends reflect lax standards.

Cultural Expectations and Campus Climate

As for the forces behind the inflationary trends in grading — that’s also a thorny question. Most college leaders and researchers point to a variety of probable causes — including evolving cultural expectations and shifting “market forces” as primary suspects.

1. Student Evaluations

Some experts think it likely that the expanded use of student evaluations is one factor that’s driving grade inflation.

From the 1970s through 1990s teacher and course evaluations have become more prominent in university systems. The rub is that in addition to being used for improving instruction, researchers note that student evaluations often play a role “in decisions regarding pay, promotion, and retention of instructors.”

As a result, faculty members may feel it’s in their self interest to award higher grades in order to receive favorable evaluation feedback, creating a cycle where lenient grading becomes the norm within a larger ecosystem where student evaluation processes disincentivize tougher grading practices.

2. “Consumer Mindset” or “Market Forces”

Cultural expectations — in the form of a consumer mindset — have also been emphasized as helping to explain grade inflation. 

With the cost of attending Harvard soaring and acceptance rates at historical lows at Harvard and other top-ranking US institutions, students might feel entitled to high grades as a return on their educational investment. After all, students who get into Harvard are likely to be highly motivated and competitive and eager to distinguish themselves once again, as they did in high school — finding anything less than an A-grade unsatisfactory, perhaps even “unacceptable.”

And, because grades can open doors to other high-stakes opportunities, for example, in the form of competitive scholarships, the most prized internships, and post-graduation job prospects… is it a surprise that students willing to pay Harvard’s hefty price tag will want professors to give them the best grades possible?

These pressures can obviously percolate through school climate as a whole. For example, professors who don’t go along may worry they’ll offend a top legacy donor or have to spar with students who appeal their grade or who respond to a B or C grade with a negative evaluation of the teacher’s course or question the professor’s fairness.

Researchers at the career services platform Intellligent.com found that 44% of the professors they surveyed reported receiving requests for grade changes either “very often” or “somewhat often.” The basis for these requests from students included worry about a grade ruining their average, assertions that the teacher’s grade was biased, or worry about what will happen when their parents find out they didn’t do their work.

These “consumer” pressures add further weight to course evaluation processes: as faculty members see their peers reap the benefits of distributing more and more A grades, they feel pressured and/or incentivized to do the same. This can perpetuate a grade inflation spiral within the school environment.

For these reasons, some experts think there is little individual professors or even individual schools can do to combat grade inflation without coordinated, systemwide actions in and across institutions.

3. Grades, College Rankings, and Admissions Trends

Grades, and by extension, grade inflation, may also be caught up in colleges' competitive pursuit of top rankings. These rankings, after all, can impact funding, yield rates, the quality of students a school can attract, and the faculty they can recruit…

Two economists, Christopher Cotton, with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and Raphael Boleslavsky, with the University of Miami, have proposed there might be a convoluted connection between grade inflation on the one hand and the importance that prospective students and employers attach to a school’s reputation on the other hand.

The researchers posit that as grade inflation and compression increase, graduating from a top school takes on added value. Because grade inflation diminishes the role grades play in distinguishing the most qualified students, students, recruiters, and grad school admissions officers care more and more about the reputation of the school where degrees and grades are earned (and less and less about grades).

Therefore, the researchers contend, “allowing grade inflation increases investment in education (by both schools and students),” increasing educational quality. “But at the same time, it introduces noise into transcripts, making it more difficult for employers or other evaluators to identify the most qualified graduates…”

Essentially, the race for superior grades has been replaced by a race to earn distinction based on school rankings: schools themselves vying for the best rankings and students vying to get into and graduate from schools with the best reputations and best educational resources, to improve their resume, rather than relying on their transcript.

Larger Impacts of Grade Inflation

Impact on Students

To the extent that students feel rewarded by earning As, grade inflation helps them achieve their goals. On the other hand, it may make it difficult for students to assess their objective academic accomplishments relative to their peers and benefit from higher levels of academic challenge.

• Grade inflation can skew students’ ability to identify their own academic strengths and gaps.
• If professors are more reluctant to grade student achievement with rigor and critical discernment, students may enjoy getting more A grades without realizing they’re getting shortchanged educationally.
• Devaluing top grades can increase pressure on students to earn only top grades, while also making students feel they need to excel in other areas in order to distinguish themselves or spotlight unique abilities.

Impact on Employers

The effects of grade inflation are felt not only by students but also by employers and graduate schools.

• As a result of grade inflation, GPA becomes a less reliable measure of academic ability and mastery.
• Employers and graduate schools are left looking for additional ways to evaluate students, such as letters of recommendation, internship evaluations and experiences, or standardized test scores — what one Harvard dean called  "shadow systems of distinction" that are not directly related to the most relevant qualifications in the form of specialized subject matter concepts and skills.

Impact on Traditional Merit-Based Processes

Academic accomplishments can open doors to diverse honors, such as honor society memberships, research roles, internships, and merit-based scholarships. When a sizable majority of students are all receiving grades at the top of the scale — grade compression — grades lose their value as markers of relative distinction, mastery, and accomplishment.

Obstacles to Reform

Harvard leaders and faculty don't all agree on the causes or fixes of grade inflation, but they generally agree that something needs to be done about it. The bigger problem they're struggling with is figuring out exactly what to do.

This year, however, the Harvard College Program in General Education updated its guidelines for grading, urging instructors to ensure grades reflect a range of performance levels and to be transparent with students about expectations. The goal is to reintroduce rigor to the grading system and to ensure that an A grade genuinely represents excellent work — pushing back on both grade inflation and grade compression.

But even if re-establishing a more rigorous system is a laudable goal, devising a basis for assigning a greater number of lower grades won’t be easy. For now, Harvard FAS faculty remain divided on what to do — resigned to tabling the issue for later discussion.

With many Harvard admits likely to have little experience getting anything other than A-grades in high school, assigning lower grades — and prescribing a policy to enforce it — could have a corrosive effect on campus climate.

The fear is that signaling to students that there will be substantive barriers put in place to earning top grades — or worse, invoking the establishment of some form of cap on A grades — will fuel flames of anxiety and peer vs. peer competition that lead to corrosive impacts on student wellbeing and community life on campus.

For example, at a recent Harvard faculty discussion about grade inflation, it was acknowledged that “grading contributes tremendously to the anxiety students face.”

This means attempts to deflate grades are almost certain to reverberate way beyond nuances of academic rigor, with the fallout significantly impacting campus climate as well.

Policy Efforts and Lessons Learned: Princeton and Cornell

In fact, some of Harvard’s peers have been learning from failure — with Harvard’s leaders no doubt happy to learn from others’ missteps!

For example, Ivy League peers Princeton and Cornell have made forays into policies to reduce grade inflation, but with mixed results at best.

• Princeton: Implemented a policy in 2004 to limit A-range grades but ultimately reversed it a decade later. Concerns included the impact on student morale and campus culture. Princeton officials noted that the grading guidelines were being misinterpreted as quotas, and they were also leading to increased student anxiety and a culture of competition.
• Cornell: Leaders sought to discourage grade inflation by publicizing the median grade awarded for each course. Over time, it became apparent that posting course grade point averages wasn’t having much impact on grade inflation. Leaders found that students were simply flocking to courses with the higher grade averages — courses perceived as easier — an unintended, but not surprising consequence, and an ineffective way to counter grade inflation.

These experiences show that addressing grade inflation requires more than policy changes; it demands a cultural shift in how academic success is perceived and rewarded.

For now, Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences says it wants to remain committed to some type of eventual reform, but according to Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh “We’re [only] at a stage of generating thinking about it, rather than taking concrete steps.”

Final Thoughts

The debate over grade inflation is ultimately a debate about academic values. Should grades reflect a student's mastery of a subject relative to their peers or reflect individual progress and effort? At Harvard, the current grading trends suggest a tilt towards the latter — but at what cost?

Grade inflation might not seem like such a bad thing if it's perceived as creating an environment with less stress and more success for students. But in the end, grade inflation also diminishes the value of those grades, resulting in less candid academic feedback across your learning experience and less opportunities for both growth or distinction.

Remember, this blog is meant to put Harvard’s incredible offerings into more nuanced perspective and help you make the most informed decisions possible.

This doesn't mean we want to dissuade you from aiming for Harvard or other outstanding university!

In light of our team members’ own experiences and the experiences of the many students we’ve helped get accepted to top schools, the Crimson Education team strongly believes that Harvard and schools with similar rankings have a unique potential to unlock transformative opportunities, especially for students motivated to push themselves academically and professionally.

For you, the “best” school to aim for, however, will ultimately depend on your personal circumstances, goals, and academic values and aspirations. That’s why Crimson Education uses a personalized, team approach to helping each applicant get targeted support for each step of their college journey and the application process.

If you’re ready to learn more about our world-leading admissions services, sign up for a free, individualized feedback session — for advice on your own next steps and for any other questions you have about our services.

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