College Considers Grade Inflation

Suppose that when you receive your next set of grades, instead of getting an A- or a B+, you receive a A-/B+--a hybrid grade which corresponds to the number 13 on Harvard's 15-point grading scale.

Or suppose that in addition to the 32 odd grades that already appear on your transcript, Harvard includes the mean grade and the number of students enrolled in each of your classes.

Or what if Harvard abolishes its 15-point system altogether and replaces it with a linear scale like the 4.0 system used at many schools?

These are three proposals forwarded last week to the Faculty Council by the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) and contained within the committee's recent report on the subject.

The report, which will remain confidential until the Faculty Council considers the issue, comes after more than two and a half years of consideration of the idea of grade inflation at the College.

A Long Time Coming

The history of grade inflation on college campuses is a murky one.

The issue first caught the attention of academics and the national media in the late 70s, when a number of studies were released showing a rise in average college course grades across the country.

Studies performed by the Carnegie Council for the Advancement of Teaching found that 35 percent of all grades were B or above in 1969, a percentage which rose to 59 percent in 1976. The council also reported that average grades for college students rose each year from 1964 to 1974.

The issue re-emerged on the Harvard campus in 1993 when William D. Cole, then an instructor in Romance languages, wrote an article in the January 1993 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education claiming that grades on Ivy League cam- puses were on the rise.

The debate about grade inflation continued when Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield '53 linked inflated grades to the increased admission of black students in the 1960s in an article in Harvard Magazine.

"Grade inflation coincided with the arrival of large numbers of black students on the Harvard campus; many white professors were unwilling to give C's to black students, so they also wouldn't give C's to white students," Mansfield wrote.

Although Mansfield's statements were for the most part rejected by scholars and disproved by administrators who said grades rose on average before the increase in black admissions, the reawakening of the debate has led the Faculty to try to reform the College's grading system.

According to CUE Chair and Dean for Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buell, it is finally time to put the controversy over grading to rest.

"We need to kick this issue upstairs," Buell told the committee at its meeting last week as he urged members to vote on the three proposals.

The Proposals

The most drastic measure proposed to fight grade inflation is transcript amplification, which includes placing on the transcript the mean grade and the number of enrolled students for each course.

Proponents say it will provide more information to transcript readers.

It's "a question of truth in advertising or full disclosure. It's a question of whether the reader of the transcript has understanding of the meaning of the letter grade," says Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

But some faculty and students say they are concerned by the possibility of amplification, saying the hoped-for effects are unclear.

On the one hand, it would protect students who receive bad grades in tough classes, Buell says.

The proposal would also "very quickly make the average grade in a class public," says Gary J. Feldman, Baird professor of science and the chair of the Physics Department.

Proponents of transcript amplification believe that making average grades public would discourage teachers from indiscriminately handing out A's and thereby cause some grade deflation.

But some argue that amplification would increase pressure on students.

"It would create a sense of competitiveness in a class which is the exact opposite of what we are trying for," Feldman says. "We trying for cooperative learning."

In addition to making average grades public, the CUE has also suggested filling in the gaps in the College's grading scale.

One option is to eliminate the 15-point scale and replace it with a linear scale such the 4.0 system.

Another option is to create a new grade for the 13 slot--an A-/B+.

Feldman says neither of these proposals are seen as solutions to grade inflation, although creating a new grade might combat grade compression--which is when professors have fewer grading options to distinguish between students at the top of the spectrum.

Buell describes much of the debate between these two proposals as a "cultural issue." "Quantitative fields are worried about a illogical scale while the humanities want to be more descriptive," Buell told the CUE committee last week.

"It gives you a finer discriminate," Feldman explains.

But professors in the sciences, where the grading is more objective, favor a linear scale which would not contain a gap between an A- and B+. "I certainly don't think we need three grades between an A and a B," says James E. Davis, lecturer on chemistry and instructor of Chemistry 5. "I think there should be equal spacing between A- and a B+. And an easy way to make each of them equal is to go by .3 increments."

The 4.0 scale is favored by many students because it is the more traditional method for ranking grades.

"I think going to a 4.0 scale would be good," says Priya Aiyar '96. "It makes no sense for there to be gaps and for any non-Harvard thing you end up converting your grades anyway."

What's at Stake?

As faculty members prepare to consider the proposals, they are questioning whether they will truly deflate grades by putting them in context.

Some professors and students also worry that rather than making grades more meaningful, the proposals would simply increase stress without reducing inflation.

The CUE committee's report offers no panacea. According to Buell, the proposals forwarded to the Faculty last week came to the committee because, "they were the [place] where anything like consensus was formed between department heads."

Although administrators, professors and students widely agree that grades at Harvard have increased over the last 20 years, they differ on whether the inflation poses a problem for the University.

"Grade inflation is a problem in that it's something that is happening," says Christopher P. Jones, professor of classics and history and a member of the CUE. "Over the past twenty or so years there's been an upward shift in grades given at Harvard. If that's a problem or that's just something that happens, I'm not sure."

Indeed, some faculty and students contend that grade inflation occurs as naturally as monetary inflation.

"Economists complain about inflation in general--grade inflation is just another example," says John McHale, head teaching fellow in Social Analysis 10, the largest course taught at the College. "If it could be avoided it would be better."

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68, who attended the most recent CUE meeting, credits much of the increase to students' improved abilities.

"I think students are getting smarter--probably there is objective data to support that--though I doubt that effect can explain the entire shift in grades," he says.

Others agree with Lewis, arguing that diversification of the admissions process and improvements in education have greatly improved the caliber of the average Harvard student.

"There are alternative hypotheses to saying things have gotten easier and they're handing out A's," says Margaret E. Bourdeaux '97. "I think teaching has improved and students are doing better."

Regardless of the cause, grade inflation does pose certain challenges to faculty and students.

"Grade inflation is immoral," says Robinson Professor of Music Robert Levine. "It has a pretentious effect on students, for the outside world now devalues transcripts."

In fact, many faculty members say grade inflation has arisen because the faculty is falling short of its responsibility to offer students the feedback they deserve.

"The problem arises not from grade inflation but from not enough consideration being given in distinguishing the very good from the bad Jones says.

"It does seem to me that Harvard has a duty by its students [to give them] the advice toward improvement they deserve," he adds.

The CUE committee has also considered, more subtle aspects of grade inflation.

The committee reports that humanities and social sciences on the whole have experienced more inflation than the natural sciences, making it easier to get good grades in some concentrations than in others.

"If a student does equally good work in math and in fine arts, and gets a B+ in the former and an A- in the latter and therefore concludes that she is a better fine artist than mathematician--when all she is observing is the different evaluative conventions between fields--that is a matter of considerable concern to me," Lewis says.

Years of Research

The report that the CUE will send to the faculty early this week is the result of more than a year of research and debate.

The issue first came before the CUE where three professors suggested that Harvard consider transcript amplification.

But Buell says, "The CUE was uncomfortable with transcript amplification and wanted to give the wider issue of grading policy full hearing."

Last spring and this fall, the CUE surveyed department chairs on their opinion on grade inflation. A number of possible solutions to grade inflation were suggested to the chairs, including restricting the number of grades given in a course, doing nothing and increasing the number of grades available to instructors.

"We...considered specifying what normal grades should be--allocating or restricting, for instance, the number of A's," Feldman says.

"The general view from the survey was yes [grade-inflation is a problem] but that was not an unanimous view," Buell says.

"Certain departments said 'it's not our problem.' There were several departments that said 'is not some creep up in grades appropriate since students' credentials are improving,'" Buell says.

The CUE found far less consensus on the solution to grade inflation, Feldman says.

In fact, the faculty came to a consensus on only two issues.

First, approximately half the departments supported transcript amplification. Second, most of the departments said something should be done about the gaps between B+ and A- and between C+ and B- in Harvard's grading scale, Buell says.

On the Agenda

The Faculty Council will consider the CUE's report when it is delivered this week.

As Dean Knowles points out, the debate may just be beginning.

"The CUE is not a legislative body, The faculty is the only legislative body. We must think not just about the question of inflation but also the more serious, underlying question of meaning," Knowles says.Lawrence Buell

The debate about grade inflation continued when Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield '53 linked inflated grades to the increased admission of black students in the 1960s in an article in Harvard Magazine.

"Grade inflation coincided with the arrival of large numbers of black students on the Harvard campus; many white professors were unwilling to give C's to black students, so they also wouldn't give C's to white students," Mansfield wrote.

Although Mansfield's statements were for the most part rejected by scholars and disproved by administrators who said grades rose on average before the increase in black admissions, the reawakening of the debate has led the Faculty to try to reform the College's grading system.

According to CUE Chair and Dean for Undergraduate Education Lawrence Buell, it is finally time to put the controversy over grading to rest.

"We need to kick this issue upstairs," Buell told the committee at its meeting last week as he urged members to vote on the three proposals.

The Proposals

The most drastic measure proposed to fight grade inflation is transcript amplification, which includes placing on the transcript the mean grade and the number of enrolled students for each course.

Proponents say it will provide more information to transcript readers.

It's "a question of truth in advertising or full disclosure. It's a question of whether the reader of the transcript has understanding of the meaning of the letter grade," says Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

But some faculty and students say they are concerned by the possibility of amplification, saying the hoped-for effects are unclear.

On the one hand, it would protect students who receive bad grades in tough classes, Buell says.

The proposal would also "very quickly make the average grade in a class public," says Gary J. Feldman, Baird professor of science and the chair of the Physics Department.

Proponents of transcript amplification believe that making average grades public would discourage teachers from indiscriminately handing out A's and thereby cause some grade deflation.

But some argue that amplification would increase pressure on students.

"It would create a sense of competitiveness in a class which is the exact opposite of what we are trying for," Feldman says. "We trying for cooperative learning."

In addition to making average grades public, the CUE has also suggested filling in the gaps in the College's grading scale.

One option is to eliminate the 15-point scale and replace it with a linear scale such the 4.0 system.

Another option is to create a new grade for the 13 slot--an A-/B+.

Feldman says neither of these proposals are seen as solutions to grade inflation, although creating a new grade might combat grade compression--which is when professors have fewer grading options to distinguish between students at the top of the spectrum.

Buell describes much of the debate between these two proposals as a "cultural issue." "Quantitative fields are worried about a illogical scale while the humanities want to be more descriptive," Buell told the CUE committee last week.

"It gives you a finer discriminate," Feldman explains.

But professors in the sciences, where the grading is more objective, favor a linear scale which would not contain a gap between an A- and B+. "I certainly don't think we need three grades between an A and a B," says James E. Davis, lecturer on chemistry and instructor of Chemistry 5. "I think there should be equal spacing between A- and a B+. And an easy way to make each of them equal is to go by .3 increments."

The 4.0 scale is favored by many students because it is the more traditional method for ranking grades.

"I think going to a 4.0 scale would be good," says Priya Aiyar '96. "It makes no sense for there to be gaps and for any non-Harvard thing you end up converting your grades anyway."

What's at Stake?

As faculty members prepare to consider the proposals, they are questioning whether they will truly deflate grades by putting them in context.

Some professors and students also worry that rather than making grades more meaningful, the proposals would simply increase stress without reducing inflation.

The CUE committee's report offers no panacea. According to Buell, the proposals forwarded to the Faculty last week came to the committee because, "they were the [place] where anything like consensus was formed between department heads."

Although administrators, professors and students widely agree that grades at Harvard have increased over the last 20 years, they differ on whether the inflation poses a problem for the University.

"Grade inflation is a problem in that it's something that is happening," says Christopher P. Jones, professor of classics and history and a member of the CUE. "Over the past twenty or so years there's been an upward shift in grades given at Harvard. If that's a problem or that's just something that happens, I'm not sure."

Indeed, some faculty and students contend that grade inflation occurs as naturally as monetary inflation.

"Economists complain about inflation in general--grade inflation is just another example," says John McHale, head teaching fellow in Social Analysis 10, the largest course taught at the College. "If it could be avoided it would be better."

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68, who attended the most recent CUE meeting, credits much of the increase to students' improved abilities.

"I think students are getting smarter--probably there is objective data to support that--though I doubt that effect can explain the entire shift in grades," he says.

Others agree with Lewis, arguing that diversification of the admissions process and improvements in education have greatly improved the caliber of the average Harvard student.

"There are alternative hypotheses to saying things have gotten easier and they're handing out A's," says Margaret E. Bourdeaux '97. "I think teaching has improved and students are doing better."

Regardless of the cause, grade inflation does pose certain challenges to faculty and students.

"Grade inflation is immoral," says Robinson Professor of Music Robert Levine. "It has a pretentious effect on students, for the outside world now devalues transcripts."

In fact, many faculty members say grade inflation has arisen because the faculty is falling short of its responsibility to offer students the feedback they deserve.

"The problem arises not from grade inflation but from not enough consideration being given in distinguishing the very good from the bad Jones says.

"It does seem to me that Harvard has a duty by its students [to give them] the advice toward improvement they deserve," he adds.

The CUE committee has also considered, more subtle aspects of grade inflation.

The committee reports that humanities and social sciences on the whole have experienced more inflation than the natural sciences, making it easier to get good grades in some concentrations than in others.

"If a student does equally good work in math and in fine arts, and gets a B+ in the former and an A- in the latter and therefore concludes that she is a better fine artist than mathematician--when all she is observing is the different evaluative conventions between fields--that is a matter of considerable concern to me," Lewis says.

Years of Research

The report that the CUE will send to the faculty early this week is the result of more than a year of research and debate.

The issue first came before the CUE where three professors suggested that Harvard consider transcript amplification.

But Buell says, "The CUE was uncomfortable with transcript amplification and wanted to give the wider issue of grading policy full hearing."

Last spring and this fall, the CUE surveyed department chairs on their opinion on grade inflation. A number of possible solutions to grade inflation were suggested to the chairs, including restricting the number of grades given in a course, doing nothing and increasing the number of grades available to instructors.

"We...considered specifying what normal grades should be--allocating or restricting, for instance, the number of A's," Feldman says.

"The general view from the survey was yes [grade-inflation is a problem] but that was not an unanimous view," Buell says.

"Certain departments said 'it's not our problem.' There were several departments that said 'is not some creep up in grades appropriate since students' credentials are improving,'" Buell says.

The CUE found far less consensus on the solution to grade inflation, Feldman says.

In fact, the faculty came to a consensus on only two issues.

First, approximately half the departments supported transcript amplification. Second, most of the departments said something should be done about the gaps between B+ and A- and between C+ and B- in Harvard's grading scale, Buell says.

On the Agenda

The Faculty Council will consider the CUE's report when it is delivered this week.

As Dean Knowles points out, the debate may just be beginning.

"The CUE is not a legislative body, The faculty is the only legislative body. We must think not just about the question of inflation but also the more serious, underlying question of meaning," Knowles says.Lawrence Buell