Harvard Students React to Inflated Grades Controversy
Harvard students are in an uproar after the school’s Office of Undergraduate Education released a report last week saying the Ivy League school is “failing to perform the key functions of grading,” leading to inflated grades.
The report, which was released internally to Harvard students, said 60% of undergraduate grades are A’s, as opposed to only 25% two decades ago, according to the school’s student newspaper, The Crimson.
The 25-page report, penned by Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh, reportedly said the massive uptick in A grades means the school needs to implement stricter grading guidelines and “failing to perform the key functions of grading” was “damaging the academic culture of the College.”
The report left some students dejected.
“The whole entire day, I was crying,” one student reportedly told The Crimson. “I skipped classes on Monday, and I was just sobbing in bed because I felt like I try so hard in my classes, and my grades aren’t even the best.”
“It just felt soul-crushing,” she said.
Another student has concerns about the mental health toll potentially caused by stricter grading.
“It makes me rethink my decision to come to the school,” she reportedly said. “I killed myself all throughout high school to try and get into this school. I was looking forward to being fulfilled by my studies now, rather than being killed by them.”
Some are worried about a well-rounded education, and say stricter grading could force them to drop extracurricular activities.
“What makes a Harvard student a Harvard student is their engagement in extracurriculars,” one said. “Now we have to throw that all away and pursue just academics. I believe that attacks the very notion of what Harvard is.”
Another, identified as a member of the men’s lacrosse team, concurred.
“It’s doing students a disservice because it’s not really accounting for what we have to do on a day to day basis, and how many hours we’re putting into our team, our bodies, and then also school,” he reportedly said.
Another student said there is a “crisis” at the school, but did not specify further.
“There is a reason we’re in this situation in the first place, and the fact that you’re so scared of your GPA dropping .1 or .2 shows that there is a real crisis going on,” he said.
A faculty committee has reportedly been assembled to “restore the integrity of our grading and return the academic culture of the College to what it was in the recent past.”
Some options being explored by the committee include employing the use of the A+ grade for the highest achievers, and including the median grade for each course on students’ transcripts.
Harvard did not return a request for comment.
