Is it time to abolish college grades entirely? Why American universities are handing out too many A’s

Grade Inflation in American Universities: A Growing Concern

Getting out of hand: Grade inflation in American universities is a real problem, but hardly anything has been done to address it. The statistics are staggering. The average GPA at elite schools like Harvard has skyrocketed from 2.6 in 1950 to 3.8 today. In 2023, a mindblowing 80 percent of all grades at Yale were either A or A-.

A Wall Street Journal op-ed by German-American political scientist and author Yascha Mounk argues the core issue is that universities increasingly view students as “prized customers,” thanks to forever-rising tuition costs. So they cater to their demands and lifestyles. Giving out a bunch of As is an easy way to satisfy the clientele.

Additionally, Mounk suggests some professors have grown uncomfortable wielding authority over students as evaluators. He points out that a culture of “politeness” and a “greater fear of giving offense” in the US discourages giving critical feedback. This dynamic is quite different from that of England, where Mounk taught. He says teachers there were encouraged to present student assessments as a “poisoned Oreo cookie” where criticism is still a thing, except smartly sandwiched between layers of chocolate (praise).

Mounk contends that the American way of doing things has rendered the whole grading system meaningless. Everyone scores an A, and students can no longer gauge their actual performance.

“The current grading system favors mediocre kids from stable homes over talented ones from less stable backgrounds,” he added.

Employers can’t pick suitable candidates either, possibly exacerbating the talent shortage in tech. Additionally, nearly 60 percent of young applicants now use generative AI for job applications. It’s a recipe for disaster.

As a possible solution, Mounk gives the example of Harvard’s recently retired professor Harvey Mansfield, who fought back by giving students their “real” and “ironic” grades – the former based on stringent standards, the latter contorted to university norms. However, workarounds like this are insufficient band-aids. The straightforward solution would be restoring meaningful standards – grading on a strict curve, capping high grades, or adopting more granular scoring systems.

This philosophy aligns with another op-ed from last year by Tim Donahue of The New York Times, requesting professors use the B- for college essays more often as it pushes the student to make the necessary corrections and realize the essay’s true potential rather than giving it an “early, convenient death.” However, Mounk points out that universities adopting unpopular reforms would risk tanking in the rankings.

His radical proposal is that since the grading system has become an irreparable “charade,” universities should just abolish grades altogether in favor of pass/fail scoring. Some elite grad schools have already made this change. Mounk concludes that entirely tossing out grades could be the “least bad option” until a brighter day when academia finds the will to start fresh with honest evaluations.

Image credit: Caroline Culler