March 23, 2001

'Basic Statistical Facts' About Grade Inflation

To the Editor:

Susan Pedersen, the dean of undergraduate education at Harvard University, has been listening to "A Prairie Home Companion" a bit too often. She needs to face up to some basic facts regarding grade inflation ("What Grade Would You Give Him?," Short Subjects, February 16). The traditional grade scale is bounded at the top end by A (or A-plus, depending on the policy of the institution). There is a serious measurement problem whenever the average or midpoint category in

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