Monday, October 8, 2001

Harvard's High Number of Honors Graduates Points to Grade Inflation, Critics Say By JEFFREY BRAINARD Ninety-one percent of Harvard University's seniors last spring graduated with honors, far more than at Yale, Princeton, and other elite universities, according to a report in Sunday's Boston Globe. That is proof, critics say, that Harvard has not worked hard enough to control grade inflation. Harvard officials have said that the high proportion of students earning cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude honors reflects the high quality of undergraduates. But some officials also acknowledged that grade inflation was real, and that it was undermining the value of the academic honors. In contrast to Harvard, only 51 percent of Yale University students graduated with those honors this year. Forty-four percent of Princeton University students did so, and 40 percent of Dartmouth College students did, the Globe reported. In 1946, undergraduate honors at Harvard went to just 32 percent of graduates, the newspaper noted. The Globe article described Harvard undergraduates as winning good grades and honors without much effort. In the 2000-1 academic year, 51 percent of all grades were A's and A-minuses. Students were awarded the cum-laude honor with a B-minus average in their majors, or a B-average over all. Others received the magna-cum-laude honor by having a B-plus average; writing a thesis, in most cases; and winning the recommendation of their department. On Sunday, a Harvard spokeswoman said that the university's new president, Lawrence H. Summers, "is very concerned about both honors inflation and grade inflation, and believes very strongly in the importance of high and rigorous standards. He will be consulting with faculty members on this question." Mr. Summers is scheduled to deliver his inaugural address on Friday. Changes will require greater commitment from Harvard administrators -- and more transparency about grading -- than they have shown to date, said Harvey Mansfield, a professor of government who has criticized the university over grade inflation. "Our top students haven't emerged clearly as our top students," he said in an interview Sunday, "and it's time that the faculty showed some concern for the best and the brightest." Background articles from The Chronicle: Grade Inflation: It's Time to Face the Facts (4/6/2001) What Grade Would You Give Him? (2/16/2001) Inflation Isn't the Only Thing Wrong With Grading (5/8/1998) Efforts to Curb Grade Inflation Get an F From Many Critics (7/25/1997) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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