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Professors at Harvard University gave significantly fewer A grades last semester, according to a report in the student newspaper.
The Harvard Crimson reported that faculty cut the number of A’s given to students by nearly seven percentage points after the College urged instructors to combat grade inflation, according to a Monday afternoon email obtained by the paper.
The Crimson reported that an email was directed to Faculty of Arts and Sciences professors from Amanda Claybaugh, Dean of Undergraduate Education, and said that “the share of flat As fell from 60.2 percent in the 2024-2025 academic year to 53.4 percent in the fall.”
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Professors at Harvard University gave out significantly fewer A grades last semester, according to a report in the student newspaper. (APCortizasJr/iStock)
The student paper attributed the decrease in A grades to a 25-page report Claybaugh released last October addressing grade inflation with the concern that such a practice was hindering the ability of the school to “perform the key functions of grading.”
Claybaugh’s October 2025 report released last October, as cited by the Crimson, found that more than 60% of grades Harvard undergraduates received were A’s, compared to only a quarter of grades 20 years ago.
The report found that grade inflation started to increase in the late 2010s, surging during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is now leveling off.
Claybaugh wrote, “Our grading is too compressed and too inflated, as nearly all faculty recognize; it is also too inconsistent, as students have observed.” She added that, “More importantly, our grading no longer performs its primary functions and is undermining our academic mission.”
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The Crimson reported that an email was directed to Faculty of Arts and Sciences professors from Amanda Claybaugh, Dean of Undergraduate Education, and “reported that the share of flat As fell from 60.2 percent in the 2024-2025 academic year to 53.4 percent in the fall.” (iStock)
In the email obtained Monday by the Crimson, Claybaugh told instructors they should not be worried that fewer A grades would negatively affect their teaching evaluations, known as “Q reports.”
“I know this change wasn’t easy,” she wrote to faculty on Monday. “Some of you report that your Q scores went down, and you worry about the effect this might have on reviews or enrollments.”
Claybaugh’s October 2025 report released last October, as cited by the Crimson, found that over 60% of grades Harvard undergraduates received were A’s, compared to only a quarter of grades 20 years ago. (Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“With respect to reviews, I can reassure you that we look at Q scores alongside difficulty scores and median grades—and that we recognize and appreciate your efforts to restore rigor,” Claybaugh added.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, James Chisholm, director of media relations for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said that the “FAS is Harvard’s largest school and home to Harvard College, the University’s undergraduate program.”
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In the email obtained Monday by the Crimson, Claybaugh told instructors they should not be worried that fewer A grades would negatively affect their teaching evaluations, known as “Q reports.” (Kennedy Hayes/Fox News)
“The work around grading is happening, entirely, within the FAS — this is a faculty-driven effort to address faculty concerns around grading, and it’ll be a faculty committee that ultimately presents recommendations on changes to current grading policies,” Chisholm said.
Chisholm added that recommendations made will then be voted on by the FAS faculty.
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