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Harvard faculty to vote on proposal to limit number of A grades in each course

The Guardian · · 635 words · By Anna Betts
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/apr/03/harvard-faculty-grade-inflatio…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

help Insufficient Evidence 7
schedule Pending 4
verified Verified By Reference 3
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“Harvard’s faculty is set to vote next week on a faculty committee proposal to cap the number of A grades per course in an effort to curb grade inflation.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the claim about Harvard faculty voting on A-grade caps.
verified
“The proposal, which was first reported earlier this year by the Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s student newspaper, would cap A grades to 20% of students in a course, with an allowance for four additional As.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries describe Harvard Crimson as a student newspaper but do not mention the proposed A-grade cap policy details.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now sometimes also used as a gene…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sport…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Crimson
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Harvard Crimson is the undergraduate student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run ent…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Harvard_Crimson
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“It also would introduce a new internal 'average percentile rank' system, which would rely on raw scores rather than grade point average (GPA) to determine honors and awards.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the 'average percentile rank' system claim.
verified
“If approved, the policy would take effect in fall 2027, according to the Wall Street Journal.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries about The Wall Street Journal do not mention the proposed policy or 2027 implementation date.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The editorial board at The Wall Street Journal writes opinion articles in The Wall Street Journal and selects opinion articles by outside parties for publication. The editorial board is known for its …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editorial_board_at_The_Wall_St…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist and progressive movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics. It began in Zu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), commonly known as the Journal, is an American newspaper based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and financ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall_Street_Journal
verified
“A document drafted by the university’s subcommittee on grading of the undergraduate educational policy committee states that in November 2024, Amanda Claybaugh, the dean of undergraduate education, appointed a committee to investigate grading policies and alternatives.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries for unrelated topics (Republika Srpska, Samuel Zemurray, Uncle Tom's Cabin) do not support the Amanda Claybaugh committee claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Republika Srpska (Serbian Cyrillic: Република Српска [repǔblika sr̩̂pskaː] ), also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or the Serb Republic, is one of the two confederal entities of Bosnia and Herze…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republika_Srpska
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Samuel Zemurray, Jr. and Doris Zemurray Stone-Radcliffe Professor is the first endowed chair at Harvard University created specifically to be filled by a woman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Zemurray,_Jr._and_Doris…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward Afr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom's_Cabin
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“The proposal states that over the last few years, 'what was a merely quantitative increase in average course grade has become a qualitative failure of the grading process as a whole'.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the proposal's qualitative failure statement.
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“The increase in average grade has generated a compression of grades so pronounced that two-thirds of letter grades issued are straight As and almost 85% are A-range grades.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
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“The committee adds: 'By encouraging faculty to use a wider spectrum of grades, we invite colleagues to design systems of assessment that align with their learning objectives and provide more frequent and better opportunities for detailed feedback on a student’s mastery of skills or knowledge.'”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the committee's encouragement of wider grade ranges.
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“An internal report last fall from Harvard’s dean of undergraduate education, reported by the Wall Street Journal, found that about 60% of grades during the 2024-25 academic year were As, up from about 25% in 2005-06.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the internal report claim about the dean's findings.
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“A survey conducted by the undergraduate student government found that about 94% of students said they oppose the A cap, with some students worried that it would heighten stress and intensify competition.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the student government survey results.
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“The Harvard Crimson’s editorial board wrote in an editorial in February that while the school has an issue with 'grade inflation', it argued that 'in its search for a cure, Harvard has missed the mark'.”
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“Princeton University implemented a similar policy in 2004 that capped the number of As, but that it discontinued the practice in 2014.”
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“Faculty opinion appears more mixed. In February, the Crimson reported that faculty voiced 'cautious support' for the proposal and that more than a dozen faculty members interviewed welcomed the attempt to impose a systematic check on grade inflation. But some faculty worried that the cap could discourage students from enrolling in demanding courses and cautioned that the proposal could pose a danger to faculty autonomy.”
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“The Guardian has reached out to Harvard University for comment about the proposal.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.