{"id":121677,"date":"2026-02-20T07:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677"},"modified":"2026-02-20T07:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:00:16","slug":"when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677","title":{"rendered":"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Last year, the average GPA for Harvard University<\/a>\u2019s Class of 2025 was 3.83. That\u2019s not a typo.<\/p>\n

At Harvard, one of the world\u2019s most selective colleges, the average student graduating in 2025 had a 3.83 GPA on a 4.0 scale. That meant that the typical student received an A or A-minus in nearly every class they took.<\/p>\n

Harvard has plenty of company. Yale\u2019s average GPA was a similarly laughable 3.7 in 2023, with nearly 80 percent of grades in the A to A-minus range. Public universities boosted grades by 17 percent between 1990 and 2020. And, in K-12 schooling, grades keep going up even though test scores haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

HARVARD ALUM BLASTS DEI POLICIES AFTER ‘WOKE’ VALUES DRIVE LONGTIME PROFESSOR’S EXIT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This phenomenon is known as grade inflation<\/a>, and it\u2019s a big problem. Colleges claim that they\u2019re teaching students critical, essential skills. That\u2019s how they justify those pricey tuition bills and hefty taxpayer subsidies. But how seriously can we take such claims when they\u2019ve ceased setting a consequential bar for student work?<\/p>\n

A meaningful education rests on high expectations and a sense of shared purpose. When students receive A\u2019s for mediocre work, hard work<\/a> starts to seem like a sucker\u2019s bet. The result is that students and teachers drift into convenient cosplay, with professors pretending to teach and students pretending to learn. That\u2019s how you wind up with students reporting that they haven\u2019t been tasked with writing anything more than five pages. With students increasingly delegating their essays to AI and grumbling if they\u2019re asked to read more than 10 pages a week for a class. With Harvard students breaking down<\/a> in tears when told they may have to start attending class. Professors at elite colleges have grown reluctant to ask students to read whole books. Even film professors have largely given up on assigning complex films because they don\u2019t think students will bother to sit through them. The number of students who qualify for disability accommodations, such as extra time on tests, has risen exponentially at elite schools.<\/p>\n

This is what happens when standards and expectations collapse. Tougher grading isn\u2019t a one-off fix to this problem, but it\u2019s a healthy start.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s promising to finally see Harvard take grade inflation seriously. Last week, a faculty committee proposed capping<\/a> A\u2019s at 20 percent of grades per class. Since A\u2019s constitute the lion\u2019s share of grades issued at Harvard, such a cap would be a stark corrective. The university\u2019s faculty appear to be tentatively supportive of the recommendations, which they\u2019ll vote on later this spring.<\/p>\n

FEWER HARVARD FACULTY MEMBERS IDENTIFYING AS LIBERAL, ALTHOUGH STAFF STILL STRONGLY LEFT-LEANING: SURVEY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Faculty support may surprise some readers. After all, aren\u2019t professors the ones inflating the grades? Yep, they sure are. But what outsiders may not appreciate is that these same faculty frequently say they feel like they have no alternative.<\/p>\n

The same professors who give students A\u2019s that they don\u2019t deserve will quietly lament that they feel powerless to do anything else. It\u2019s a collective action problem: There\u2019s no incentive for an individual faculty member to try to hold the line. To do so is to invite tearful pleading from students, accusations of bias, and even angry texts from tuition-paying parents. Easy grades make students happy and a professor\u2019s life easier.<\/p>\n

Tough grading is also a recipe for lousy ratings on student course evaluations, which can come back to haunt faculty when it comes to tenure<\/a> and promotion. That\u2019s why so many professors would breathe a sigh of relief if Harvard “forced” them to grade more rigorously.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s reason to question how successful Harvard is going to be. Two decades ago, Princeton University tried something similar, only to eventually give up due to student complaints that they were handicapped when competing against peers from rival colleges for jobs and graduate school admission. Indeed, Harvard students are already kvetching: Eighty-five percent oppose the proposal, with one student explaining, “It would create so much pressure where life wouldn\u2019t be worth that much to live.” It may only be feasible for colleges to tackle grade inflation if they operate in concert.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s heartening to see Harvard finally taking the issue seriously.<\/p>\n

It’s no coincidence that, after decades of studiously ignoring the problem, Harvard is finally taking action<\/a>. While there\u2019s plenty to second-guess about how the Trump administration has gone after Harvard and its peers, the pressure has sparked a new urgency about long-ignored problems. The administration\u2019s proposed higher ed “compact”, issued last October, had its problems but also did much to elevate issues like grade inflation.<\/p>\n

A quarter-century ago, Harvey “C-Minus” Mansfield, the iconic Harvard political theorist, started giving students two grades \u2014 one he thought they deserved and another “based on Harvard\u2019s system of inflated grades.” It\u2019d be a terrific turn if Harvard recommitted to rigor, if only so that professors who want to provide honest feedback no longer feel obliged to operate in the shadows.<\/p>\n

Greg Fournier is the program manager of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/when-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-problem-know <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year, the average GPA for Harvard University\u2019s Class of 2025 was 3.83. That\u2019s not a typo. At Harvard, one of the world\u2019s most selective […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-121677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhen an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it - Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last year, the average GPA for Harvard University\u2019s Class of 2025 was 3.83. That\u2019s not a typo. At Harvard, one of the world\u2019s most selective […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-20T12:00:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"715\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\"},\"headline\":\"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-20T12:00:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677\"},\"wordCount\":890,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Market News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677\",\"name\":\"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it - Wall Street PR\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-20T12:00:16+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"description\":\"Latest News From WallStreet\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"width\":537,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"Wall Street PR\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it - Wall Street PR","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it - Wall Street PR","og_description":"Last year, the average GPA for Harvard University\u2019s Class of 2025 was 3.83. That\u2019s not a typo. At Harvard, one of the world\u2019s most selective […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677","og_site_name":"Wall Street PR","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","article_published_time":"2026-02-20T12:00:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":715,"height":423,"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36"},"headline":"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it","datePublished":"2026-02-20T12:00:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677"},"wordCount":890,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Market News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677","name":"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it - Wall Street PR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-02-20T12:00:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/when-an-a-means-average-even-harvard-has-a-problem-and-they-know-it-121677#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"When an \u2018A\u2019 means average, even Harvard has a problem \u2014 and they know it"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","name":"Wall Street PR","description":"Latest News From WallStreet","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization","name":"Wall Street PR","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","width":537,"height":70,"caption":"Wall Street PR"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121677\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121677"},{"taxonomy":"stock_ticker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stock_ticker?post=121677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}