Roughly 80% of Grades Given at Harvard Are in the 'A' Range
Grade inflation is an obvious problem. It does a disservice to students, making them believe they are exceptional at something they are actually mediocre at. Some rants related to this and how awful grade inflation is for students and the world.<p>AP score data is especially indicative of this. In AP classes, most high school students earn As from their teachers (I estimate around ~60%). Yet, when you look at the AP scores, few get 5s on exams (the equivalent of an A). For example, 5-10% get 5&#x27;s on AP English and Science-related exams. Scores are a bit higher on Social Sciences (10-15% 5s) and math&#x2F;CS (~25%). But only ~50% of students even get above a 3 on the exam (the equivalent of a C). So there are people who essentially get a D by the standard (a 2) that are getting an A in their high school class.<p>I could go on with countless examples of how students aren&#x27;t nearly as capable as their grades would indicate. At McKinsey, I interviewed over 100 people from top schools with high GPAs. Many couldn&#x27;t solve simple math problems when given the problem in the context of a real-world case.<p>At out top institutions with our top students, we should be pushing them extremely hard and measuring them against a higher bar. I find it disappointing that they are being measured against the same (or even a lower bar) than students at other institutions. It&#x27;s so bad that it seems clear that a Harvard Education isn&#x27;t any better than a Penn State, Nebraska, or even UC Riverside education. The only difference is having the Harvard brand and network. It&#x27;s an embarrassment. And it&#x27;s not just a problem at Harvard. It&#x27;s a problem at every top institution.<p>Grade-motivated students don&#x27;t put in the extra work when little effort still earns them As. One example stands out. I run an edtech company, and in our early days, we ran an experiment at doesmyessaysuck.com. You could submit your essay, get a score, and 2 pieces of feedback on how to improve the content and structure of your writing. We did about a thousand essays before abandoning it. I always think about one student. He submitted an essay we generously gave a C (it was really bad). It was incoherent, poorly structure, didn&#x27;t answer the prompt, and lacked sound logical reasoning. He responded we were wrong because he had gotten a 93% on it.<p>Also – <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gradeinflation.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gradeinflation.com&#x2F;</a> is a good read. It&#x27;s out-of-date data. But it proves the point even further than this article.<p>Note: There is some research out there that claims grade inflation is false and that more students actually have learned more than in previous years (i.e., the academic bar hasn&#x27;t changed, but more students are above it). However, this research is unconvincing (and ripe with errors). There&#x27;s essentially been zero improvement (and even a decline) in basic math and literacy skills over the past couple of decades (as measured by standardized tests). Yet grades are much higher. And high school and college graduation rates are up by about 10 percentage points since the early 2000s. As it turns out, when your only measure of success is graduation rate, you end up with more graduates – even if those graduates don&#x27;t have any skills.