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- Top five again: inflation of grades at Harvard has increased the number of excellent students
Top five again: inflation of grades at Harvard has increased the number of excellent students
Six out of ten grades that Harvard University students received in the 2024/25 academic year turned out to be the highest. 20 years ago, this figure was approximately 25%. Some believe that a similar situation at one of the leading American universities could become a catalyst for a deterioration in standards at other internationally renowned higher education institutions. What are the reasons for grade inflation, why a prestigious university is lowering the educational bar, and what will happen to higher education in the United States?
Sit down, five
An internal report from the Office of Undergraduate Affairs at Harvard University showed that the assessment system was no longer effective. The 25-page document says that about 60% of all graduates in 2024/25 received an "A" (the highest score in the US assessment system). Amanda Kleibo, dean of undergraduate Studies at Harvard and author of the document, argues that the "culture and prestige" of the educational institution is suffering due to point inflation. "Our grades are too high, as almost all teachers admit; they are also too contradictory, as the students noticed. More importantly, it no longer fulfills its core functions and undermines our academic mission," Kleibo wrote in the report.
According to The Harvard Crimson, the current figure is 35% higher than 20 years ago, when it did not exceed a quarter of the total number of estimates. The median average graduation rate, which was 3.29 in 1985, has now increased to 3.83. At the same time, the duration of extracurricular work for students has remained at the same level over the past two decades: students spend about 5-7 hours a week on independent study.
Veronica Bryant, an academic specialist at the American Board of Trustees and Alumni, told The Fix that if Harvard allows a rapid increase in excellent grades, the problem will worsen in other "schools." "As Harvard develops, so does the nation. If other educational institutions believe that America's oldest and most prestigious university is lowering standards, why should they support them," the source said.
According to Bryant, in recent years, the reputation of the educational institution has suffered not only because of grades. One of the reasons that influenced the prestige of Harvard University was an article by The New Yorker called The End of the English Major ("The end of the specialty "English Literature"). The publication writes that the number of qualified specialists in languages, literature and history has decreased by about half. The text also reflects the impressions of Amanda Kleibo, Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Harvard, about the students' level of knowledge. "The last time I taught the Scarlet Letter, I found that my students really had difficulty understanding sentences as such, and they were having trouble identifying the subject and predicate. All students have different abilities, and the nineteenth century is a very long time ago," she said.
Harvard University is recognized as one of the world's strongest graduate schools, training experts not only in the humanities, but also in the field of exact sciences. Against the background of such news, it becomes unclear how 60% of students maintain excellent academic performance. The academic affairs specialist of the American Board of Trustees and Alumni also noted that there is now a general decrease in expectations when choosing Harvard as a future educational institution.
From small to big
The problem of grade inflation in the United States affects not only Harvard, but also other Ivy League institutions. In 2023, The New York Times published data on the growth of academic performance at Yale University (included in the list of organizations whose activities are considered undesirable in the Russian Federation), where the share of excellent students increased from 67% to 82% between 2010/11 and 2021/22.
Princeton University tried to introduce a point deduction system 20 years ago. The rules were set there: no more than 35% of "A" marks for term papers and 55% for independent ones. However, a decade later, Princeton abandoned the "quota policy." This was mainly because graduates turned out to be less competitive compared to students from other prestigious educational institutions.
Malek Dudakov, an American political scientist, shared with Izvestia the opinion that the inflation of grades in American colleges can be related to both economic and political factors. Most Ivy League university students are representatives of the "elite" who pay huge amounts of money for their studies and do not want to see low grades in their diplomas. Teachers also play a role here: they do not expel students so that they continue to "invest" in an educational institution.
— Now students expect to receive the highest grade — "A". If a student does not receive it, then his negative attitude is manifested not towards himself and his own level of knowledge, but towards the education system, university and politics," the expert explains.
In turn, Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada, notes that the inflation of grades at private universities, which also have budgetary funding, is associated with the education of foreigners. Despite the restrictions of the American President Donald Trump, they are attracted by various grants and scholarships, as well as the opportunity to get a diploma with good grades, which can play an important role in obtaining a prestigious job, although it does not guarantee this.
— Attracting wealthy students often implies a clear and precise approach to education: "I'm not paying for you to teach me something, but for the sake of a diploma." This led to a sharp deterioration in the student body. Now universities are starting to display the average score, so that it would be good for everyone: both students and universities," the expert said.
Some analysts believe that elite American education is currently undergoing cultural and political splits. Universities in the United States have become one of the main sources of far-left ideology, which is very popular among young Democratic Party voters, but causes rejection among the Republican part of the American electorate.
At the end of May 2025, the City Journal published an interview with Harvard professor Omar Sultan Haq, who called the university "thoroughly corrupt." "As he moved up the corporate ladder <...>, he watched as the university gradually abandoned the search for truth and replaced it with leftist racism," the publication described the interlocutor's career path. The professor himself stated that "the culture and practice of the university prioritize ideological conformity rather than open research and debate, suppressing dissenting points of view and endangering academic freedom."
The Future of higher Education in the USA
Now many Americans who want to get a high-quality education have begun to seriously consider whether it is worth paying a lot of money for a university (a year of study at Harvard costs about $ 80 thousand or more), which may not provide the necessary knowledge. Malek Dudakov noted that amid all the scandals at Harvard, the number of applicants has dropped. This is also influenced by the restrictions on the financing of elite universities by the Trump cabinet, due to which some study programs have to be reduced or closed.
The expert also believes that this trend may lead to the fact that more and more young Americans will study either somewhere abroad, since the factor of division and high cost is of paramount importance, or in "craft colleges."
— They will receive technical education, because, firstly, it is cheaper. Secondly, the student learns a sought-after specialty that will help to quickly recoup the cost of education. Now this is a more successful strategy, unlike admission to Harvard, where you will have to pay a lot of money, and no one will guarantee that you will be able to get a high—paying job, especially against the background of all the scandals," the expert stated.
Vladimir Vasiliev, in turn, noted that Ivy League universities were and still are in demand. Students will come here despite harsh statements and unpleasant news in the media, because such educational institutions are considered a symbol of power and elitism.
— Ivy League universities are the way up to the elite. Look only at Harvard graduates: presidents, senators, heads of leading corporations. That's what these universities were designed for, especially under the Democrats, since business was the basis of everything for Republicans," the expert concluded.
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