A’s Are Rising at Princeton, With No Changes in Sight

Two-thirds of Princeton course grades are in the A range, according to the most recent annual Undergraduate Grading Report, published in December. While several peer institutions have recently faced scrutiny for climbing GPAs — including Harvard, where flat A’s dropped from 60% to 53% in the fall semester after instructors were urged to curb grade inflation — Princeton has largely stayed out of the spotlight. But the numbers show that the University is no exception to trends elsewhere.

Until 2014, Princeton’s so-called grade deflation policy recommended that no more than 35% of course grades in each department were A’s. Engineering professor Clarence Rowley ’95, who chaired an ad hoc committee tasked with reviewing the policy in 2014, told PAW that the policy was often misunderstood to mean that only 35% of grades in each course could be in the A range (A+, A, or A-). The 2014 ad hoc committee report recommended abandoning the policy, citing the stress it was causing students.

“The biggest negative side effect was really the perception that there was this cap on A-range grades, and that led students to feel stress,” Rowley told PAW in January. Since 2014, it has been up to individual departments to establish and periodically review grading standards. This policy had the unintended effect of steadily increasing the number of A-grades awarded.

The 2014 committee may have been “overly optimistic to think that we could curb grade inflation by leaving things up to departments,” Rowley said. He sees this trend as concerning, as grade inflation “blurs the distinction between work that is adequate and work that is exceptional.”

Professor Fred Hughson, who teaches molecular biology, noted that grade inflation makes it harder for medical schools and other graduate programs to make distinctions between applicants.

Princeton’s old grading policy “was helping students who could send a very clear signal that they were really academically outstanding, which is a lot harder to send now,” Hughson said. He added, however, that he did not think most faculty were concerned about grade inflation. In an email to PAW, Dean of the College Michael Gordin said there are currently no plans to change the University’s policy on grading.

“It does devalue individual work when a wide range of products that differ quite a bit in quality receive the same grade, and I think that frustrates students,” said Sander McComiskey ’26, a senior in the School of Public and International Affairs. “It’s harder for employers or professors or departments to tell who is really putting in the most work and who’s the best performer.”

The 2014 committee found that, despite what many claimed, grade deflation at Princeton did not adversely impact students in graduate school applications or the job market search. Kimberly Betz, the executive director of the Center for Career Development, said that grade inflation does not hinder students, either.

“Across the board, employers know that Princeton has students who are strong academically, who do good work. So employers value a Princeton education. The extent to which they look at GPAs is just really going to vary by industry and by employer,” she said, emphasizing that most employers consider applicants holistically.

Not all professors see grade inflation as an issue. In an emailed statement to PAW, Smita Brunnermeier, an economics professor and the department’s executive director of undergraduate studies, said that rising grades in economics courses “accurately reflect student performance on exams and the rising quality of thesis submissions.” She added, “This isn’t because students have become smarter over time or that standards have been lowered; rather students have access to significantly more resources to turn in excellent work than were available to them a decade ago.”

English professor William Gleason, who has been teaching at Princeton since 1993 and was part of the 2014 committee, maintains that fears of grade inflation are overblown. He said that use of the word “inflation” makes it “feel like grades are being artificially puffed up” when this is not necessarily the case.

“If you set out clear guidelines, give students clear feedback, and show them how to achieve what you’ve asked them to achieve, then they’ll get the grades they deserve. If those are higher than they used to be, then it’s because more students are doing that, and because we’re not capping [A’s] anymore,” he said. He stressed the importance of giving students detailed feedback on their work — one of the main recommendations from the 2014 committee’s report.

Undergraduate Student Government president Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27 suggested that grade inflation is not top of mind for most students. Focusing on grade inflation “obfuscates how challenging Princeton is, no matter what. I hear from people who get straight A’s that they’re still being very challenged by their coursework,” he said.

He added that A-range grades are a marker of the student body’s strong academic performance. “As Princeton has gotten more and more selective, the kids who get here are going to be more and more committed to academics, more and more prepared to handle Princeton’s level of rigor,” he said.

Hannah Feinberg ’28, who plans to major in chemistry, said, “I’m glad there are high standards, and I am definitely being challenged, but I often feel stressed, and I know fellow students feel the same way. I think there should be a happy middle.” She added: “I appreciate the fact that my grades are earned.”

The latest grading report said that only the natural sciences awarded A grades to fewer than 50% of students in 100- and 200-level courses. Historically, natural sciences and engineering courses have given fewer A’s than those in the humanities and social sciences.

Despite rising GPAs, students and faculty noted that student stress seems higher than ever.

“Students are much more focused on grades now than they were when I was a student, even though grades are, as you can see from that data, far higher than they were in the 1990s,” said Rowley, who majored in mechanical and aerospace engineering as an undergrad.

Hughson, who has been teaching at Princeton for 31 years, also said students seem more pressured than ever. “When most of the grades are A’s, the perceived insult of getting a B is much higher,” 
he said.

“Students here struggle under academic rigor and inflexibility,” said Colón Roosevelt, the USG president, who pointed to numerous factors contributing to students’ mental state. “This is an institution where you tie your success and your self worth so often to your academic performance.”