Good News for Students: More ‘A’ Grades

This is an updated version of a story from the Oct. 23, 2019, issue.

The number of A and A-plus grades continues to rise, according to a report of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing. A’s and A-pluses accounted for about a third of all grades in the 2018–19 academic year. 

“What this means for all of us is grade compression is very real at the top of the class,” Dean of the College Jill Dolan said at the September faculty meeting. She said this presents a challenge in selecting recipients of academic honors. 

The report showed a slight increase in the overall GPA, from 3.461 in 2017–18 to 3.464 in 2018–19, a smaller increase than in the previous year. Engineering is the only division in which the GPA declined from the prior year. The overall GPA has increased 0.074 points since the revised grading policy went into effect in 2015. 

The faculty committee urged departments to review the consistency of grading standards across departmental courses and classes with multiple sections, as well as to offer consistent responses to student requests for grade changes.