Fatal Blow to the Honor System

First they abolished in 1969 the longstanding seven-point grading system with its brilliant bottleneck against grade inflation, secured by the widespread use of 2+ for a low A- and the rare bestowal of 1- for a high A-, along with the even less frequent markers of 1 (A) and 1+ (A+). Then they lowered the standards in the humanities, whereby, for example, in my former department, juniors no longer have to write in French first a 5-page paper (about 3,100 words) and then also in French a 10-page paper, culminating in a 20-page paper in English. Today, one 7,000-word paper in English with a 3-page French summary suffices. Now, in response to widespread cheating, exams will have proctors, recognizing a fatal blow to the ideals of the honor system that is no longer universally honored. Princeton undoubtedly will always have brilliant scholars, teachers, and students. And yet, to paraphrase Joachim Du Bellay’s lament as he gazed upon the ruins of ancient Rome in the mid-16th century, for new arrivals who seek Princeton in Princeton, nothing of Princeton in Princeton will they find.