Harvard Should Cap A Grades to Restore Academic Meaning and Risk-Taking
Source: Joshua Greene. "The Perverse Tyranny of a Perfect Transcript - The Atlantic." May 6, 2026. www.theatlantic.com
The Gist
Harvard gives out so many A's that they've become meaningless, which makes students avoid challenging classes to protect their perfect GPAs. The author argues Harvard should limit A grades to about one-third of students so that top grades actually mean something again and students feel free to take academic risks.
Conclusion
Harvard should implement a cap limiting flat A grades to around 33 percent across undergraduate courses to restore meaning to transcripts and encourage academic risk-taking
Premises
- Grade inflation at Harvard has reached absurd levels, with 66% of grades being A's and 84% being A's or A-'s, making 'extraordinary distinction' meaningless
- The current grading system deters students from taking challenging courses that might threaten their perfect GPAs, reducing academic exploration
- Faculty report that despite more selective admissions, students show less academic investment and motivation than in previous decades
- Students now choose courses based on grade expectations rather than intellectual curiosity, creating pressure on faculty to inflate grades
- A perfect GPA being achievable makes students focus energy on extracurriculars rather than coursework, since median performance guarantees an A
- The proposed 33% cap on flat A's (while allowing unlimited A-'s) would restore meaning to top grades while being less restrictive than Princeton's failed broader cap
- Historical evidence shows that when perfect transcripts weren't expected, students took more academic risks and explored diverse subjects
Assumptions
- Grades should accurately reflect relative performance and distinguish exceptional work from merely competent work
- Academic risk-taking and intellectual exploration are valuable educational outcomes that should be encouraged
- Competition for top grades will exist regardless, so it's better to channel it toward coursework rather than extracurriculars
- Faculty can reliably distinguish between A- and A-level work when forced to make such distinctions
- The benefits of restored grade meaning outweigh the costs of increased student stress and competition