I like receiving As in my classes. It's quite a feeling of accomplishment to attain the highest possible grade in something.
This fulfilling ability to receive As at top colleges has been put under assault by the administration of Princeton University with its proposal to limit As to 35 percent of the grades given out. Princeton claims this move is necessary in order to curb the so-called problem of grade inflation that has erupted over the past few decades, citing an increase in As from 31 percent of grades given out in the 1970s to 47 percent of the grades given out last year. With hopes that all top colleges will follow suit, this move by Princeton could have widespread repercussions not just for students, but for the reputations of the academic institutions as well.
The Princeton administration can contend that students coming out of such a top institution will not have difficulty finding a good job or receiving admission to a reputable graduate school based on the reputation of the school which they attended. Yet, plenty of other students from top institutions are vying for this limited number of spots as well, which makes grades a highly important aspect of one's resume. When searching for a job or applying to graduate school from college, even from an Ivy League school such as Princeton or Dartmouth, grades are what makes someone's resume competitive, not just the school from which someone hails. A student from a much lesser university with a 4.0 grade point average clearly has the advantage over an Ivy Leaguer with a much lower average, a GPA that would be far more likely with an administrative crackdown on top grades.
While more students today do get As, these statistics are deceptive when one considers the change in the level of competitiveness in collegiate admissions over the years. With so many more high school students aspiring towards higher education, admission rates to all universities, especially the Ivy League, have plummeted. In order to be admitted to Princeton or Dartmouth, students must have already proved in high school that they are among the most intelligent, diligent and successful young adults in the country. With such an intelligent student body, more students are deserving of high marks. If students carry out work that is the caliber of As, there is no reason to punish them with lower marks to preserve the "true meaning" of an A.
Princeton, however, claims that it is necessary to limit the number of As it gives out in order to preserve its true meaning. While there may be some truth to this, an A will always represent the highest possible achievement in a class, whether it accounts for 47 percent of grades or 35 percent of them. Despite the slowly rising number of A's that are given out at top universities, the standards at these schools have remained at least stable or have even been raised as a result of the higher caliber of students who currently attend these schools. Princeton may contend that graduate schools and employers will gain more respect for them as an institution if they work to preserve the so-called sanctity of As. In actuality, though, unless there is a mass movement of every institution of higher education to curb grade inflation, this move will only result in a drop in the job placement and graduate school acceptance rates of participating colleges, which will in turn blemish the reputation of these institutions.
Proponents of the grade crackdown may claim that the "crisis of grade inflation" that has afflicted our nation is the result of acquiescence of professors to student expectations of high mark. However, student expectations did not arise on their own, but rather developed alongside the expectations of employers and graduate schools who are constantly in search of the most qualified student. As highly educated, accomplished experts in their respective fields, professors should be able to decide for themselves which students deserve which grades in their classes without interference from the administration. Instituting quotas on the number of As that are allowed to be given out will merely serve to anger professors by usurping some of their authority, rather than solving any alleged problems.
Princeton's proposal to curb the number of As that are given out sets a dangerous precedent for other top institutions. With no redeeming qualities for the move, I sincerely hope that Dartmouth chooses not to follow suit and worsen the GPAs of its students.
