Princeton's War on Grade Inflation Drops the Number of A's

By REBECCA ARONAUER

Princeton University announced last week that a campaign against grade inflation had succeeded in cutting the number of A's awarded in the 2004-5 academic year, although not as much as officials had hoped.

The dean of Princeton's undergraduate college, Nancy W. Malkiel, announced a plan in April 2004 to reduce the number of A's to no more than 35 percent in undergraduate classes and to 55 percent in the independent research projects completed by juniors and seniors.

In the campaign's first year, the percentage of A's dropped in nearly all of the broad academic divisions that Princeton listed in a news release. For example, in engineering the proportion fell from 48.0 percent to 43.2 percent, and in the humanities, the figure fell from 56.2 percent to 45.5 percent. (Princeton did not provide a breakdown by department.) None of those academic divisions, however, reached the 35-percent target.

Still, Dean Malkiel said, she was pleased with the results. "I think we've made very impressive progress in a short space of time," she said.

The percentage of A's dropped sharply in undergraduate classes, from 46 percent in 2003-4 to 40.9 percent in 2004-5. Courses in the humanities saw the biggest decrease in A's, from 56.2 percent to 45.5 percent. The percentage of A's in the natural sciences actually increased slightly this year, from 36 percent to 36.4 percent.

End of the 'Mercy A-'

Diana Fuss, acting chair of the English department, believes that professors have become more judicious with A's because of the policy. "The mercy A- has disappeared," Ms. Fuss said.

Only slightly fewer A's were given for independent work, however. In junior-year independent work, the percentage of A's fell from 59.5 percent to 57.9 percent, and in senior theses and other senior independent work, professors awarded A's to 58.6 percent of students, compared with 60.2 percent the previous year.

Before starting the new policy, Dean Malkiel said, she spoke to employers and admissions officers at graduate and professional schools to see if lower grades would hurt Princeton students after they graduated. Both employers and admissions officers, she said, have told her that Princeton graduates would be evaluated in the context of the university's campaign against grade inflation.

She said she hopes the percentage of A's will drop again this year, as departments share with one another which approaches work best to combat grade inflation.

"We're in the mode of helping departments make further progress," Dean Malkiel said.

Each department took separate steps to reduce the percentage of A's, she said. For example, the economics department agreed on target percentages of A's, depending on the type of course.

More information on the new grading policy and the results for 2004-5 is available on Princeton's Web site.

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Volume 52, Issue 6, Page A41