Is Berkeley Catching Up with Yale?

Back in early December, the NY Times ran a piece revealing that almost everyone at Yale gets an A or A-.* Now the San Francisco Chronicle indicates Berkeley is moving in Yale's direction:

Nearly two-thirds of all grades given to undergraduates at UC Berkeley were A’s or A minuses last year, representing a significant increase from a decade ago. Data published by UC Berkeley shows that while grade inflation accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is a prolonged trend, with average grades at Berkeley inching higher each year over the past decade. 

About 64% of grades given to undergraduates were A’s or A minuses in 2022 (which includes the spring and fall semesters). While this share of A’s is lower than its pandemic peak of 77% in 2020, it’s up 13 percentage points from 10 years ago. The pandemic-induced surge in A’s is primarily a result of changes in the school’s grading policies during this period, according to Oliver O’Reilly, vice provost for undergraduate education and a mechanical engineering professor at Berkeley. Students could opt for a pass/fail grading system instead of receiving letter grades in most classes, and they were able to make this choice at any point during the semester... 

Full story at https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2023/uc-berkeley-grade-inflation/.

But at least one Yalie thinks everyone getting an A is a Good Thing:**

So maybe we shouldn't worry.

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*https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/nyregion/yale-grade-inflation.html.

**https://www.businessinsider.com/yale-grade-inflation-good-student-college-stress-2023-12.