From the Harvard Crimson: More Harvard College students than ever are passing their classes with flying colors, but the College’s evaluation system is “failing to perform the key functions of grading,” according to a report released by the Office of Undergraduate Education on Monday. The 25- page report, which was sent to faculty and Harvard College students on Monday, found that more than 60 percent of grades awarded to Harvard undergraduates are A’s, compared to only a quarter of grades two decades ago. It concluded that Harvard’s current grading system is “damaging the academic culture of the College.” In the 25-page report, Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh argued that the rising share of A grades necessitates reforms to “restore the integrity of our grading and return the academic culture of the College to what it was in the recent past.”
...Grade inflation has accelerated in the past decade, according to Claybaugh. Since 2015, the proportion of students receiving A grades has risen by 20 percentage points. Where the Class of 2015 had a median grade point average of 3.64 at graduation, the Class of 2025 clocked in at 3.83. And since the 2016-2017 academic year, the median Harvard College GPA has been an A... “Our grading is too compressed and too inflated, as nearly all faculty recognize; it is also too inconsistent, as students have observed,” she wrote. “More importantly, our grading no longer performs its primary functions and is undermining our academic mission.” ...
Full story at https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/10/27/grading-workload-report/.
And following up on a previous note in this series (#84) on Harvard:
From CNN: Tips from the public led to the arrests Tuesday of two men who authorities say are responsible for a weekend explosion inside a Harvard Medical research lab — an act that one official called “selfish” and “shortsighted.” Logan David Patterson, 18, and Dominick Frank Cardoza, 20, both of Massachusetts, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to damage by means of fire or an explosive a building belonging to an institution that receives federal financial assistance, according to a criminal complaint. It’s unclear whether the two have attorneys.
It’s too early to speculate on the motive, as the investigation is ongoing, said Leah Foley, the US attorney for the district of Massachusetts. But a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN the two men filmed the explosion and later showed it to friends. The official added so far, the two men did not appear to be driven by political ideology...
Full story at https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/04/us/harvard-university-explosion-arrests.
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