USA TODAY, March 28, 2007, Wednesday

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USA TODAY

March 28, 2007 Wednesday

FINAL EDITION

SECTION: LIFE; Pg. 9D

HEADLINE: Princeton leads in grade deflation;

Policy of reining in rampant A's scores low with some

BYLINE: Laura Bruno

BODY:

Jennifer Mickel, a Princeton University senior, can't help but look around a class of 10 students and think, "Just three of us can get A's."

Since Princeton took the lead among Ivy League schools to formally adopt a grade-deflation policy three years ago -- limiting A's to an average 35% across departments -- students say the pressure to score the scarcer A has intensified. Students say they now eye competitive classmates warily and shy away from classes perceived as difficult.

"It used to be that you'd let someone copy your notes if they were sick," says Mickel, 21, of Monroe, La. "Now, if someone misses classes, you'd probably still let them, but you're also thinking: 'Gee, you might get the A while I don't.'."

There is no quota in individual courses, despite what students think, says Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel. Still, the policy has made an A slightly more elusive. In the first two years, A's, (A-plus, A, A-minus), accounted for 41% of undergrad grades, down from 47% the two previous years.

Though a typical Princeton overachiever might blanch at the mere mention of a B, the university is sticking by its policy, Malkiel says. Students' employment and graduate school placements actually have improved the past two years, she says.

Princeton, which set a third consecutive record for admission applications this year, doesn't mind taking the lonely stand against grade inflation, she adds. "What we're after here is real culture change, and culture change doesn't come easily. We are comfortable taking the lead."

Grade inflation, well documented at many schools, is most pronounced in the Ivy League, according to an American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2002 study. For example, in 1966, 22% of all grades given to Harvard undergraduates were A's. That grew to 46% in 1996, the study found.

Princeton's grade spike became alarming in the last decade, Malkiel says. The policy, supported by a faculty vote, returns grades to early 1990s levels. "By grading in a more discriminating fashion, faculty members are able to give clearer signals about whether a student's work is inadequate, ordinary, good or excellent," Malkiel says.

Staying ahead of the curve

Other universities have talked about curbing grade inflation, but none is known to have gone as far as Princeton. Some, such as Columbia University, have tried unsuccessfully to curb the upward spiral by posting average course grades on transcripts. Others, including Harvard, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania, have not-so-subtly pressured professors by circulating class averages. Harvard declined to comment; a Dartmouth spokeswoman said there were no plans to alter grading policies.

At Cornell, a well-intentioned grade-awareness effort backfired. Class averages are posted online, which students use to search for classes where the median grade is an A. Those courses have grown in popularity, says Ronald Ehrenberg, director of Cornell's Higher Education Research Institute.

Professors resistant to lowering grades often point out that student quality has risen over the same time period and they should have discretion to dole out grades as they see fit, Ehrenberg says. That's why Princeton continues to stand alone on the subject, he says: Attempting an institution-wide policy will be met with resistance.

"It's not surprising there has been no movement to follow Princeton's lead," says Stuart Rojstaczer, a retired Duke professor whose often-cited 2002 study found grade inflation at most universities. "The leadership just isn't there elsewhere."

Harvey Mansfield Jr., a Harvard government professor, has tried on his own to draw attention to the problem by giving his students two grades -- one that's officially reported for transcripts and another, lower, that reflects what he feels they truly earned.

"I remember when a B was an honors grade -- today a B-minus is a slap in the face," Mansfield says. "I still give two grades. When I stop, that's when you'll know we've started to make progress."

Watching the bubble deflate

Deans at Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania say they are interested in Princeton's policy, though it may be too soon to tell if it works.

"The rest of us are watching the Princeton experiment with interest," says Dennis DeTurck, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. "If this really takes root, and I'm hoping it does, then it's something we can use."

Some Princeton students have asked, if the policy is so great, why haven't others followed their lead, says Alex Lenahan, a senior politics major.

Lenahan, 22, of Piedmont, Calif., a recent past student government president, let students vent this fall in a survey that elicited 2,180 responses from a student body of 4,700. Nearly 70% said the policy had a negative effect.

In 68 pages of anonymous comments, students said they avoid classes where they're less confident of getting a good grade or drop out if highly competitive students enroll. They also griped about the policy putting them at a disadvantage with their peers at other Ivy League schools when applying to graduate schools or for jobs.

"It's difficult for me to believe that a B-plus at Princeton would ever be viewed as the same as an A at Harvard or Yale," says Lenahan, who still calls Princeton the best college in the country.

Princeton undergrads may take heart from Merrill Lynch's director of campus recruiting, Connie Thanasoulis. "I'm not in the least bit concerned about the chances for those at Princeton in comparison with any other Ivy League student," she says.

"I have never seen the quality of students that I've seen this year," she says. "I'm impressed."

Laura Bruno reports daily for The Daily Record in Morristown, N.J.

GRAPHIC: GRAPHIC, B/W, Julie Snider, USA TODAY, Source: Stuart Rojstaczer, www.gradeinflation.com (LINE GRAPH)