A new report authored by Ray Fair a professor of economics at Yale University documents grade inflation for undergraduate students at the university. The report found that the mean grade point average was 3.70 for the 2022-23 academic year, and 78.97 percent of grades given to students were A’s or A-’s. In the 2013-14 academic year, 68.97 percent of grades were A’s or A-‘s.
There were significant differences in grades depending on the academic department. In economics, only 52.39 percent of all grades were A’s or A-‘s. In mathematics, only 55.18 percent of students received grades in the A range. In contrast, 92 percent of all grades given out in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies were in the A range. Ethnicity, race, and migration, education, and this history of science were the only other subjects where 85 percent or more of all grades were in the A range.
In an email to the Yale Daily News, Pericles Lewis, dean of Yale College, stated that “a large majority of grades in Yale College are in the A range. This results in compression, making it difficult for instructors to use grades for their intended purpose of helping students understand areas of strength and others that need attention.” Dr. Lewis added that he encouraged faculty “to make use of the full range of grades where appropriate.”