MIT mocks Harvard's A-grade cap: critics say it will push students to ChatGPT their way to a 4.0
jonippolito · x · 2026-09-25
Harvard recently announced a cap on the number of A grades in undergraduate courses (A-'s still allowed), drawing public ridicule from MIT. Education researcher Emily Pitts Donahoe argues "MIT is right; Harvard is wrong."
Her case: amid higher ed's polycrisis — eroding public trust, AI upending learning, student mental health struggles — treating grade inflation as the urgent problem is a mistake. Artificially rationing top grades fuels grade obsession and strengthens the incentive for students to "ChatGPT their way to a 4.0," turning classrooms into a Hunger Games. The real answer, she argues, is reimagining grading systems, not capping them.
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