Students at Andover have recently seen significant trends in grade inflation similar to other major educational institutions across the nation. As part of a larger effort to address grade inflation, departments have begun to take action through various measures including departmental reviews, common assessments, and regular faculty meetings.
Caroline Odden, Dean of Studies and Instructor in Physics, stated that the average grade for an Andover student has gradually climbed from 4.9 in during the 2013-2014 school year to 5.3 a decade later in the 2023-2024 school year. During the 2020-2021 school year, grade averages faced a major increase when Andover switched to hybrid learning following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The school, though it does not view all grade inflation as an urgent problem according to Odden, has been considering how to combat grade inflation. Christopher Xia ’23 described what Head of School Raynard Kington mentioned about the school’s approach during a December alumni event in Chicago. Although there is no finite approach as of yet, part of the administration’s plan centers around further unification of grading standards, an approach favored by many students.
“[Dr. Kington] did talk about how grade inflation isn’t something you just solve in one or two academic years, it takes a lot of time and you [have] to go at it slowly.” said Xia.
For students and faculty alike, the problem of grade inflation impedes healthy learning at Andover. Christopher Jones, Interim Chair of the Department of History and Social Science, explained how this dynamic creates inconsistencies in grading across teachers. He highlighted yearly reviews as a way that departments are currently addressing the issue.
“I don’t think that there’s a sense among the History Department faculty or even the faculty at large that the grading system right now is a particularly healthy one that has the kind of integrity in it that we would want. That causes us some degree of anxiety because the grades end up oftentimes [getting] in the way of teachers helping students learn. Teachers want students to learn,” said Jones.
He continued, “The History Department is itself undergoing a review this year… How we grade and assess is a component of that review. One outcome of the process will be some ideas about thinking differently about grades. We’re in the midst of the review, and we’re actually having a committee of other teachers from other schools come to visit us to talk about grading as well as many other issues. I can’t say with certainty what the History Department will do in the future, but it is a major topic of discussion, grading in general, and a subcomponent of that is grade inflation.”
Among older Andover alumni and current students, grade inflation is a widespread concern. Eugenia Evangelinos ’27 expressed her mild concern about grade inflation. She explained why grade inflation could result in reduced rigor and standards by disadvantaging students who work harder for the same result as others.
“Grading has become a thing where a lot of people get a very high grade, where maybe one person has done a lot of work and understands the material very well and somebody has done a lot less work or is struggling more with the material and then they get the same grade. I feel like that really undervalues the hard work that maybe that one person put into the class,” said Evangelinos.
One rumor at Andover is that some teachers have been assigned a “six quota” or “six cap.” These terms apply to teachers that had given out too many sixes before, and are then assigned a maximum number of sixes that they could give for the next term. Odden clarified that Andover does not do this, and explained why.
“[The six quota is] not a thing. Setting grade quotas tends to distract students from the important goal of learning. Princeton University famously attempted to institute a quota system in 2004, limiting the number of As to 35 percent of all grades. The controversial experiment was abandoned in 2014. Rather than setting quotas, our instructors work hard to base grades on the quality of student work as it relates to the learning goals of the department and the course,” wrote Odden in an email to The Phillipian.
For some students, measures to combat grade inflation need to be carefully thought out because they may impact college admissions. Nurul Kharunnisa ’25 spoke on how grade inflation, though not ideal for the school, provides a level of security to students that allows them to take risks and make mistakes, a mindset that the school should focus on retaining even if grades are deflated.
“I personally don’t think it’s something detrimental to the students because yes, they are aiming for perfection, but it’s so much easier for them to do so. The fact that a lot of people that I know can just comfortably be in a six or be comfortably in a five, [and] they can focus on retaining the information, I think that’s not a bad thing,” said Khairunnisa.
Kington noted that Andover’s trends in grade inflation are not an isolated instance. Across academic levels, institutions are grappling with how to fairly assess the performance of students in their studies. Kington also commented on how many alumni and faculty have inquired about the issue and is looking to support faculty efforts to address grade inflation and deflation.
“How faculty assess student work — with grades and constructive feedback — has been the subject of discussion and debate at both the secondary school level and in higher education for quite some time, and public debate about the issue has increased in recent years. I am regularly asked to comment about this issue at alumni events and in meetings with alumni. Andover is certainly not alone in this trend of seeing grades increase over many years. I fully support our faculty’s efforts to evaluate and address Andover’s grading practices in a manner that ensures student learning at the highest level,” said Kington through the Office of Communications.
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