A couple of weeks ago the Columbia Spectator reported on a leaked university document that revealed that at least 1 in 12 Columbia undergrads earned at least a 4.0 last semester:
The spreadsheet listed 482 students in Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science who earned perfect grade point averages. Whether the numbers reflect grade inflation, the criticism often aimed at universities giving higher grades than in years past, remains unclear.
Stuart Rojstaczer, a retired Duke professor who has written widely on grade inflation, said that since the data only includes students with a 4.0 or higher, the numbers were difficult to compare specifically to other schools.
As readers of this blog know, we’ve covered the Cornell grade inflation debate extensively over the past year.. here, here, and here. Rojstaczer is right, though- even the 1 in 12 figure is difficult to use in a comparison of grade inflation levels between schools. Cornell inducts the top 3% of A&S juniors into Phi Beta Kappa, all of whom had above a 4.0 GPA last year. The threshold for graduating in the top 10% of A&S is 3.92, so at least it’s pretty safe to say that fewer than 8% of Cornellians graduate with above 4.0’s.