Should Cornell Kick Grade Inflation to the Curb, Princeton-Style?

This (slightly old) article from the NY Times assesses the impact of the Princeton grade deflation policy, first enacted six years ago. The article reports that in 2009 the percentage of grades in the A range dipped below 40% for the first time (compared to the high 40’s for most Cornell schools), and the median GPA dropped from 3.46 to 3.39 during the same time period. Princeton has found no evidence that the grade deflation policy has had any effect on post-graduate studies or employment. Nevertheless, students are still complaining that the policy causes undue stress, that it prevents professors from giving out the grades they think students deserve, and that it makes them less competitive applicants when compared to their Ivy League peers.

In the discussion section of a recent post, Professor Rojstaczer wrote the following: “So my advice is to go to your dean and say we want honest grades in all departments, not just in the sciences and econ. It’s not fair to those students in the hard departments to have other departments give away A’s. It means science students have less of a chance of earning honors upon graduation. We want honest grading everywhere. That’s in fact what Princeton has tried to do over the last few years, level the playing field and have everyone grade like the sciences already grade. Cornell should level the playing field. Or they should give up the pretense that they are making honest evaluations. The middle ground isn’t benefitting anyone.” So, should Cornell take an initiative to start stamping out grade inflation?

The Pros
– Cornell gets national recognition for taking a serious stand against grade inflation.
– If inflated departments (AEM, English, History) are forced to deflate, then I think more students will end up studying what they want and not what they think will leave them with the best GPA. I know this seems like a small point, but I know students who avoid difficult economics and math courses because they have a high opportunity cost (i.e., not taking an easier class and getting a higher GPA).
– The quality of education improves! Okay, I admit this is pretty trite. But that’s the big picture idea, right?

The Cons
– Added stress for a campus that’s already known for its stressful and competitive environment.
– Lower grades for humanities students (since those are the ones whose departments currently inflate grades the most) might hurt their employment prospects. Princeton did not find any evidence of this because they claimed that the economic recession was responsible for the decreased number of seniors accepting jobs in the finance industry, but this isn’t 100% convincing.

The Difficulties
– The initiative would have to take place on a university-wide level, since no individual department has any incentive to undertake this project unilaterally. Think about it, why would English want to start giving all their students lower grades? So fewer students take English classes?
– There’s also the question of who would actually jump start the initiative. I think a lot of students would answer “Yes” to the hypothetical question, “Should Cornell Kick Grade Inflation to the Curb?” But how many will actually write letters to their Deans?

Please chime in on the discussion in the Comments section.