Make money doing the work you believe in
The row over grade inflation at Harvard will ripple far beyond Harvard. At Stern, we have long had a Stern curve, where we can issue no more than 35% A or A- grades in many classes.
This can be really tough. A lot of students cluster at the A-/B+ border, and decisions are a challenging judgment call. The bigger problem is that if other schools don’t have the same policy, our very bright students look worse in comparison.
Curves can certainly increase competition, uncooperative dynamics, and cheating. They can also make group work harder.
Equally, without them, the truly excellent students aren’t differentiated. And, in any brilliant class, there are always some that go above and beyond, and who should be rewarded for it.
Plus, a focus on merit can mean more rigor, and you can push harder and learn more, and make the class demanding, which is the point.
We also need to move beyond written work, and prioritize relational skills, confidence, the ability to articulate ideas on your feet, and so on. All because of AI.
I understand why students are opposed. But on balance, I like the guardrails and want to keep them.