Harvard College’s Office of Undergraduate Education released a report showing roughly 60% of undergraduate course grades are A’s — a marked rise from prior decades — and urged faculty to curb the trend. Dean Amanda Claybaugh warned that current grading practices undermine the signaling function of grades and erode academic culture, calling on professors to review distributions and adopt more defensible standards. The report cites incentives that push grade inflation, including faculty reluctance to be harsher than colleagues and administrative messaging sensitive to students’ personal challenges. Harvard also tied the issue to national scrutiny from federal officials urging 'grade integrity' as part of broader higher‑ed oversight actions. The university recommended faculty share median course grades and monitor distributions over time. The debate at Harvard reflects a wider concern across elite institutions about assessment standards, honors thresholds and the role of grades in signaling preparedness to employers and graduate programs.