Pomona College’s Curriculum Committee is discussing potential solutions to grade inflation problems and has scheduled a vote on the issue for April of this year, according to Associate Professor of History Victor Silverman, chair of the committee.

Silverman said that faculty had been discussing the issue for some time already. Although no specific method for addressing grade inflation has been decided yet, there is “a consensus on the committee that grade inflation is a problem,” according to Silverman.

“I’m not normally one to harp on the complaint that grading standards have become all lax,” said Associate Professor of Music Alfred Cramer, another member of the committee. “But here and now, grade inflation is a problem because so many grades at Pomona are very high.”

Registrar Margaret Adorno added grade inflation is a nationwide problem.

“Grade inflation is a topic on virtually all peer college campuses; it isn’t a unique phenomenon at Pomona,” she said. “It’s come up here at various times over the years.”

Silverman reported that 60 percent of grades given at Pomona are As, but that the exact reasons for this are unknown; he suggested the students may be stronger and better trained, the teachers may have become more lenient, and that the perception of which grade correlates to a specific level of performance may have changed.

Cramer said he believes grade inflation discourages students from excelling.

“Today’s students look to grades as an incentive, and certainly they are…doing good work in order to earn many of those A’s,” said Cramer, “but when A becomes a routine grade, what’s the incentive for doing really breathtaking work?”

Scott Levy PO ‘10, another committee member, agreed As become “meaningless” when so many students are receiving them.

Cramer added “when As are seen as normal,” students are hesitant to explore courses outside their comfort zones.

“We used to rely on the P/NC option to encourage students to explore a range of courses,” he said. “People don’t take many courses P/NC now, and why should they, when the risk of getting a C in a course is so low?”

The Curriculum Committee has discussed four systems to correct grade inflation. The first involves holding a discussion of grades to homogenize the expectations held for each grade in order to prevent professors from compressing the range of grades given upward. Similarly, a second option proposes renaming the grades to better reflect the expectations.

Third, the committee may present disincentives for classes with high average grades, and incentives for normalizing the grades, though exactly what those might be remains uncertain.

A final option is to impose strict rules on classes, such as a maximum average grade or maximum number of As allowed per class. This strategy has already been implemented on other campuses—Wellesley College imposed a maximum average GPA for its classes, and Dartmouth imposed curves that necessitate a certain percentage of As per class.

Silverman believes the accepted solution will likely involve some combination of these strategies. He said the committee hopes to create a system that provides students with truthful feedback.

“It will be best for students to have a system more reflective of work and ability, even though it is nice to get lots of As,” he said.

He said he believes grades need to provide help to students, even if grade deflation requires some cultural adjustment. Currently, different departments and teachers use different levels and styles of grade inflation; leveling grades throughout the college may have repercussions in major choice and may change the popular elective classes.

Because grades indicate performance to other institutions outside the college, like graduate schools, another issue will be creating understanding beyond the college that grade deflation could take place at Pomona.

“Every other college is doing it,” Michael O’Shea PO ‘11. “That doesn’t make it right,” he added, but pointed out that grade deflation might put Pomona students at a disadvantage in the job market.

“If you have a 4.0 for one semester, and the next semester your grades drop way down...that could be really confusing for grad schools,” said Levy, adding Pomona could add an explanatory footnote to students’ transcripts.

In addition, students may have to adjust their standard for grades, Silverman said. Most students are used to receiving a B- for an unimpressive performance, and may be startled and displeased if such performance will correspond to a significantly lower grade. Conversely, students who strive for As may need to learn that a B+ will have newfound value.

“There’s a fear among many students that if grades go down, Pomona will become more competitive and will lose its special collaborative atmosphere,” said Cramer. “I want to keep that special aspect of Pomona, but I also think we have to get beyond the fear of low grades--or rather, fear of the B.”

“We definitely don’t know the student opinion about grade inflation,” said Zach Barnett PO ‘11, who is also on the committee. “I would love to hear what students have to say.” He encouraged interested students to speak with himself or another member of the committee.

Levy said he will be speaking with the ASPC on Tuesday to discuss student opinion on the matter.