Editing Princeton University (section)

====Grade deflation policy====
The first focus on issues of grade inflation by the Princeton administration began in 1998 when a university report was released showcasing a steady rise in undergraduate grades from 1973 to 1997.<ref name="Princetonian-2004">{{Cite news|date=April 2004|title=Grade inflation plan passes|work=[[The Daily Princetonian]]|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2004/04/grade-inflation-plan-passes|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204920/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2004/04/grade-inflation-plan-passes|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Foderaro-2010">{{Cite news|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa W.|date=January 29, 2010|title=Type-A-Plus Students Chafe at Grade Deflation|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/education/31princeton.html|access-date=June 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624223738/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/education/31princeton.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequent reports and discussion from the report culminated to when in 2004,<ref name="Princetonian-2004" /> [[Nancy Weiss Malkiel]], the dean of the college, implemented a grade deflation policy to address the findings.<ref name="On grade deflation">{{cite news|date=December 2, 2009|title=On grade deflation|newspaper=[[The Daily Princetonian]]|url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/12/02/24601/|url-status=dead|access-date=June 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113122642/http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/12/02/24601/|archive-date=January 13, 2010}}</ref> Malkiel's reason for the policy was that an A was becoming devalued as a larger percentage of the student body received one.<ref name="On grade deflation" /> Following its introduction, the number of A's and average GPA on campus dropped, although A's and B's were still the most frequent grades awarded.<ref name="Foderaro-2010" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Supiano|first=Beckie|date=January 17, 2020|title=The Real Problem With Grade Inflation|work=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-real-problem-with-grade-inflation/|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202242/https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-real-problem-with-grade-inflation/|url-status=live}}</ref> The policy received mixed approval from both faculty and students when first instituted.<ref name="Princetonian-2004" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Arenson|first=Karen W.|date=April 8, 2004|title=Princeton Tries To Put a Cap On Giving A's|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/princeton-tries-to-put-a-cap-on-giving-a-s.html|access-date=June 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624225605/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/princeton-tries-to-put-a-cap-on-giving-a-s.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Criticism for grade deflation continued through the years, with students alleging negative effects like increased competition and lack of willingness to choose challenging classes.<ref name="On grade deflation" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Strauss|first=Valerie|date=August 9, 2014|title=Why Princeton students who deserve A's can't get them — report|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/08/09/why-princeton-students-who-deserve-as-cant-get-them-report/|access-date=June 20, 2021}}</ref> Other criticism included job market and graduate school prospects, although Malkiel responded by saying that she sent 3,000 letters to numerous institutions and employers informing them.<ref name="Foderaro-2010" /><ref name="On grade deflation" /> In 2009, transcripts began including a statement about the policy.<ref name="Levenson-2013">{{Cite news|last=Levenson|first=Eric|date=October 7, 2013|title=The End of Princeton's Grade Deflation Experiment?|work=[[The Atlantic]]|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/10/end-grade-deflation-princeton-university-inflation-as/310231/|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203426/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/10/end-grade-deflation-princeton-university-inflation-as/310231/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2013, Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber created a faculty committee to review the deflation policy.<ref name="Levenson-2013" /> In August 2014, the committee released a report recommending the removal of the policy and instead develop consistent standards for grading across individual departments.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mulvaney|first1=Nicole|date=August 7, 2014|title=No more A quotas: Faculty committee recommends Princeton University change its grading policy|work=[[NJ.com]]|url=http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/08/no_more_a_quotas_faculty_committee_recommends_princeton_university_change_its_grading_policy.html|access-date=June 5, 2015|archive-date=June 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617125056/http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/08/no_more_a_quotas_faculty_committee_recommends_princeton_university_change_its_grading_policy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2014, following a faculty vote, the numerical targets were removed in response to the report.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Windemuth|first1=Anna|date=October 6, 2014|title=After faculty vote, grade deflation policy officially dead|work=[[The Daily Princetonian]]|url=http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2014/10/breaking-after-faculty-vote-grade-deflation-policy-officially-dead/|url-status=dead|access-date=June 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526105447/http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2014/10/breaking-after-faculty-vote-grade-deflation-policy-officially-dead/|archive-date=May 26, 2015}}</ref> In a 2020 analysis of undergraduate grades following the removal of a policy, there were no long-lasting effects, with the percent of students receiving A's higher than in 1998.<ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Connor|first=Liam|date=January 12, 2020|title=The decline and fall of grade deflation|work=[[The Daily Princetonian]]|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/01/the-decline-and-fall-of-grade-deflation|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201733/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/01/the-decline-and-fall-of-grade-deflation|url-status=live}}</ref>