Reply to Harvard faculty vote to limit A grades to no more than 20% of the class

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Students at Harvard are no smarter than they were in the 90's, and back then the average GPA was below 3.5.

Standards have gotten softer. There should be corrective measures to fix this issue. However, I do fear that lowering GPAs will hurt Harvard students seeking medical and law school admissions. [/quote]

To be fair, they are absolutely smarter than they were in the 1990s.  The kids are just smarter these days.  More accomplished at a young age.  I doubt half the class of 1992 would be able to get in these days.[/quote]

+1. One of my graduate school higher level stats problem sets was looking at selectivity and qualifications of admitted students over time.  Anyone who thinks it was harder and more selective in the 1990s is willfully blind or shockingly ignorant. [/quote]

Colleges have gotten crazy selective. However, the students admitted are not actually more intelligent. Anyone who believes the current generation of students is more capable than previous generations has their head in the sand and is avoiding unpleasant realities. Whether it is because of screens or something else, the kids are not alright and need help.[/quote]
Look at AMC or f=ma exam from the 90s vs today, the competition is on a whole 'nother level.[/quote]

People specialize more fiercely today, and starting at younger and younger ages. This is evident in competitions for math, science, sports, music, chess, etc. The result is some really amazing competitors in these domains, but I don't think that means people are becoming overall more intelligent. If anything, I fear we may be losing the generalists who can think creatively and make interesting connections between domains. Some of these kids are never have time to think about random things freely, read broadly, or discover their own intellectual passions because they are busy spending almost all their free time at ballet, soccer, skating lessons, or whatever their parents signed them up for since age 3.[/quote]

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