Yale science faculty seeks to bring up course grades

Science professors at Yale University are considering awarding higher grades to students, especially those in courses for non-science majors.

"The primary issue was one of fairness to the students — we don't want students to be penalized for taking any particular course, or courses in any particular division," said Yale astrophysics professor Charles Bailyn, emphasizing that it "is a special concern in terms of science."

Yale's Science Council, a group of concerned science faculty members headed by Bailyn, proposed grading reforms entirely independent from the university's administration.

Bailyn said the councilors convened informally to share grade distributions, talk about grading approaches and discuss possible reforms.

Unlike Princeton's new policy, which would limit A's to 35 percent of undergraduate grades and 55 percent of independent work grades, Yale's proposed science grading reforms depend entirely upon professor discretion.

"Grading is the prerogative of the faculty," Yale College Dean Peter Salovey said.

Bailyn said he senses little interest from students, faculty and administration "in moving toward the kind of global solution that is being attempted at Princeton."

Princeton chemistry professor Michael Hecht said the University has aimed for the same grading outcome — grading equality across disciplines — as Yale with an entirely different approach.

"By leveling the playing field between other departments and the sciences," Hecht said.

"People won't be afraid to take science classes because now courses from the humanities departments are graded in the same way."

Yale geology professor Mark Brandon, who teaches a course taken predominately by non-science majors, was concerned about the lack of information about the actual distribution of grades that Yale professors assign in their courses.

"Princeton made a brave move to publish detailed information about its typical grade distribution," he said.

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Yale's new guidelines are not official. The Science Council lacked access to grading data from other departments, Bailyn said.

Princeton's approach, Hecht said, has "redefined the grading scale so that a B is no longer considered a 'bad' grade."

He expects, however, that grading in his general chemistry class will not change.

Jamie Jeanne '05, an electrical engineering major, said his department will not likely have to change its grading either.

"Within the ELE department, grading was already aligned with the new policy's stipulations, so that, within most ELE classes, we probably wouldn't see any changes in grading," he said.

No matter how many, or few, changes in grading take place in the science departments, Hecht said he feels Princeton's policy is a step in the right direction.

"Some students do superstar work and some do good work, and this new system of grading allows one to distinguish between the two," Hecht explained. He said it will establish recognition for the exceptional students, inspiring an element of fairness.

Bailyn, on the other hand, expressed uncertainty regarding the best approach, but said, "If the Princeton plan works out, I'm sure that we, and many other institutions, will look at it very closely in the future."