Making the Grade

For decades, universities have measured the performance of instructors in part by asking students to grade their professors. This has created a Yelp-y tyranny where teachers live in constant fear that their “clients” might torpedo them with one-star reviews. But not being dummies—at least for the most part—the professoriate long ago figured out how to keep the kiddies happy: good grades.

Professors who care about academic standards have long complained about rampant grade inflation—a phenomenon at the Ivies perhaps even more than at Big State U. The Gentleman’s C has become the Gentleman’s B+.