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Revised Grading Policies at Caltech

August 30, 2026
General

To: The Caltech Community
From: Azita Emami, Chair of the Faculty

I write to share an important update from the Faculty Board. As an institution of higher education, we have a responsibility to ensure that grades distinguish different levels of student accomplishment—from satisfactory mastery of course material to truly exceptional achievement. Meaningful differentiation benefits students by providing academic feedback to best support graduate school success and for career preparation. Preserving the credibility of our grading system is an important part of preserving the value of a Caltech degree and our reputation.

CHANGES BEGINNING IN 2026–27
At its June 2026 meeting, the Faculty Board approved three complementary initiatives to improve grading practices following a report from the Academic Policies Committee.

  1. Strengthening Assessments. Faculty are encouraged to hold in-person assessments, including seated examinations, oral examinations, in-class presentations, and other supervised forms of evaluation. To facilitate the scheduling of seated exams, the final examination period in the academic calendar has been expanded from three to five weekdays.
  2. Improving Transparency. Course grade distributions will be openly visible internally to faculty and students for courses with more than five students on letter grade. In addition, Caltech transcripts will provide contextual information for each course grade: the median grade and the enrollment in that course. More information regarding the timing of these transcript changes will be shared soon.
  3. Preserving the Distinction of the A+. The grade of A+ should indicate truly exceptional performance. The Faculty Board resolved to reserve A+ grades for no more than five percent of the class plus three additional students. This provides flexibility for smaller courses while preserving the distinction associated with the grade. These target numbers apply to undergraduate grades only.

These changes represent the first stage of a broader effort to maintain meaningful differentiation in grading and to protect the reputation of a Caltech degree. During the coming academic year, the Faculty Board and division chairs will monitor grading outcomes, assess the impact of the new policies, and discuss whether additional steps or adjustments are needed. 

I hope this information is helpful as you plan for the upcoming academic year.