Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Harvey Mansfield" in English language version.
Mansfield wrote that other "ignoble influences" might also be historically linked to grade inflation, including "the desire of some professors to ensure that Harvard students would keep their draft deferments, and an opinion (which is part of the reasoning behind affirmative action) that self-expression is diminished by being held to a standard of excellence." Mansfield added that it would be difficult to determine the role each factor played in pushing up grades, saying professors may have deliberately obscured the influence of affirmative action in their grading.
Mansfield wrote that other "ignoble influences" might also be historically linked to grade inflation, including "the desire of some professors to ensure that Harvard students would keep their draft deferments, and an opinion (which is part of the reasoning behind affirmative action) that self-expression is diminished by being held to a standard of excellence." Mansfield added that it would be difficult to determine the role each factor played in pushing up grades, saying professors may have deliberately obscured the influence of affirmative action in their grading.