Harvard, Other Top Law Schools Drop Grades As Classes Go Online

Several top U.S. law schools, including Harvard, Stanford and Columbia, are ditching most grades as classes move online and students move off-campus in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Columbia Law School Dean Gillian Lester sent a letter to students Friday saying they would only receive pass or fail marks for the spring semester. Cornell, Boston College and Berkeley are also temporarily adopting pass/fail grading, while Notre Dame, Arizona State, University of Minnesota and New York University are considering it.

The reason is fairness, Lester said in her letter. Like most universities, Columbia has sent most students ...