PKU to remove GPA in students' evaluation reform

China's prestigious Peking University has announced a major overhaul of its undergraduate evaluation system, which will eliminate grade point average ranking for all new undergraduates starting from the 2025 academic year.

The reform is designed to move beyond the "score-centric" model and encourage students to engage in broader intellectual exploration and develop their individual strengths.

Starting with the class of 2025, students' academic capabilities will no longer be summarized or ranked using a single GPA figure. In scenarios such as getting awards and scholarships, or applications for exchange programs, GPA scores will no longer be used. Instead, full transcripts will become the primary basis for evaluating academic performance, according to a recent notice issued by the university.

Moreover, from the 2025 cohort onward, students will be permitted to select one course to be graded on a Pass/No Pass basis. They can get the credit of the course as long as they get 60 points out of 100, thereby allowing students to explore interdisciplinary or more challenging content.

Additionally, PKU will remove all guidance limits on the percentage of high grades in courses, allowing instructors to evaluate students based on their actual performance.

For current third- and second-year students, departments may continue to use the original evaluation system.

PKU's initiative is part of a broader trend in Chinese higher education geared toward re-evaluating assessment systems. Fudan University in Shanghai was one of the first domestic institutions to adopt a grade-based system, implementing an A to F scale as early as the 1980s.

In 2015, Tsinghua University in Beijing switched from a 100-point system to a grade-based system. In September 2024, two of Tsinghua's schools announced that grades from the first semester of freshman year would not be included in overall grade calculations.

The concept of GPA originated as an academic quantification tool from the West. It was widely introduced to China in the late 1990s. Initially, it played a fairly positive role.

A landmark moment came around 2010 when domestic universities widely linked GPA evaluation to the postgraduate recommendation system, and students with high GPA scores could pursue postgraduate studies without attending enrollment tests. This meant that the GPA had become a central focus of academic life, leading to intense internal competition around it.

Chen Ruping, vice-president of the China National Academy of Educational Sciences, told The Beijing News that abolishing the GPA system and exploring grade-based systems can, to some extent, liberate students from ineffective competition such as repetitive drilling for scores, allowing them to devote more energy to actual learning.

Under the traditional GPA system, the cost of trial and error was high — a low score in one course could significantly impact a student's overall ranking throughout their university career, he said.

This often led students to prefer courses known for lenient grading. The P/NP system provides a trial window, guiding students to boldly attempt rigorous courses based on their interests and research strengths, he said.

A 20-year-old medical student at PKU surnamed Dong told China Daily that GPA functions like a currency — it's essential in specific markets such as further education or initial job applications. One must possess enough of this currency to gain entry. But beyond that, what truly counts is what one can achieve with actual abilities, he said.

"My advice is to ensure your GPA is not a drawback — aim for the top 20 to 30 percent — so it doesn't close doors of opportunity. On that basis, boldly explore beyond the classroom. GPA is important, but it shouldn't be the sole pursuit in university."

However, Dong is not entirely in favor of abolishing the GPA system.

A grade-based system may reduce score-based competition, but it doesn't fundamentally change the fact that evaluation still revolves around grades, he said.

"If we are to reform, we should do it thoroughly by incorporating more elements that reflect comprehensive student qualities, such as social, organizational, and interpersonal abilities."

In contrast, a 20-year-old female student from a Beijing university, surnamed Zhuo, voiced strong support for reform.

She emphasized the importance of GPA in evaluations for awards, scholarships, and further education opportunities such as postgraduate recommendations or overseas study.

"The pressure to get high GPA is immense, both mentally and physically," she said. To achieve higher grades, students often go beyond the requirement to impress the teachers, she said.

"However, many of us now barely pay attention in class and rely entirely on last-minute review for exams. What real learning does that achieve? Personally, although I scored well in many courses, I can hardly recall any knowledge now."

Zhuo Yiran contributed to this story.