 He commented, "I didn’t want my students to be punished by being the only ones to suffer for getting an accurate grade".In response, Nathaniel Stein published a satirical "leaked" grading rubric in "The New York Times", which included such grades as an A++ and A+++, or "A+ with garlands".In his 2001 article in the "Chronicle of Higher Education", Mansfield blames grade inflation on affirmative action and unqualified African American students