In response to criticisms of "laxness" in Summer School instruction standards, Director of the Summer School William Y. Elliot, professor of History and Political Science, said yesterday that staff investigations have revealed no significant difference between Summer School and regular term grading.

In recent years various members of the Faculty have claimed that the slightly shorter summer term and the comparative looseness of Summer School admissions requirements have forced instructors to diminish the grading and reading requirements for their summer courses, making them considerably less difficult than the regular term courses.

Statistics compiled by Elliott's staff, comparing summer and winter grade averages of Harvard Summer School students, reveal that eighty percent of the students receive summer grades neither a full grade higher not lower than their regular College averages. Of the remaining twenty percent, approximately half tallied lower marks in the summertime than in the remainder of the year. These figures would seem to indicate that instructors' doubts about the calibre of Summer School students are unfounded, Elliott said.