Grading is a method used by teachers to evaluate, record, and report student achievement. Most grades are numbers or letters. One common numerical grading system uses percentages, with 100 percent being the highest mark and 65 or 70 percent being the lowest passing grade. The most widely used system of letter grades consists of—from highest to lowest—A, B, C, D, and E or F. Other grading systems use the letters P (for pass) and F (for fail) or O (for outstanding), S (for satisfactory), and NI (for needs improvement).
Grades are based on certain standards that a teacher applies to student work. Factors other than academic achievement, such as improvement in a student’s work or the effort a student has put into a class, can also influence grades. Some schools give separate grades for achievement and effort.
A teacher may give grades to individual pieces of work, such as homework, essays, and tests. The teacher then uses these grades to calculate a single grade for the course. Grades may be based upon a single standard applied to everyone in the class, or a teacher may compare a student’s performance with other members of the class to assign a grade. If a single standard is applied, every student in the class could get the highest grade if they met the standard for an A. If students are graded in relation to one another, then a certain percentage of the students will get an A, a certain percentage a B, and so on. This second method is sometimes called grading on a curve, because the distribution of grades follows a bell-shaped curve that represents normal distribution in statistics (see Statistics (Probability) ). Educators do not recommend grading on a curve for groups of fewer than 100 students or groups with an unusual distribution of ability. Some educators believe that grading on a curve is never advisable because it puts students in competition with one another for a limited number of high grades.
High schools and colleges typically record course grades on an official report called a transcript. A transcript shows the classes a student has taken and the grades earned in those classes. In addition to grades, a transcript often gives a student’s grade point average. A grade point average, which is the mathematical average of all of a student’s course grades, is often referred to by its initials, GPA. In calculating a GPA, the letter grade A is often represented by a 4, B by a 3, and so on. Thus a GPA of 4.0 would mean a student received all A’s. A GPA of 3.5 would mean the student received a combination of grades that together averaged between an A and a B.
Grades serve a number of purposes. They help teachers and students determine how well students have learned. Grades also inform parents about their children’s progress. Colleges and employers use transcripts and GPA’s to help choose among applicants.
Some people worry that too much emphasis is put on grades, causing students to work for grades instead of for the love of learning. Some critics of grading fear that colleges may consider only the GPA and standardized test scores of applicants for admission. Other critics are uncomfortable with using a single symbol to summarize many achievements. People who favor grading point out that grades are the quickest and most efficient way to report student progress. They also argue that many students want such evaluations of their achievement. Most educators accept the necessity for grading but also urge that present systems be improved.
