Grade (education)

:For meanings of GPA other than Grade point average, see GPA (disambiguation).

United States, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong

The A-F system

In many countries including the United States, grades are given on an A-F system where A is best and F is worst. The letter E is typically omitted, since an F can be turned into an E by drawing a small line at the bottom of the letter, and because E traditionally stood for Excellent (see the section on the "E-S-N-U system" below) but would be very poor on an A-F system. An F grade is failing and results in denial of course credit, while a D is poor, but passing. Most U.S. colleges require grades of C or better in one's major, as well as a 2.0 (C) grade-point average.

Related Topics:
United States - Major

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• A = excellent
• B = good
• C = average
• D = poor
• F = failure

By contrast, many institutions in Canada do include an E grade, which is a "near-fail" or "conditional pass" and may require mandated tutoring or partial repetition of the course.

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In some cases, plus and minus modifiers are applied to grades to provide intermediate recognition of performance. An A−, for example, would be lower than an A but higher than a B+. Some educational institutions do not include A+'s, while others do. Furthermore, pluses and minuses are not always applied to the F grade. Usually an F+ is similar to Canada's E (and is often expressed as a "marginal fail"). An F− - or sometimes FF, or particularly in England and Wales, G - is usually a grade given for exceptionally poor performance, academic dishonesty, or failure to produce any work ("Nothing of Merit" or "No Work Submitted").

Related Topics:
England - Wales - Academic dishonesty

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In the Canadian province of Ontario, another system is placed that replaces the A-F system. This system was instituted by the provincial government in around 2001. It is very much the same as the A-F system but uses numbers instead of letters. It goes like this:

Related Topics:
Canadian - Ontario - 2001

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• 4 = A or excellent (exceeds provincial standard)
• 3 = B or good (meets provincial standard)
• 2 = C or average (approaches provincial standard)
• 1 = D or poor (falls much below the provincial standard)
• R = F or Remedial (20-49%)
• I = Incomplete (0%)

The system also adopts the +s and -s of the A-F system. So a 4- is about equal to a A-. Some teachers may also attribute the +s and -s to the R, meaning that an R+ is an almost fail, and an R- meaning no work or work of inferior quality. Some teachers have been known to become overzealous and give students 5s for spectacular achievement and -1s for below what is possible. These are usually converted to 4+s and R-s on the report card. The students' marks in Canada are also weighed differently, the marks are divided in four categories, Knowledge, Thinking and Inquiry, Communication and Application. The categories are worth different amounts depending on the course. For example, a knowledge-heavy course such as math would have Knowledge worth more than Communication while an English class would be the opposite. Lastly, in secondary school, the categories are equal to around 70% with the exam and culminating performance task worth the other 30% of the mark. Also a student may not get lower than a 20% in a class as long as the student hands in work.

Related Topics:
Canada - Secondary

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The English system is very similar to the A-F system, but with the inclusion of the grades G, U and at GCSE level A*. A* (at GCSE) or A (at A level) is the highest, C is average, E is the minimum pass mark and U being unacceptable. Modifiers such as B- or B+ are not used as extensively as in the US and final qualification grades are never expressed as such. FF is never used.

Related Topics:
GCSE - A level

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The system in Hong Kong is similar to the A-F system at the university level. At the secondary and matriculation levels, i.e. the HKCEE and HKALE, the grades E and U are included. A is the highest, C is average, E is the minimum pass mark, and U being unacceptable. Prior to 2002 each grades are further subdivided into two subgrades.

Related Topics:
Hong Kong - HKCEE - HKALE

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Percentage-based grading

In objective subjects such as mathematics, grades are normally computed according to percentages such as class attendance, homework completion, and test averages. A weighted average of these variables is used to compute one percentage, which is the index from which grades are determined.

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In subjective disciplines where essay exams and papers are more common, grades are sometimes represented numerically, other times with letter grades.

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The specific conversion of percentages to letter grades varies according to the class. In classes with very difficult problem sets, it's not unheard of for the cutoff for passing to be 20%, and that for an "A" grade to be given at 50%.

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Usually, though, primary and secondary schools use fixed systems. The traditional system is the "Tens System", written as (90/80/70/60). In other words, the lowest A (or A/B line) is at 90%, while the lowest D (or D/F line) is at 60%. In order either to set a higher standard or correct for grade inflation, however, some schools use the "Nines System" (92/83/74/65) or "Eights System" (either 93/85/77/70 or 94/86/78/70). Usually, the system employed does not make grading easier, since difficulty of exam questions will be calibrated to the grading system; indeed, exams in a school using the Tens System will often be more difficult than those in schools using the other systems.

Related Topics:
Primary - Secondary - Tens System - Grade inflation - Nines System - Eights System

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The Tens System is used in Canada but the A-F system (or in the case of Ontario, the 0-4 system) values are different than those of the United States. It goes as follows:

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• A = 80 or higher
• B = 70-79
• C = 60-69
• D = 50-59
• F = 49 or lower

The pluses and minuses are taken into account also, so a plus is closer to the higher end of the score or the minus is at the lower end of the score. The percentage system is not used in primary schools, as all marks shown on tests, assignments and on the report card are shown with the A-F or 0-4 system depending on province. Percentage may also be provided along with tests. In senior elementary or secondary schools, tests and assignments are provided with both the mark on the present system in the province and also with the percentage. On the report card, only the percentage is shown on the final mark.

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Various rubrics exist for assigning pluses and minuses, usually assigning them to roughly the top and bottom third of a grade level, with the "base" grade (that is to say, the one that does not carry either a plus or minus sign) being widest if the number of points in the entire letter grade are not evenly divisible by three. For example, under the Tens System, the plus grades will most commonly end in 7, 8 or 9 while the minus grades will end in 0, 1 or 2, with the base grades ending in 3, 4, 5 or 6. In the Nines System the plus, base and minus bands are typically equal (spanning three points each) while plus and minus formats under the Eights System vary widely; often the base grade will consist of four points and the plus and minus grades will consist of two points each, but this is far from universal. If "A+" is omitted (and it often will be if the institution does operate under the grade-point system), the "A" and "A−" grades may cover the same number of points (or the "A" will contain one more point if their sum is an odd number), or the "A−" range may not be larger than those of the plus and minus grades found elsewhere along the grading scale, and the "A" range will be twice a large as that of the other base grades.

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Rank-based grading

Informally, grading "on the curve" refers to any system wherein the group performance is used to moderate evaluation — grading need not be strictly or purely rank-based. In the most severe form, students are ranked and grades are assigned according to a student's rank, placing students in direct competition with one another.

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The following is an example of a grade distribution commonly used when this sort of grading is employed.

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gradepercentage

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A7%

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B24%

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C38%

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D24%

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F7%

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These percentages derive from a normal distribution model of educational performance. An "A" is given here for performance that exceeds the mean by +1.5 standard deviations, a "B" for performance between +0.5 and +1.5 standard deviations above the mean, and so on.

Related Topics:
Normal distribution - Mean - Standard deviation

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"Grade-rationing": the case for rank-based grading

Rank-based grading is popular among some American educators, usually under the euphemism of "grade-rationing". The arguments for grade-rationing are that

Related Topics:
American - Euphemism

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• grade inflation represents a serious problem in education, that can only be counteracted by the enforcement of rank-based standards, and
• since many corporations used rank-based evaluation measures, sometimes even related to termination (see: rank and yank) such grading prepares students for the "real world".

Case against rank-based grading

Despite near-universal concerns about grade inflation, rank-based grading systems are mostly out-of-favor in the contemporary United States. When rank-based systems are used, in education or employment situations, cutthroat behavior and cheating become rampant. In some situations, high-scoring students are disliked by their classmates for "raising the curve".

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Cited as a case against rank-based evaluation specific to employment, Enron used a rank-based evaluation scale; the cutthroat environment created there resulted in the disgrace and downfall of the corporation. Some predict that analogous problems, on a more minor scale (cheating, theft of reserved materials) will occur in schools that use rank-based grading.

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Critiques of this justification of rank-based grading assert that it is simply a way for universities and colleges to maximize their revenues. Implementation of stringent rank-based evalutaions, where only 30% of the entering class are permitted to graduate, are a very clever way to collect tuition from a vastly larger student population than they ever intend to graduate.

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Applicants are often baited into a program that promises job security and then switched into one of the institution's less desirable majors due to "poor academic performance". However, if all of one's classmates are in the top 30%, then only the top 10% would be allowed to graduate.

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More selective schools like Harvard Medical School perform their "cuts" before admission. Harvard is more concerned that they get the best and then give them the best education. A purely rank-based system would mean that half of those that Harvard considers the smartest people in the world would receive a grade of C or lower. This could result in "real life" undermining of performance by other students. According to critics, the real world is rich with opportunities to learn about the rank order grading system. However, colleges are paid to provide an education, not an overpriced simulation for a 4 year episode of "survivor island".

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Related Topics:
Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination - Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination

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Grade point average

Grade point average (GPA) is a number that represents the average of a student's grades during his or her time at an institution. Usually it is weighted by number of credits given for the course.

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Most high schools and nearly all colleges in the United States use a "four-point" system. Universities in Hong Kong also use this system. Numerical values are applied to grades as follows:

Related Topics:
High schools - Colleges - United States

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• A = 4
• B = 3
• C = 2
• D = 1
• F = 0
• FF/G (if given) = -1

This allows grades to be easily averaged. Additionally, many schools add .3 for a "+" grade and subtract .3 for a "−" grade. Thus, a B+ yields a 3.3 whereas an A− yields a 3.7. A+'s, if given, are usually assigned a value of 4.0 (equivalent to an A) due to the common assumption that a 4.00 is the best possible grade-point average, although 4.3 is awarded at some institutions. In some places, .33 instead of .3 is added for a "+" grade and subtracted for a "−" grade.

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Some high schools, to bolster their students' chances in college admissions, will give higher numerical grades for difficult courses, often referred to as a weighted GPA. For example, two common conversion systems used in honors and advanced placement courses are:

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• A = 5 or 4.6
• B = 4 or 3.5
• C = 3 or 2.1
• D = 1
• F = 0

Sometimes the 5-based weighting scale is used for AP courses and the 4.6-based scale for honors courses, but often a school will choose one system and apply it universally to all advanced courses.

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The E-S-N-U system

At one time (until roughly the mid-20th Century), the most popular grading system in the United States used four letters, which ranked, in descending order:

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• E (excellent)
• S (satisfactory)
• N (needs improvement)
• U (unsatisfactory)

This system has largely been replaced by the A-F system dealt with previously, but is still encountered quite often at the elementary school level, particularly in kindergarten and Grades 1 through 3 (this educational level being frequently referred to as primary school). It is also occasionally used at schools for older children, including high schools, in the issuance of "conduct" or "citizenship" grades.

Related Topics:
Elementary school - Kindergarten - Primary school - High school

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Some variants exist in this system, including the use of an "O" (for "outstanding") grade, which is even higher than the "E"; and sometimes a "G" (for "good") is placed between the "E" and the "S".

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Plus and minus grades are seldom used in this system, and on most of the occasions where they do exist, only the "S" grade may be so modified (with an "S+" and "S−" being available in addition to the base grade of "S").

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A similar system is used to rank practical work in the certain science department of Oxford University; however only with only the grades S (Satisfactory) S+ (more than satisfactory, and may be used in the allocation of degree grades) and NS (Not Satisfactory).

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De-emphasis of grades

A number of reputable liberal-arts colleges in the U.S. either do not issue grades at all (such as Bennington College) or de-emphasize them (St. John's College). In all cases, the rationale is that grades often do not provide a clear picture of academic aptitude or of potential for success, and that learning, not achieving the highest score, should be the goal of a liberal education.

Related Topics:
Liberal-arts college - Bennington College - St. John's College

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