What Is Grading in School?
In education, grading is the process of evaluating student performance in a subject using standard metrics. Grades can be represented in different ways as percentages, letters (A-F), or numbers out of an expected total (like commonly 0/100). These systems of evaluation vary worldwide.History of grading system?
Back in 500 B.C., students were given tests, but at that time, no official way of evaluation existed. Harvard University, in the middle of the 1600s, began asking for exit exams to evaluate students. The evaluation at that time was not graded with letters. In 1785, Yale University was the first known to adopt the student grading system in the US. This was discovered when some historians found the diary of the president Ezra Stiles, after examining 58 seniors. Then in 1837, Yale University converted to a different system, with 4 points, and this is supposed to be the beginning of the American GPA Scale. Mount Holyoke College was the first to use the A-D/F system back in 1897. This method gained popularity back in the 1940s, and just 67% of American elementary and secondary schools were using it.Importance of grading
Grades are crucial because they give a learning structure, Impact decisions for career, serve as a tool for performance evaluation, and help professors on knowing in which fields students need more assistance. Colleges and institutions use grades to assess students’ academic performance. Also, used by the parents to monitor their child’s progress. Students use the grading system to know in which state they are in a subject. They use them to evaluate their work and to know where to focus more to get better grades.Types of grading scales
Letter Grades:
- Commonly used grades are A stands for excellent, B for good, C for average, D for poor, and F for failed.
- Grades may also include plus (+) or minus (-) variations ( A+, B, C-).
- Some systems also include letter grades like E (equivalent to F), though “E” is not common in the US.
Numerical Grades:
- Student achievement is represented by numerical grades, which are often percentages.
- A typical grading system would provide points in the range of 90–100% for an A, 80–89% for a B, and so on.
- Grade points, such as 4.0 for A, 3.0 for B, and so forth, are converted from percentage grades in some systems.