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A Brief History of Grading Systems
1Early Roots (18th – 19th Centuries)
Classifying and ranking students has deep historical roots in Europe and significantly influenced American education. For example, Yale University, under President Ezra Stiles in the late 1700s, was instrumental in popularising a publicly ranked system using Latin labels to denote performance. This system primarily signalled status rather than offering constructive feedback.
It wasn't until the mid-1800s that elite institutions like Harvard and Yale began experimenting with alternative metrics such as marks and points. These early attempts laid the groundwork for the eventual development of a more formal grading system.
2Transition to More Formal Grade Scales (Late 19th – Early 20th Century)
As public education expanded and schools accommodated more students, a standardised grading system became necessary. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the letter grade system (A, B, C, D, F) gained popularity. Colleges and secondary schools adopted this straightforward method to effectively communicate student performance.
Interestingly, Harvard introduced a 100-point rubric around 1837, foreshadowing our current percentage-based grading system. Fast forward to 1897, when Mount Holyoke College became one of the first to clearly define a grading scale. This established a mapping where 4.0 equalled an A, 3.0 a B and so on. By the early 20th century, many schools had solidified this basic structure of letter grades combined with GPA calculation.
3Widespread Adoption and Evolution (20th Century)
Throughout the 20th century, the letter grade system, often including those +/− distinctions, became the standard in both primary and secondary education. This was also the era when the Grade Point Average (GPA) metric gained traction. It allowed institutions to convert letter grades into numeric values (with an A worth 4.0 points) and average them across various courses.
Various alternative grading methods also emerged. For example during World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces employed stanine (a standard nine-point) scaling in certain standardised tests to compress results into a 1–9 scale. Holistic grading, particularly in writing, gained popularity around the mid-20th century. This approach focused on evaluating student work in its entirety rather than scrutinising individual errors.
4Late 20th – 21st Century: Critiques, Refinements, and Alternatives
Over the years, many educators and researchers have expressed concerns about traditional grading systems. They argue that these systems often lack fairness, contribute to grade inflation and fail to accurately reflect students' learning. Grade inflation, where students receive higher grades over time for the same level of work, has become a significant issue across numerous U.S. institutions.
In response to these concerns, innovative grading approaches have emerged. For example, standards-based or mastery grading assesses whether students meet specific learning targets and often permits retakes or reassessments. Other experimental methods like contract grading ungrading or gradeless learning prioritise narrative feedback and student choice moving away from conventional grades.
Despite these shifts in educational philosophy many schools still rely on traditional letter grades and GPA systems often making adjustments to improve fairness and enhance learning feedback.