A, B, C, D, F... wait, what?
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If you’ve ever wondered why you’ve never gotten an E on your report card, you’re not alone. Most grading systems in the United States typically go by A, B, C, D, then F. So, what did E do to be skipped? As it turns out, E used to be a standard grade. (Here are thesecrets of straight-A students that all scholars should definitely steal.)
According to the Washington Post, “The first letter grade ever given in the United States, according to historical records, was a B received by a Harvard University undergraduate in 1883. There is no indication of how he felt about the grade, but that simple way of judging student work quickly became popular.”
After that, other institutions started catching onto the concept of grading with letters. In 1887, Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts was supposedly the first school to continue the use of a letter-based grading system. An A was equivalent to 95-100%, a B was equivalent to 85-94%, a C was equivalent to 76-84%, a D was 75%, and an E was anything below a 75%—which meant failure.
A year after Mount Holyoke’s grading system was put into place, they changed each letter so they represented different percentages. According to todayifoundout.com, “B became anything from 90-94%, C was 85-89%, D was 80-84%, and E was 75-79%. Below that, they added in the dreaded F.”
In the 1930s, as the letter-based grading system grew more and more popular, many schools began omitting E in fear that students and parents may misinterpret it as standing for “excellent.” Thus resulting in the A, B, C, D, and F grading system. According to mentalfloss.com, “Recent surveys show that letter grades are [now] the most common grades used in elementary and secondary schools and two- and four-year colleges and universities.”
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As an expert in the field of education and grading systems, I can provide you with in-depth knowledge and evidence to support the concepts used in the article you provided.
The article discusses the grading system commonly used in the United States, which consists of the letters A, B, C, D, and F. Interestingly, you may have noticed the absence of the letter E in this grading scale. The question arises: why was E skipped?
According to historical records mentioned in the Washington Post, the first letter grade given in the United States was a B received by a Harvard University undergraduate in 1883. This simple way of evaluating student work quickly gained popularity, leading to the adoption of letter grades by other institutions.
In 1887, Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts was one of the first schools to implement a letter-based grading system. Initially, their grading scale consisted of A, B, C, D, and E. Each letter represented a specific percentage range, with A indicating 95-100%, B indicating 85-94%, C indicating 76-84%, D indicating 75%, and E representing anything below 75%, which meant failure.
However, a year after implementing this grading system, Mount Holyoke College modified the letter grades to represent different percentage ranges. B now indicated 90-94%, C represented 85-89%, D represented 80-84%, and E represented 75-79%. Any score below 75% was denoted by the dreaded F.
In the 1930s, many schools began omitting the letter E from their grading scales. This decision was made to avoid potential confusion, as students and parents could misinterpret E as standing for "excellent." Consequently, the A, B, C, D, and F grading system became the widely accepted standard.
It is interesting to note that recent surveys show that letter grades are now the most common grading method used in elementary and secondary schools, as well as two- and four-year colleges and universities.
I hope this information provides you with a deeper understanding of the concepts discussed in the article. If you have any further questions or require additional information, please feel free to ask.
