Should a 10-Point Grading Scale Be The Standard?

[Ares]

Especially in the U.S., should a 10-point grading scale be standardized across all levels of education by the DOE? I have always preferred it for its simplicity in converting numbers to letter grades. I am fairly certain I had a 7-point grading scale in elementary school which never made sense. Changing the cutoff for failing can obviously be contentious but the fact that this debate is still going on throughout the country is surprising.

10-Point Grading Scale:

A = 100-90
B = 89-80
C = 79-70
D = 69-60
F = 59-0

7-Point Grading Scale:

A 100-93
B 92-85
C 84-77
D 76-70
F 69-0

[ltw900rr]

I don't see a big difference in this. The school I work at does not want us to give a grade lower than 50 if the student submitted the work. I only give a zero if nothing was turned in. The students that I have that are failing receive the grade that they deserve. I do not think a student should pass if they do not understand the concepts that were taught in class.

[Ares]

I don't see a big difference in this. The school I work at does not want us to give a grade lower than 50 if the student submitted the work. I only give a zero if nothing was turned in. The students that I have that are failing receive the grade that they deserve. I do not think a student should pass if they do not understand the concepts that were taught in class.

The difference is easily translating number grades to letter grades in a more uniform way that is easier to understand. It also changes the numerical threshold for where someone is failing a class. I am not a fan or arbitrary grading on useless metrics like class participation. On a 100 question test, how many questions should they have to answer correctly to pass?

[ss20ts]

When I completed my MBA, you had to earn a 92 or higher to receive an A. 82-91 was a B. I found these grades to be very fair. If you wanted an A, then you worked for that A.

[freeloader]

What good is a common grading scale when there is so much variability and subjectivity in the course content and in assignments?

I taught history at the college level. I tended to give mostly A's and B's as most students put in reasonable effort and tried to complete the assignments. Smattering of C's and D's for the students who didn't really try or just didn't do work at a reasonable level. I worked with a 10 point grading scale and the schools where I taught also gave + and - grades. Excellent paper got a 95+. Really good got 90-94. Good somewhere in the 80s. Not so good, below 80. If I hadn't had +/- or if I had used a 7 point grading scale, I simply would have adjusted my grading rubric and the grades I gave. A level work was A level work regardless of the grading scale. C level work was C level work: 75 on a 10 point scale = 80/81 on a 7 point scale.

And while history is more subjective, everybody has taken hard math/science tests where there often is a more objective answer. Question distribution, difficulty of questions, number of questions, ability to regurgitate vs. need to critically apply information all influence the difficulty of a test. If I want the average to by an 80 on a 10 point scale, I write the test a bit differently than if I want it to be an 85 on a 7 point scale. I could also be more generous with partial credit on the 7-point scale exam.

Unless and until you go to totally standardized syllabi and course descriptions and have common marking of exams (see: AP, CLEP exams, A-levels, etc), this is just unnecessary regulation by the government.

[Ares]

And while history is more subjective...

The history taught in the classroom though should not be, as I am not a fan of discussing things like unspoken motives. Who was the X president of the United States or who were the major countries that were a part of the Axis powers during WWII should be objective answers.

Unless and until you go to totally standardized syllabi and course descriptions and have common marking of exams (see: AP, CLEP exams, A-levels, etc), this is just unnecessary regulation by the government.

You run into issues were states on a 7-point grading scale put their students at a disadvantage when competing with students from neighboring states who use a 10-point grading scale for college admissions and scholarships. The grading scale differences can also hurt a student moving to a different school district.

[ltw900rr]

You run into issues were states on a 7-point grading scale put their students at a disadvantage when competing with students from neighboring states who use a 10-point grading scale for college admissions and scholarships. The grading scale differences can also hurt a student moving to a different school district.

I do agree with this point. It would be nice for all schools to do it one way, to simplify students transferring schools and college applications

[Old Guy]

Many years ago I went to a business program in a large state school that pretty much demanded that every course have pretty close to the same class average. Everyone didn't get an A. Grades pretty much related to percentiles as opposed to some supposed absolute achievement in a multiple guess exam. Typical exams were 8 written questions in 2 hours where you put as much verbal diarrhea to paper as possible on narrowly focused topics. If you hadn't gone to class or read the text you flunked. There was no guessing.

[bluebooger]

thought this was going to be about boxing

[Vle045]

My son’s high school just switched to the 10 point scale (his senior year). They decided to get more in line with other schools in the area.