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Grading and judgment based on grades exist in all aspects of life. We live in a competitive society and naturally look towards grading as a way to see order and prioritize which person or product is best. Without actual grades, it is difficult for many to recognize accomplishment. In some ways, it just would take more effort to identify achievement if it is not concisely represented with a grade.

My University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) college experience demonstrated what happens when an undergraduate goes to a college that does not give grades. In 1976, UCSC did not give grades in any class. Instead, grades were given as a pass or fail with a written evaluation. Multiple paragraphs described a student's strengths and weaknesses giving a much fuller explanation of where a student excelled. Being a self motivated student, I was fine about not having grades. My Chemistry evaluation indicated how much better I performed in lab compared to the tests in class revealing my true strength in applied versus theoretical science.

However, when I tried to transfer to nursing school, no school I applied to would read my evaluations. They all replied that a pass was a C and a 2.0 G.P.A. was too low to go to nursing school. I would have to have a UCSC official read all my evaluations and translate them into grades in order to be considered.

Fortunately, I had yet to complete basic Anatomy, Physiology and Child Development at the local Junior college. I received two A's and a B. San Francisco State University only required those three classes plus a General Psych course which I already had a pass in from UCSC. Those four grades averaged a 3.25 G.P.A. I was accepted to nursing school and transferred in two years worth of college credits with a G.P.A. based on only those four classes.

Clearly, evaluations can give much more content on the school performance of a student but grades are the gold standard of how we measure success. Many college students do not thrive under a pass/fail evaluation system. Grades are a strong motivating factor for most students. Students need to see a letter grade to confirm the effort they feel they gave to be successful in a given college class.

Many people do not have an internal constitution to do well purely because they are unwilling to accept less from themselves. Even those determined to receive high grades must realize that an A from an easy teacher is not as satisfying as an A from a hard one though on paper, the two grades are the same.

Unless we start by abolishing grades in some high school classes it would be impossible to do so in college. Why a pre-college G.P.A. includes a grade in physical education is a mystery. This would be a perfect class to just get a pass/fail evaluation.

Grades are important as a direct and quick way to evaluate a student's performance when selecting between two potential candidates for admission to a college, graduate program or in a job selection situation. However, grades do not tell the whole story and reliance on them to measure how successful or accomplished the student is can be a disappointment. Unless schools learn to wean themselves away from the rigidity of the grading process in secondary school, grades in college classes are probably here to stay.

Learn more about this author, Michele Blacksberg.
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