Grading Systems
Did you know that the adoption of what we consider the "standard" grading system (A - F letter grades), is a relatively recent phenomenon within U.S. higher education? It wasn't until post-World War II that it became as pervasive as it is today. In the early days of US higher education, when British and Prussian systems of assessment were in vogue, instructors would literally re-assign seats in the class on a daily basis, depending on how a student fared. That's where the term "the head of the class" comes from!
When we think about grades and grading, if you're like me, you assumed that A-F was the default, and that it has always been that way. In fact, three competing systems were common, and didn't merge until the early 20th century. Even now, there are more than 15 variations of the A-F system in use.
How did we get to this point? In this section, you'll review a timeline with an overview of grading systems history, review a primary source from Mount Holyoke College (one of the first institutions to adopt the letter grade system), and then compare the transcript keys from two institutions. Click the button below to go to the timeline, or use the carrot menu in the navigation bar at the top.
