Volume CXXXIII, Number 17 February 22, 2002 f

Special Report
A grading story: 5 affairs
FE VIVAS
STAFF WRITER

As the College debates the future of the grading system, whether that future includes controversial pluses and minuses or not, some have sought guidance from the system's long history.

The earliest grading system, though seemingly enigmatic to the modern day observer, appears to have been constructed with great attention to precision. Students received weekly evaluations throughout the trimesters based on their attendance and performance at recitation, prayers, public worship, lectures, and examinations. The evaluation was in the form of a numerical rank.

Ranks for each week of the trimester were then formulaically combined to yield a term rank, which was also numerical and based on a ranking system. Evaluation of student performance was divided into separate categories and then totaled to display a cumulative numerical assessment.

This system made it rather easy for a student to receive a lower mark despite academic proficiency. Ian Graham, special collections and Archives Assistant, commented that, "It has been said that [under this grading system] Hawthorne's grade was docked due to poor attendance at morning prayers and weekly Masses." Grade inflation was minimal under the first grading system of the College.

This points system evolved into the A, B, C, D, and F-system firmly in place during the first half of the 20th century. The letter grades corresponded to a ten-point numerical grade range that many professors utilize today. An A signified a grade between a 90 and a 100, a B between an 80 and an 89, and so on. A failing grade, an F, denoted a numerical grade below a 60. These grades, contrary to the points system, were largely based on a percentage evaluation. Course work was assessed on the basis of percentage correct and/or percentage rank within the course.

In 1954, the grading system switched over to the plus/minus system which may find its way back to the College after an absence of over 30 years. This plus/minus system is a more detailed derivative of the A, B, C, D, F-system. An A+ denoted a grade between a 97 and a 100, an A between a 94 and a 96, and an A- between a 90 and a 93, a B+ between an 87 and an 89, a B between an 84 and an 86, a B- between an 80 and an 83, and so on. A failing grade under this system was any grade below a 60.

In 1967, the College switched over to an unusual 4 point system which Professor Franklin Burroughs of the English department claims was instituted, "to try to minimize the importance of grades, insofar as possible." The system was constructed using grades of HH (high honors), H (honors), P (pass), and F (fail). A HH signify excellent work, an H indicated good work, a P denoted satisfactory work, and an F was reserved for students who were failing.

An alternate reason behind the switch to this system of grades was in response to the Vietnam War. Christine Cote, director of institutional research and registrar said, "Students were more likely to be drafted if their grades were low. This system made it difficult for grade point averages to be calculated for Bowdoin students and drafting less likely."

As Professor Burroughs explained, the deficiencies of this system were twofold: "The system lacked a middle term...it recognized degrees of excellence [HH, H] but not of inadequacy-it had no equivalent for the D. It was also difficult for graduate and professional schools to interpret."

As a professor throughout the life of this system, Burroughs believed that these drawbacks were real but not sufficient to encourage a change in the system. This 4-point system remained in place until 1990.

The 1990s ushered in the reintroduction of Bowdoin faculty and students to the A, B, C, D, F-system, but this time with more subjective meanings behind each letter grade. As outlined on the back of each transcript, an A signifies that "the student has mastered the material of the course and has demonstrated exceptional critical skills and originality." A B designates that "the student has demonstrated a thorough and above average understanding of the material of the course. "A C means, "The student has demonstrated a thorough and satisfactory understanding of the material of the course. "A D assumes that "the student has demonstrated a marginally satisfactory understanding of the basic material of the course." An F is reserved for "students who have not demonstrated a satisfactory understanding of the basic material of the course."

Now that the College's grading system has come under fire, Professor Burroughs's words ring with significance, "Changing the grading system serves only to increase our institutional preoccupation with, and anxiety over, grades. That preoccupation and that anxiety seem to get higher every year, and they work against our institutional purpose. They focus attention on the student's transcript, not on the student's education."

In regards to the future of the college grading system, almost 70% of the student body voted to uphold the current system while 80% of the faculty voted to transfer to the plus/minus grading system. The system that has been in place since 1990 may well be ousted in future years.