From children in kindergarten classrooms to young adults working towards a Masters or Doctorate degree, the letter grading system is a familiar faucet of academics for nearly all people.  Sparking discourse and debate since its creation, letter grading is one of many controversial aspects of the American School System.  

Along with many others, I have a lot of problems with letter grades and the role they currently play in education.  

The first grading scale was created in 1785 by Ezra Stiles, the then president of Yale University.  Rather than using A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s, and F’s to denote one’s academic performance, Stiles’ grading system was based on a four point scale, each with an accompanying latin description.  These phrases, which were Optimi, Second Optimi, Inferiores, and Perjores respectively, roughly translate to best, second best, less good, and worse.  A few decades later, these descriptions were replaced with a numeral system with one representing the best, or highest score, and four representing the worst, or lowest score.  While other universities during this time utilized a variety of different grading scales to categorize their students, many people believe Stiles’ system to be the first attempt at creating standardized grading practices.  

The advent of the letter grading system we see most commonly used today was due in part to the implementation of compulsory education laws from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.  With such a great volume of children and teenagers now required to attend classes, school systems needed an efficient and standardized system for evaluating performance and progress; hence the birth of letter grading.  

Contrary to popular belief, the letter grading system is a relatively new component of the American School System.  Despite being created early on, letter grading was not in widespread use until around the 1940s.  In fact, studies show that even in 1971, only 67% of American primary and secondary schools utilized this system.  Now, nearly all education institutions, from small rural elementary schools to large public universities, distribute letter grades.

One of the main reasons why a large portion of the population disagrees with the use of letter grades involves student motivation.  While most can agree that letter grades motivate students of all ages to do well in school, it is not necessarily for the purpose of expanding one’s knowledge or becoming more informed in a particular area of study.  In a society that heavily focuses on getting “good” grades, constantly perpetuating the importance of having all A’s and a 4.0 GPA, many students are extrinsically motivated to perform well in school, meaning they are solely motivated by an outside form of compensation or validation (i.e. grades).  Rather than being intrinsically motivated, or motivated by an inner drive and desire, students often only focus on required readings and graded assignments in order to reach the standard set by letter grades.  This type of motivation inadvertently limits students’ knowledge as they will not be inclined to do further research on and explore a component of the course they find to be especially interesting.  Overall, the letter grading system muddles the true purpose of acquiring an education by making an A or B be the end goal of a class or year rather than the information one absorbs and learns along the way.  

Another prominent criticism of letter grading is how it negatively impacts students’ mental health by increasing stress and anxiety levels.  According to Denise Clark Pope, a lecturer and author, pressure to achieve top scores has created stress levels among students – beginning as early as elementary school – that are so high that some educators regard it as a health epidemic.  By having so much stress associated with the letter grading system, as a letter grade holds so much power in determining one’s future, image, and self-perception, it further distorts the definition of education.  As opposed to being an enlightening experience, learning is made out to feel stressful and burdensome. 

Because letter grading is doing more harm that good for students’ education and feelings towards acquiring knowledge, the American School System should adapt new methods of evaluating students and their academic abilities.