The Best Grading Scales in Education

Grading scales are decided upon by districts and teachers.

What's the best grading scale in education? This is a question that has been debated for decades. In education, there is no universal grading scale. Grading scales vary from state to state and district to district. The debate continues as to which grading scale is best for parents, educators and students.

Numeric Grades

Students' transition to college might be easier if schools used the same grading scale.

There are two numeric grading systems that are predominantly used in the United States. One is the system where an A is a grade of 93 to 100, a B is 85 to 92, a C is 77 to 84, a D is 70 to 76 and an F is 69 and below. The second grading systems is a 10-point scale where an A is 90 to 100, a B is 80 to 89, a C is 70 to 79, a D is 60 to 69 and below a 60 is an F. Colleges use the 10-point scale, and many argue that this is the scale that should be used for everyone. They believe that since secondary schools are preparing students for college, they should use the same scale.

Pass/Fail Grading Scale.

The pass/fail grading system has pros and cons.

A pass/fail grading scale is used for certain high school and college courses. Some think that this grading system would be best for everyone. Educators can take into consideration more than just numeric grades. They can consider a student's efforts and contributions in class. However, there are cons to this grading system. One is that students will not apply themselves the way they would if they were trying to achieve a numeric grade. Another negative is that it is much harder to determine a student's grade point average. This would make it more difficult for colleges to determine whom they should accept.

Holistic Grading

With holistic grading, a number value is assigned to a student's work.

Holistic grading requires that teachers look at students' work as a whole rather than their individual mistakes. With holistic grading, teachers assign a point value to students' work. Many use rubrics that are numbered. For example, when correcting an essay, teachers would look at a student's spelling errors. For no spelling errors, a student would receive three points. For one to two spelling errors, two points would be given. One point would be given for three to five errors and a zero for more than five spelling errors. Grammar, content and voice would be scored individually in the same manner. Holistic grading makes an educator's job easier and is less discouraging for students.

Portfolio Grading

Any type of folder can be used for student portfolios.

Portfolio grading is when students are asked to put all of their work into a portfolio during a semester. This includes rough drafts, assignments that have been rewritten and all completed work. Teachers check the portfolios periodically during a semester and give feedback to the students on their success. Students are allowed to rewrite as many times as they choose and get peer feedback on projects. Near the end of the semester, students are allowed to choose a designated amount of assignments from their portfolio to be graded. More control over their grade and becoming better at finding and correcting mistakes are advantages of portfolio grading for students.

Resources

• Task Masters: Grading Methods
• Education Week: Motivation Matters
• University of Hawaii, Honolulu: Grading Practices