In the United States, academic grading commonly takes on the form of five, six or seven letter grades. Traditionally, the grades are A+, A, A−, B+, B, B−, C+, C, C−, D+, D, D− and F, with A+ being the highest and F being lowest. In some cases, grades can also be numerical. Numeric-to-letter-grade conversions generally vary from system to system and between disciplines and status.
Grades A–F in the United States
Numerical and letter grades The typical letter grades awarded for participation in a course are (from highest to lowest) A, B, C, D and F. Variations on the traditional five-grade system allow for awarding A+, A, A−, B+, B, B−, C+, C, C−, D+, D, D−, and F. In primary and secondary schools, a D is usually the lowest passing grade. However, there are some schools that consider a C the lowest passing grade, so the general standard is that anything below a 60% or 70% is failing, depending on the grading scale. In post-secondary schools, such as college and universities, a D is considered to be an unsatisfactory passing grade. Students will usually still earn credit for the class if they get a D. However, a C or better may be required to count some major classes toward a degree, or to satisfy a prerequisite requirement for a class.
To assess individual students' grades across multiple courses, letter grades are typically assigned a numeric rank from which a mean grade (Grade Point Average or GPA) is calculated.
Percentage grades The 100-point scale is a percentage-based grading system. In a percentage-based system, each assignment regardless of size, type, or complexity is given a percentage score: four correct answers out of five is a score of 80%. The overall grade for the class is then typically weighted so that the final grade represents a stated proportion of different types of work. For example, daily homework may be counted as 50% of the final grade, chapter quizzes may count for 20%, the comprehensive final exam may count for 20%, and a major project may count for the remaining 10%. Each are created to evaluate the students' understanding of the material and of their complex understanding of the course material.
Grade conversion Below is the grading system found to be most commonly used in United States public high schools, according to the 2009 High School Transcript Study. This is the most used grading system; however, there are some schools that use an edited version of the college system. If the score is a decimal, it is rounded to the nearest integer, which means 89.5 or above becomes an A average, 79.5 becomes a B, and so on.
Letter Grade Percentage GPAA 90–100%4.0B 80–89% 3.0C 70–79% 2.0D 60–69% 1.0F 0–59% 0.0 Below is a grading system used by some colleges in the United States. Other schools use different systems, so this system is not universal. MIT, for example, uses a scale that goes up to 5.0. Letter Grade Percentage GPA A+ 97–100% 4.0 A 93–96% 3.9 A− 90–92% 3.7 B+ 87–89% 3.3 B 83–86% 3.0 B− 80–82% 2.7 C+ 77–79% 2.3 C 73–76% 2.0 C− 70–72% 1.7 D+ 67–69% 1.3 D 63–66% 1.0 D− 60–62% 0.7F 0–59% 0.0
AF and XF
AF is a grade used at some U.S. colleges and universities to denote failure for non-attendance or withdrawing from a course after the refund period has lapsed. XF can also be used to denote students who are caught performing acts of academic dishonesty. The first school to popularize the XF grade was the University of Maryland. The general intent to assign an AF or XF grade is to make it evident from the transcript as to what caused the failing grade. Students at Wichita State University who did not wish for "F"s on their transcript to be mistaken for academic dishonesty, requested that their university adopt the XF grade. Students at Thomas Edison State University requested that XF grades that had been assigned because they missed the withdrawal deadline be omitted from official transcripts, leading to a policy change within the university. The request was sparked, in part, by inconsistent grading policies among universities issuing XF grades.
Assessment In elementary school, grades may represent rewards from teachers "for being friendly, prepared, compliant, a good school citizen, well-organized and hard-working" rather than mastering the subject material. Schools in the United States have been accused of using academic grades to penalize students for being bored, uncooperative or for talking out of turn. Usually, this behavior leads to poor or non-existent studying habits which most likely are to blame for their grades. Some teachers use self- and peer assessment to evaluate some of a student's progress and how behind they are compared to their peers.
Standards-based grading
With the adoption of standards-based education, most states have created examinations in which students are compared to a standard of what educators, employers, parents, and other stakeholders have determined to be what every student should know and be able to do. Students are graded as exceeding (4), meeting (3), approaching (2), and falling below (1) the standard. The advantage is that students are not compared against each other, and all have the opportunity to pass the standard. However, the standard is typically set at a level that is substantially higher than the previous achievement, so that a relatively high percentage of students fail at least some part of the standards in the first year, including an especially high percentage non-college-bound students.
The tests are targeted to items and skills not currently in the curriculum to promote the adoption of methods such as constructivist mathematics, inquiry-based science, and problem-solving.
Grades can be enhanced by extra credits, awarded where students undertake optional work, in addition to their compulsory school work.
For an example of standard-based grading, see "The 1-2-3-4 System" below.
Rank-based grading
Grading on a curve is any system wherein the group performance is used to moderate evaluation; it need not be strictly or purely rank-based.
In the most extreme form, students are ranked and grades are assigned according to a student's rank, placing students in direct competition with one another.
Grade percentage of students receiving grade A fourth quintile (top 20%) B third quintile (20% - 40%) C second quintile (middle 20%) D first quintile (60% - 80%) F bottom 20%
One model uses percentages derived from a normal distribution model of educational performance. The top grade, A, is given here for performance that exceeds the mean by more than 1.5 standard deviations, a B for performance between 0.5 and 1.5 standard deviations above the mean, and so on.Robert E. Slavin, Educational Psychology: Theory into Practice (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1986), p. 556–57. Regardless of the absolute performance of the students, the best score in the group receives a top grade and the worst score receives a failing grade.
Numerical values in America are applied to grades as shown below: A = 4 B = 3 C = 2 D = 1
This allows grades to be easily averaged. Additionally, many schools add .33 for a plus (+) grade and subtract .33 for a minus (−) grade. Thus, a B+ yields a 3.33 whereas an A− yields a 3.67. A-plusses, if given, are usually assigned a value of 4.0 (equivalent to an A) due to the common assumption that a 4.00 is the best possible grade-point average, although 4.33 is awarded at some institutions. In some places, .25 or .3 instead of .33 is added for a plus grade and subtracted for a minus grade. Other institutions maintain a mid-grade and award .5 for the grade. For example, an AB would receive a 3.5-grade point and a BC would receive a 2.5-grade point.
Weighted GPA Some high schools, to reflect the varying skill required for different course levels, will give higher numerical grades for difficult courses, often referred to as a weighted GPA. For example, two common conversion systems used in honors and Advanced Placement courses are: A = 5 or 4.5 B = 4 or 3.5 C = 3 or 2.5 D = 2 or 1.5 F = 0
Denver Public Schools uses a different system in honors and AP courses to get weighted GPA values; the scale is as follows: A = 5.2 A− = 4.77 B+ = 4.33 B = 3.9 B− = 3.47 C+ = 3.0 C = 2.6 C− = 2.17 D = 1.3 F = 0.0
Another policy commonly used by 4.0-scale schools is to mimic the eleven-point weighted scale (see below) by adding a .33 (one-third of a letter grade) to honors or advanced placement class. (For example, a B in a regular class would be a 3.0, but in honors or AP class it would become a B+, or 3.33).
Sometimes the 5-based weighing scale is used for AP courses and the 4.6-based scale for honors courses, but often a school will choose one system and apply it universally to all advanced courses. A small number of high schools use a 5-point scale for Honors courses, a 6-point scale for AP courses, and/or a 3-point scale for courses of below average difficulty.
Other systems
Six-point system Phillips Academy at Andover, a boarding school in the United States, is an example of a school that uses the six-point system. While there are approximate equivalents to the 100 point system, grades are most often described as follows:
6 – Outstanding (High Honor) 5 – Superior (Honor) 4 – Good 3 – Satisfactory 2 – Low Pass, but certifying 1 – Low Failure 0 – Failure
Although listed above, grades below a 3 are rarely given in practice.
Eleven-point system Phillips Exeter Academy and a few other high schools in the United States use an eleven-point system. Numerical values are applied to grades as follows:
A = 11 A− = 10
B+ = 9 B = 8 B− = 7
C+ = 6 C = 5 C− = 4
D+ = 3 D = 2 D− = 1
F = 0
Very few American high schools use a twelve-point system. The twelve-point system differs from the above only in using the grade A+, to which the value 12.0 is applied.
The 1-2-3-4 system Some school districts use a 1-2-3-4 rating system for grades at the elementary (K–5) level, notably many California school districts including The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) which switched with the class of 2000. The four-point scale more clearly indicates proficiency levels in core subjects by segmenting students who are proficient (4&3) and ready to advance, from those who are not meeting all required standards (2&1) and should not advance. Most notably this removes the "C" rating which did not clearly partition students who should advance from those who should not.
Percentage Grade/mark Assigned meaning Numeric grade 90–100 AL1 Exemplary 4.0 80–89 AL3 or AL2 Accomplished 3.0 70–79 AL5 or AL4 Developing 2.0 60–69 AL6 or AL5 Beginning 1.00–59AL6 to AL8Bad0.0
Letter based systems A popular grading system in the United States uses four or five letters, which are ranked in descending order: E (Excellent) G (Good) S (Satisfactory) N (Needs improvement) U (Unsatisfactory) H (High pass) I (Incomplete) This system has largely been replaced by the six-point system discussed above, but is still encountered at the elementary school level, particularly in kindergarten and Grades 1 through 3 (these levels comprising the lower division of primary school). It is also occasionally used at schools for older children, including high schools, especially in the issuance of conduct or citizenship grades.
There are a multiple permutations and variations to this system. These may include the use of an O (for "outstanding") grade, which is even higher than the E; the use of an O instead of the E; the elimination of a G (for "good"); the use of a G (again for "good") instead of the E; the use of an L (for "lacks effort") instead of a U; and the lack of a U grade. In this version, E stands for "exemplary" and P proficient, with AE and AP for work that approaches the E and P levels. "Credit" is equivalent to the D level and "No Credit" is equivalent to F.