Does this seem logical of being a good grading system.?

Question

Ok a grading system at my school and some of its policies are pretty dumb..Tell me why this stuff is a good thing and how it affects students directly...or if you agree with me and why....

Ok our grading system is
A 100-94
A- 93-92
B+ 91-90
B 89-85
B- 84-83
C+ 82-80
C 79-74
C- 73-72
D+ 71-70
D 69-66
D- 65-64
F 63-0
this scale is very harsh in many ways because it lets dumb people stay dumb and it should be the college grading system
90-100A
80-90B
70-80C
60-70D
<60F
This one i believe is better and makes it so that dumb people can accomplish good grades with hard work

Another thing is if your ineligible in our school(2D'S or 1F) you cant have access to computers during a study hall. this is dumb because you would think you WOULD want to have the people who are doing bad to get their work done.

so what do ya think?

Answer 1

Most colleges I know don't necessarily use number grades to directly convert to a letter grade - those that do usually have a C being 75-79 and a D being 70-74, with 69 being F.

As long as a grading system is consistently applied, then it is by definition fair. Whether the system is effective is more reliant on how the teachers grade the course, and whether their grade actually reflects a student's understanding of the material - in other words, any grading system is only as good as whoever assigns the grade.

The comment "lets dumb students stay dumb" is rather simplistic: in any course, if a student does not grasp the information, then they should fail. The student should be given support to pass, however, if the student doesn't meet the requirements, then their grade must reflect that - or it cheapens everyone else's grade.

Your final point about removing access to computers if the student becomes academically ineligible is a good one - it would be understandable if their access was restricted (but not completely revoked). However, it is an understandable (if not good) policy if students have been abusing the privledge of computer use.

Answer 2

There are various theories, including coursework and more female primary school teachers - funny how none of these factors affects middle class boys though, isn't it? Plus, not all boys do badly, the worst off appear to be black and white working class boys and many people attribute it to a culture of anti-authoritarianism or peer rebellion, where the boys are deliberately deciding not to engage with school life / work in favour of their own youth subculture, which leaves them high and dry once their teens are out of the way and they have no qualifications and very few skills. It might sound a bit obvious, but I do think boys from deprived areas should get extra help at school, extra hours / mentoring if necessary - just anything to prevent them from giving up and falling behind. But no, I don't believe it is due to the feminisation of the education system - there are plenty of women who much prefer exams to coursework (and I'm one of them) :-) Edit - sam, how sad is that? Having to learn in secret because you don't want your peers to know? Poor boy, I hope he sticks with it anyway :)