Most educators think that A through F or numeric grades aren鈥檛 a 鈥渧ery effective鈥� way to reflect what students know and can do.
So, what is the benefit of those systems? Why are these systems still in place?
More than anything, traditional grading systems help parents鈥攁s well as colleges and universities鈥攇et a sense of how students are doing academically, educators say, according to a survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center earlier this year.
About two thirds of district leaders, school leaders, and teachers who responded said that the main advantage of A through F or numeric grades is that 鈥減arents understand them because they also received them.鈥�
Another 35 percent said that the grades are helpful because 鈥渃olleges understand what they convey about applicants.鈥�
Grades also make it clear whether a student has passed a course, two in five educators surveyed said. They send students a clear message about their work and are an easier lift for teachers than narrative feedback, according to about a quarter of teachers surveyed.
It鈥檚 not particularly surprising that many teachers see traditional grades as being primarily for parents, said Maia Goodman Young, a research assistant and Ph.D. student at the University of Washington who has studied grading.
Particularly at the secondary level, 鈥渕ost parents are getting their communication about the school through their child鈥檚 grades,鈥� she said. Teachers who have tried to revamp their own grading systems have told Goodman Young that it鈥檚 tough to pull off in part because 鈥渋t鈥檚 very confusing to parents.鈥�
That was Goodman Young鈥檚 own experience too, when she taught high school English. She revamped her grading system to offer more nuanced feedback. The changes were easier鈥攖hough still difficult鈥攖o explain to her students since she saw them every day.
But parents were another story. 鈥淵ou have so few touch points with parents,鈥� Goodman Young said.
Parent confusion over student progress isn鈥檛 good for students or for teachers, she added. 鈥淲e want clear communication, and grades can be one way to do that,鈥� she said.
Traditional grading still dominates
But traditional grades can also stigmatize some students in the eyes of parents鈥攅ven other people鈥檚, said Laura Jeanne Penrod, a Las Vegas teacher.
At one point in her career, she worked at a school that emphasized project-based learning, which called for students to frequently work in groups. Penrod told her students that 鈥渁s long as everybody鈥檚 fulfilling their roles in the project, then there shouldn鈥檛 be an issue grade-wise,鈥� she recalled.
But some parents 鈥渨ould get super fixated on the grade and say their student was an A student and they can鈥檛 be with B or C or D students, because that鈥檚 not their kid鈥檚 friend group, that鈥檚 not the people that they should be hanging out with or working with,鈥� Penrod said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 like, well, actually, probably they should be working with, because that鈥檚 how it鈥檚 gonna be in life.鈥�
Despite some educators鈥� misgivings, traditional grading systems appear to remain the norm across the country, the survey found.
More than three-quarters鈥�77 percent鈥攐f educators surveyed said that their districts use either the A through F grading system, a numerical grading system, or a combination of the two. Just 11 percent of educators said their districts use another type of system. The EdWeek Research Center nationally representative survey of 863 educators was conducted from March 29 to April 11.
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.
