Grading Scale

[Blue Hen]

For high school I use the grading scale of > 90 is an A, > 80 is a B,.... This year my ds took classes at the community college which uses the grading scale of >92 is an A, >85 is a B,....

 

Would you put two grading scale legends on his transcript? (Yes, he got a B which on my grading scale would have been an A.)

[regentrude]

No, I would not include both grading scales, because the grading scale is completely meaningless without the actual exams.

A course with an 92% A is not necessarily harder than a course with a 90% A because the test could be a lot easier.

Knowing a student got a 92% in a course only tells relative information. I still don't know how difficult the test was and how that looks with respect to class rank (did 50% of students receive an A? or only the top 1%?)

[kiana]

No, I would not include both grading scales, because the grading scale is completely meaningless without the actual exams.

A course with an 92% A is not necessarily harder than a course with a 90% A because the test could be a lot easier.

Knowing a student got a 92% in a course only tells relative information. I still don't know how difficult the test was and how that looks with respect to class rank (did 50% of students receive an A? or only the top 1%?)

 

Exactly.

 

I could write an exam where 92% is an A where 30% of the class would get an A, or an exam where 70% is an A where probably 5% of the class would get an A.

[Blue Hen]

I understand what you are both saying, then why have a grading scale on the transcript in the first place? I would leave it off but colleges and NCAA require a grading scale on the transcript.

[regentrude]

then why have a grading scale on the transcript in the first place? I would leave it off but colleges and NCAA require a grading scale on the transcript.

 

I don't know why they require a grading scale. It just creates an illusion of precision and comparability.

The requirement must have been created by people who have never been teaching and designing exams themselves; otherwise they would know that it means nothing.

[Blue Hen]

 

I don't know why they require a grading scale. It just creates an illusion of precision and comparability.

The requirement must have been created by people who have never been teaching and designing exams themselves; otherwise they would know that it means nothing.

 

Oh my, isn't that the truth!

[mysticmomma]

I would probably put a general statement that the grades are based on a 4.0 scale.

[Kareni]

The grading scale I included on my daughter's transcript was for grades that I issued. I noted courses taken elsewhere by using a different typeface and explaining the meaning of each typeface in the Notes section of the transcript. Community college grades were entered on the transcript, but a transcript was also sent by them. I made the assumption that the community college transcript would (or would not) include its own grading scale. (While I felt comfortable deleting all pluses and minuses from outside grades on my daughter's transcript, I would not have felt comfortable adjusting letter grades to fit my own grading scale.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Blue Hen]

The grading scale I included on my daughter's transcript was for grades that I issued. I noted courses taken elsewhere by using a different typeface and explaining the meaning of each typeface in the Notes section of the transcript. Community college grades were entered on the transcript, but a transcript was also sent by them. I made the assumption that the community college transcript would (or would not) include its own grading scale. (While I felt comfortable deleting all pluses and minuses from outside grades on my daughter's transcript, I would not have felt comfortable adjusting letter grades to fit my own grading scale.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

I have the CC courses noted on his transcript just as you did for your dd -- different typeface and an **, and then a comment in the Notes section. Oh my, no, I'm not adjusting his CC letter grades to fit my grading scale. We are stopping into the CC tomorrow to request they send ds' transcript to the NCAA. I'll ask whether their grading scale will appear on their transcript.