Comments and points representing "lore" rather than proven facts are presented in this outline to summarize some of the issues raised by critics and proponents of various methods of grading rather than presenting a summary of research. Pro and con arguments are those typically advanced by proponents or detractors and are not presented as facts.…

The Honors-Pass-Fail (H-P-F) grading system was introduced experimentally in the fall 1971 semester to replace the traditional A-B-C-F grading system in graduate courses in education at Herbert H. Lehman College. The purpose was to determine if H-P-F discriminated more sharply between exceptional and average student achievement than the…

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University implemented a pass-fail grading system two years ago. The procedure in use appears to be working smoothly and suffers little abuse. Aside from physical education, courses taught under this system primarily are taken by seniors. The number of courses elected for pass-fail grading is small: 3.3…

This paper summarizes the author's research on the pass/fail grading system at Washington State University. Specifically, the paper presents (1) a discussion of the use of the pass/fail grading option at WSU and enrollment trends under this option first available in summer 1968 as a 3-year experiment; (2) an analysis of the questionnaire…

It is the recommendation of the Committee on Academic Progress of Students to the Faculty Council at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro that each undergraduate student may elect to be evaluated on a "Pass/Not Pass" scale in 1 course each semester, with a maximum of 8 courses being allowed for the degree. One semester courses are exempt…

This review presents a sample of the literature on pass-fail grading that was written between 1968 and 1971. The review leads to the following conclusions: (1) Students do not take pass-fail courses in order to avoid evaluation, but once having taken them their performance in both those courses and in traditionally graded courses declines; (2)…

A sharp distinction is made between judgemental evaluation of a student and description of students' work and behavior. The author believes that a students' ranking will affect his relationship with the instructor and his performance. (HMD)

Students prefer a pass-fail system to letter grading. (IR)

In an attempt to isolate new trends and options in grading, 150 four-year colleges and universities were surveyed. Of these, 102 offered pass/fail or a similar grading option, 30 had no grading option, 6 indicated that a system was under serious consideration and 12 failed to respond. The two major reasons for haveing a pass/fail system were: (1)…

The following advantages are regularly cited for traditional grading: it is in common use and allows relatively standardized information about students; it enforces academic discipline; it serves numerous administrative purposes; it prepares students for the competitions of life; it motivates students; and it is a fairly reliable index of academic…

Standard-setting research has yielded a rich array of more than 50 standard-setting procedures, but practitioners are likely to be confused about which to use. By synthesizing the accumulated research on standard setting and progress monitoring, this study developed a three-dimensional taxonomy for conceptualizing and operationalizing the various…

Author, who is the President of the University of Michigan, discusses the principal change in the grading system in recent years - pass-fail grading. (Author/RK)