Purdue's Grading System

Last year, Purdue underwent a change in letter grade evaluations. The University now factors pluses and minuses into students’ grade point averages. The policy was implemented with the argument that it would either benefit students’ GPAs or have no effect at all. In the time leading up to this change, newspaper editorials said that on average, a plus would negate a minus. Yet, there was one circumstance in which this did not apply – the A minus.

The standard grading scale sets the range for the A- from a 90% to a 92% or 93%. Now students are required to get a 94% for an A. Compare this scale to sports. Reggie Miller made 92.8% of free throws in 2001. Under the Purdue grading system, this would be an A-. Would anyone really characterize Reggie Miller as an A- player? Probably not, especially if you compare his free throw percentage to that of someone like myself. (I would need a very generous curve to improve my free throw stats.) Yet students must now pass this threshold in order to receive an A.

The A- represents an inconsistent, inequitable, and unjustified grade evaluation under the current grading policy. It is inconsistent because there is no upside. If a student receives a B- in one course, they can offset this with a B+ in another. Under the current policy, an A+ does not offset an A-.

In addition, the grading system is inequitable because it adds a higher threshold of performance without a higher payoff. Instead of getting a 90% in a class to receive an A, students must now achieve a 93% to maintain the same grade. In financial terms, it is the same return for higher risk. 

Lastly, it is unjustified to evaluate students with three grades for A’s (A-, A, A+). Are professors grading evaluations so accurate and reliable that we can distinguish between an A-, an A, and an A+? Teachers have always explained to me that an A represents excellence, and a B is above average. What does an A- represent? Almost excellence?

Nathan McIntyre, a senior in the College of Science, said that one of his classes currently sets the threshold for an A from 90-100%. “I really like it.  It doesn’t penalize you, and it provides you with the greatest opportunity to earn an A. It also gives you the benefit of a B+ if you fall short.” This is a great example of how a grading scale can provide incentive for students to work harder.

The new grade system is now in place, and it is not worth the effort change back to the old system. Indeed, only the students that accomplish 90-92% are hurt by this policy, yet its principle compels me to critique it. I believe that more people fall into the 90-92% range than you might expect. My proposal is to count an A+ as a 4.3 with the caveat that a 4.00 is the maximum cumulative GPA a student could receive. To me, this seems more consistent, equitable, and justifiable.