A, B, C.....vs Pass/Fail....What do you think?

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When I went to school the grading system was simple and straight forward. The grades were A, B, C, D and F. They were simple and easy to understand. An “A” of any sort meant that you excelled in the subject. B meant that that you did better then the average. C was okay too, while it didn't mean that you particularly excelled in a subject in any way, it indicated a basic, average understanding of the matter, a well enough understanding that indicated that you knew enough of it to get by. D's and F's were considered not so good, the first of these indicating that you may need to spend a little more time studying the subject if you expected to continue to grow in your understanding of it as you progressed and the latter indicating that you basically had no concept of the subject at all and needed to seriously improve in that area. Now more and more schools are starting to do away with letter grades. In place of those they have now have a series of ticks, pluses, minuses, etc, Each of which are supposed to indicate mastery, good progress or that the student needs improvement in the area. All of this is being done in an effort to move away from the letter grading system completely, in favor of a pass/fail system instead. Many people seem to be in favor of this new grading system, but I am not and I will say why. I'll address each of the most common reasons I have found for why people are in favor of this new pass/fail grading method over the old letter grading system and express why I disagree: One argument that people give is that letter grades mean nothing and are subjective to the teacher's opinion. While this might be true in such classes as art or creative writing, it is my experience that this does not hold true for the foundation classes such as reading, writing, spelling and math. In each of these classes it is very clear how many one got right or wrong on a particular assignment. The letter grade was figured solely on the number right or wrong, the teachers opinion had nothing to do with it. Another argument that people give is that with the old fashioned letter grading system, kids will just memorize things in order to pass a test and get a “good grade” and so, do not really learn anything. This might be true, however, even with a pass/fail system, a student who is not interested in learning could do the same thing. They could simply memorize and recite what their teacher needs to hear in order to pass the class. Therefore, it is my opinion that changing the grading technique does not solve nor eliminate this problem. Some argue that the letter grading system is useless because it does not accurately measure how much a child has learned. Correct! However, I feel that there is no real way to accurately measure how much any particular child learns at any given time on any given subject. Pass/fail method does not accurately measure this either. The strongest argument that I have seen in favor of the pass/fail method is that this method will lead to more students choosing to enroll in college then with the old fashioned letter grading system. The theory behind this thought is that with the letter grades, a student whom consistently does their best and continues to get C's rather then A's or B's will often feel discouraged and will not attempt college, whereas with a pass/fail system, students who do their best, will consistently receive a P (pass) and feel more motivated to enter college. This argument might indeed be very true and sounds great on the surface, however, I believe that it is misleading and could be more damaging to the child in the long run. True, with the old fashioned letter grading system a student who tries hard and yet receives C's and D's as opposed to A's and B's may feel a little humiliated and may not feel encouraged to attempt college, but is it the end of the world if they don't go to college? I know that college is important toward getting a good job, but it is not the only way, there are other avenues. Trade schools, apprenticeships, internships, etc. are all examples of ways to further one's education and/or knowledge and land a good job without going to college. The fact is, rather you want to admit it or not, college is not suited for everyone. A student that would, under the letter grading system, have received mostly C's and D's even though they did their best most likely is not going to do well in college anyway. I do not say this to sound mean or harsh, it's just reality. Colleges have higher standards for passing or failing then grade schools and high schools do. So while some people seem to feel that it is better for their child to be graded with a pass/fail system which would encourage an otherwise C or D student to enter college, I feel that if my child were not suited for college, that it would be better for him to figure this out ahead of time. Like most parents, I do not like to see my children upset, and like most parents, I encourage my children to always do their best. I also tell them that they can be anything they want to be. And if they want it bad enough and work at it hard enough, indeed I believe that they can be. However, the method of achieving this success does not have to be and is not necessarily the same for all. I would rather my children know ahead of time if they were not suited for college then to be mislead with a pass/fail system only to find out that they were not nearly as prepared for it as they thought they were and ultimately become discouraged anyway after they got there. I also think the latter would be much more devastating then the slight humiliation they might feel from earning a “bad grade” in grade or high school. Thoughts, feelings anyone?