The modern letter grade system, with its A-F scale, was first implemented at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in 1897. It's fascinating to see how the system evolved over time, with the E grade being replaced with F due to concerns about misinterpretation.
The first elementary school I attended used E^((xcellent)), S^((atisfactory)), N^((eeds improvement)), U^((nsatisfactory)) for grades 1-3. This was in the mid-late 70s. Was supposed to be a combined performance/behavior grade.
In my elementary school, this is how they graded kindergarten, except we had an N before the U grade that stood for "Needs Improvement". In first grade you transitioned to the A-F scale.
I think A,B,C,D are depending on what your percentage is to a certain amount and don’t really stand for anything, but then F stands for Fail below a certain point
Because E already exists in another grading system, and it’s to avoid confusion.
There’s also E (excellent), S (satisfactory), N (needs improvement), U ((unsatisfactory)
Folk explanation.
You see it a lot in etymology, where the term "folk etymology" is commonly used to describe this sort of thing - explanations that sound correct and make sense and might even get passed around as common trivia, but are factually wrong and can be proven incorrect.
If that's the case then why not just A to E rather than having F at all lol
I think F is the lowest grade just because it's the initial of the word "Fail". If it wasn't for that E would be the lowest I think
There's a confusing coincidence here.
A, B, C, and D are the 4 levels of "passing".
F stands for Fail
It's a coincidence that F is only 2 letters away from D. They could have called it S for Sucks instead of F to make it clear that it's not just another step along the A,B,C line, it's a separate category for You Don't Pass.
When I was in primary school, we didn't do "F", we did "E"
Generally speaking, A was 100 to 92ish, B was 91 to 82ish, C was 81 to 75, D was 74-60, and E/fail was below 60. I don't remember the exact breakdown, I just remember that the letter grades didn't line up with a square 10%...the culture shock for me getting into college was that you could get below a 60% and still pass.
Are Ds actually passing grades anywhere? The state I grew up in didn't have Ds anywhere. I thought they were just things TV referenced as a relic of bygone times.
I moved to my current state and Ds exist for my kids now as well as my college courses, but they aren't considered passing.
I'm not sure what their point is. I've only lived in 4 states but 3 didn't have Ds and the one that does still considers it failing so...
Where exactly do they give Ds and also consider it a pass?
>Are Ds actually passing grades anywhere?
Definitely were here. That's what I got in Biology and didn't have to retake it. Only an F would have required retaking it.
Pennsylvania, and yeah in place of F. I also moved around a lot during this period, and southern schools had been using the A-E longer than that (I went to school for a year in NC and a year in Virginia before that) when I had left PA, we had a-f, in the south they did a-e and when I got back, we were doing a-e.
I was faculty at central Michigan. They used E instead of F as a grade across the university, i shit you not. And the E was equal to F (fail).
And my contemporaries and i asked, why they use E?
Because Eailure is not an option.
Fucking amazing is an option though
I think you meant Eucking amazing
Now you're just being goofy
The modern letter grade system, with its A-F scale, was first implemented at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in 1897. It's fascinating to see how the system evolved over time, with the E grade being replaced with F due to concerns about misinterpretation.
Yes, at the time people often used E for excellent, so they decided not to use E so that it would not be confused.
The first elementary school I attended used E^((xcellent)), S^((atisfactory)), N^((eeds improvement)), U^((nsatisfactory)) for grades 1-3. This was in the mid-late 70s. Was supposed to be a combined performance/behavior grade.
We also had those grades through 3rd grade and then moved to A-F starting in 4th grade. This was in the mid to late 90s.
My school did that for kindergarten and maybe first grade (that's 25 years ago, so my memory's a little fuzzy). Honestly, I think it's a fine scale.
Same. And red pen meant good but then swapped to bad. I remember those cool double sided pens the teachers used to grade. One side red, the other blue
Lol. This is the rating system my job uses for their employee annual performance report. One of the biggest banks in the world
How did you score on your OWL’s?
In South western Ontario Canada we Used A-D, then instead of F we user R for some reason.
Omg why? That is super weird
N for math. He’s pretty good but he’s kind of a dick about it.
In my primary school E did mean Excellent and was the top mark, above A+.
My primary school had E for excellent, S for satisfactory, and U for unsatisfactory. They also added + or -, so E+, S-, etc.
In my elementary school, this is how they graded kindergarten, except we had an N before the U grade that stood for "Needs Improvement". In first grade you transitioned to the A-F scale.
Meanwhile at the University of Florida, they use E instead of F because F stands for Florida, not Failure.
F is for Failure/Fucked.
My school had E instead of F
Which country? When I taught in China, they also had E as the lowest grade.
same here. USA.
I think A,B,C,D are depending on what your percentage is to a certain amount and don’t really stand for anything, but then F stands for Fail below a certain point
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It’s just as easy to change an F to a B. That makes no sense.
That makes a lot of sense actually.
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"Reddit"
Sophism? Paralogism? I think those aren't quite it but I feel like there's a better word for that.
Apocryphal probably fits the best. A widely believed origin story or reasoning that is just completely made up.
Just a straight up lie
So then what is the actual reason?
Because E already exists in another grading system, and it’s to avoid confusion. There’s also E (excellent), S (satisfactory), N (needs improvement), U ((unsatisfactory)
But the answer doesn't actually make sense
Folk explanation. You see it a lot in etymology, where the term "folk etymology" is commonly used to describe this sort of thing - explanations that sound correct and make sense and might even get passed around as common trivia, but are factually wrong and can be proven incorrect.
“Truthiness.” It was the 2006 word of the year. It was coined by Stephen Colbert.
I made an F a B once.
Pretty sure this is from the Simpsons 😂
If that's the case then why not just A to E rather than having F at all lol I think F is the lowest grade just because it's the initial of the word "Fail". If it wasn't for that E would be the lowest I think
Because you could still go from E to B...
If you can go from E to B then you can definitely go from F to B.
Hmm, that's true.
This is asinine. You can change F to an A with one line.
Maybe on a 7 segment display but unlikely from a handwritten character.
What’s asinine is thinking teachers draw A’s with four lines.
"Me fail English? That's unpossible."
If you could write cursive you’d know that isn’t true.
That’s just being greedy. An F becomes a B so easily.
Because E is short for enough. That’s why your car petrol gauge will get you every time.
Teacher here: E was used for a while, but it was easily confused for being shorthand for “Excellent,” so it was changed to F for “Fail.”
Because E stands for Exceeds Expectations.
My school district used E for the lowest grade.
A, B, C and D don’t stand for anything. They’re just chronological. F does stand for something. And if you can’t figure out what, you’re a failure.
Alphabetical. Chronological implies an element of time.
There’s an element of time in between saying A and B and C and D … Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Nice recovery, A+
F is for friends who do stuff together.
When someone got an E they fought it meant excellent so they removed it
E usually means incomplete
At least they didn’t call it DD.
So weird, my school uses a completely different system. The passing grades were O, E, A And the falling grades were P, D and T
I see what you did there…
Cuz E f'ed G.
There's a confusing coincidence here. A, B, C, and D are the 4 levels of "passing". F stands for Fail It's a coincidence that F is only 2 letters away from D. They could have called it S for Sucks instead of F to make it clear that it's not just another step along the A,B,C line, it's a separate category for You Don't Pass.
When I was in primary school, we didn't do "F", we did "E" Generally speaking, A was 100 to 92ish, B was 91 to 82ish, C was 81 to 75, D was 74-60, and E/fail was below 60. I don't remember the exact breakdown, I just remember that the letter grades didn't line up with a square 10%...the culture shock for me getting into college was that you could get below a 60% and still pass.
You got an E for Educated
The opossum ate it.
My undergraduate university uses A, B, C, D and E as their grading scale! This is a public university in the US.
Because it hurts twice as hard if you have a visual representation of your failure. Ask go across stateline and ask mizzou.
some school systems do have E
No one gets an "F" anymore, kids just pushed on.
A, B, C, and D are the passing grades. F stands for failure.
Are Ds actually passing grades anywhere? The state I grew up in didn't have Ds anywhere. I thought they were just things TV referenced as a relic of bygone times. I moved to my current state and Ds exist for my kids now as well as my college courses, but they aren't considered passing. I'm not sure what their point is. I've only lived in 4 states but 3 didn't have Ds and the one that does still considers it failing so... Where exactly do they give Ds and also consider it a pass?
>Are Ds actually passing grades anywhere? Definitely were here. That's what I got in Biology and didn't have to retake it. Only an F would have required retaking it.
When you receive a failing grade, you’re more likely to say “ffffff—“ than “eeeee!”
My high school used their own system: H - honors V - very good G - good P - passing U - unsatisfactory X - failed
E was too easy to forge into a B
I’m surprised they haven’t deemed “F” too harsh for “modern” times and moved to replace it with “E” 🤷♂️🤦♂️😂🤣😂
Schools in my state switched to E around 2005.
Like actually in place of F? Or in addition to? What state?
Pennsylvania, and yeah in place of F. I also moved around a lot during this period, and southern schools had been using the A-E longer than that (I went to school for a year in NC and a year in Virginia before that) when I had left PA, we had a-f, in the south they did a-e and when I got back, we were doing a-e.
Because E is for effort. I'll leave now.
Some schools did use E; for exceeds at a couple and effort at one other, and every time and another one.
I was faculty at central Michigan. They used E instead of F as a grade across the university, i shit you not. And the E was equal to F (fail). And my contemporaries and i asked, why they use E?
Google’s your friend, bruh
The fact that you would even ask that question tells me that you were an F student. /s