Introduction
The letter grading system, to which all of us are accustomed, has its advantages and disadvantages. There is an opinion that the letter grades should be replaced with pass or fail ones. I do not support this idea for a number of reasons. In this essay, I am going to discuss the pros and cons of the letter grading model and to prove that it should be remained in the education system.
The Main Body
First of all, it should be said that nothing is perfect and the arguments against can be found for everything but we have to think whether the strengths of the current letter grading system overbalance its weaknesses. In my personal view, they do. In comparison with the pass or fail grades, one of the major benefits of the letter grading model is that it represents the more detailed breakdown of the students’ results. Thus, it gives the opportunity to reflect the level of knowledge more precisely. In contrast, the pass or fail system has only two grades: one positive and one negative. However, it goes without saying that the students, who failed, would have relatively different results. Undoubtedly, some of them would be very close to the pass level and some would be substantially below it. Moreover, this grading system does not encourage the students striving for better result. Many would consciously fail on some of the interim assessments because they knew that they were not as much important as the final exams. However, the solid knowledge is gained when the students prepare for each test because the interim assessments are primarily aimed at the assimilation of knowledge and not at the final postulation of the achievements.
The same can be said about the pass grade. The group of students, which will be graded pass, in reality, will have the relatively different results. It is not fair because some of the students will put the maximum efforts to study all the material and to answer all the test questions, whereas the other students will study just a portion of the required assignment in order to have the minimum knowledge to pass the test. In my view, this system does not motivate the students to study better.
The critics of the letter grading say that it is too complicated and that it should be replaced with the one similar to pass and fail system. I disagree with this statement because I think that although the letter grading is more complicated than the pass and fail model, everyone is used to it and it is not a problem for both the teachers and the students to understand the indicated knowledge level. That is why I firmly believe that the arguments against the letter grades are not persuasive and the current system should be remained in our education.
Conclusion
In order to sum up all above mentioned, it should be said that the letter grading is much more effective than the pass and fail model. In my opinion, it reflects the relative level of the students’ knowledge better. Besides, the letter grades are more objective and represent the students’ achievements more precisely than the pass and fail grades. Overall, I support the current grading system and I think that it should not be replaced with the pass and fail grades.