GRADING SYSTEM
Presented by,
Ashna.B S
Introduction
The grading system has been an essential part of the education system for
centuries, and it has evolved significantly over time. The origins of the grading
system can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who used various
symbols to denote different levels of proficiency.
These grading systems were initially used to
evaluate the performance of students in universities and later became standard
practice in primary and secondary education systems. In recent years, the grading
system has become more complex, with many different types of grading scales
being used, including point systems, letter grades, and percentage-based grading.
Today, the grading system is an integral part of the education system worldwide
and plays a crucial role in evaluating student performance and ensuring academic
standards.
Grading system
A grading system in education is a system that is used to
assess the educational performance of a child which is entirely based upon
points alone.
The grading system helps in measuring student progress by
providing a clear and objective evaluation of a student’s academic
performance. It allows teachers and educational institutions to assess the
strengths and weaknesses of individual students, and identify areas where
improvement is needed .
Types of Grading
There are two types of grading . They are
Direct grading
Indirect grading
Direct grading
The process of assessing students performance qualitatively
and expressing in terms of letter grades directly is called direct
grading. This type of grading can be used for assessment of
students performance in both scholastic and co- scholastic areas .
This is easy to use when compared to
indirect grading . Direct grading has a limitation that it does not
have transparency and diagnostic value and does not encourage
competition to the extent required .
Indirect grading
In indirect grading , student performance is first assessed in
terms of marks and they are transformed into letter grades .
Different modes maybe followed while transforming the marks
into grades . On the basis of the mode of transformation of marks
into grades , there are two types of grading .They are
Absolute grading
Relative grading
Absolute grading
Absolute grading is based on a pre –determined standard
that becomes the reference point for students performance . In absolute
grading , the marks are directly converted into grade on the basis of Pre –
determined standard .
Relative grading
Relative grading allow for the teacher to interpret the results of
an assessment and determine grades based on the student performance.
Important features of the grading scheme followed
by the Tamilnadu Government
In all students’ certificates and school records of students’ achievement, only
grades and not marks will be mentioned, pertinent to the level of performance.
The practice of declaring ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ has been stopped.
The result of candidates regarding their achievement is declared in two
categories- (1) Eligible for qualifying certificate and (2) Advised to improve
performance.
There will be no mentioning of a thing ‘overall marks’; only ‘grade
Point Average’ (GPA) is mentioned.
Marks obtained by students are to be transformed into a nine point
scale, and the pertinent grade corresponding to the level of
achievement be marked.
The overall percentage of marks of a student is calculated by the
formula 9.5* GPA.
Advantages of grading system
Students get to know about their strength and weakness- The
grading system enables the students to have a clear idea about their
strengths and weakness. This helps them in gaining command over the
weak subjects.
Relieve the students from the pressure of scoring- The general
grading system where students are assigned grades from O to A has
helped the students a lot in getting rid of the pressure that aroused out
of attaining more and more marks.
Discrimination among the students- The grading system makes it
possible to create discrimination among the students. This makes it
possible for the teachers to focus on teaching the average and below
average group of students in a much effective manner and making
the concepts clear to them.
Rendezvous of ideas- When students are taught a concept or subject
in classroom they develop a sense of responsibility to work upon
their parts. Thus, this helps in building the sense of engagement
among the students to learn about a particular subject or topic in
which they are weak.
Disadvantages of grading system
It does not serve as an accurate scoring system- The grading system
does not serve as an accurate scoring system. Suppose the students may
have scored A or C in any subject but these would have made great
disparity in the student’s sense of accomplishment.
Does not accurately present the performance of student- The grading
system also fails to clearly depict the actual performance of the students.
These only show the grades attained or marks scored by the students and
fail to show the actual performance of the students.
Does not show the knowledge gained by students- Attaining
grades in examination does not clearly show the amount of actual
knowledge gained by students. Some students are actually weak at
writing and are not able to showcase their knowledge merely
through an examination. Thus, the grading system fails to impart a
clear view of knowledge of the students.
Does not put in a sense of competition- Students these days mainly
aim at attaining the passing marks and does not get involved in an
intense competition to score more marks.
Conclusion
Grading system is considered an integral part in the
education system to assess the overall performance of the students.
Different schools and colleges adopt different ways of assessing the
grades as per their needs and standards. Many educational
institutions make use of academic writing tasks for e.g. assignment
writing, essay writing etc in assessing the grades of students.
References
1) K. Nagarajan.(2022).Assessment For Learning. Chennai:Sriram
Publishers.([Link]-101).
2) [Link]
3) [Link]
Thank you
