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When I was in high school (in Italy), we were graded on a scale of 1 to 10, where 6 was the sufficience: at the end of the year if you had less than 6 in too many subjects you would be held back a year; if you had less than 6 in few subjects you had to take a reparation exam on the next september for each subject below 6, and if you failed one of them you would be held back a year.
The 1-10 scale though was too large for many teachers, and anyway if you got an extremely bad result like 1 it was too difficult, mathematically, to average it out with subsequent tests, so most teachers used a 4-8 scale, that is in pratice equivalent to a 1-5 scale or to a A-E scale (with 4 being E and 8 being A).
Incidentally, while when I was a good student in middle school, in high school I had many more problems and, while I never repeated a year, I got a grand total of 9 reparation tests on 4 years (the fift year didn't have reparation tests).
By the way the law changed in Italy and if I understand it correctly how things work today students cannot be held back a year for failing a single subject on the september reparation test.
Do american teachers average votes from A to E?
Can a student be held back a year for a single subject?
The 1-10 scale though was too large for many teachers, and anyway if you got an extremely bad result like 1 it was too difficult, mathematically, to average it out with subsequent tests, so most teachers used a 4-8 scale, that is in pratice equivalent to a 1-5 scale or to a A-E scale (with 4 being E and 8 being A).
Incidentally, while when I was a good student in middle school, in high school I had many more problems and, while I never repeated a year, I got a grand total of 9 reparation tests on 4 years (the fift year didn't have reparation tests).
By the way the law changed in Italy and if I understand it correctly how things work today students cannot be held back a year for failing a single subject on the september reparation test.
Do american teachers average votes from A to E?
Can a student be held back a year for a single subject?
Very interesting, thank you for the explanation of the Italian grading system. I've long been a fan of trying different ways to assess students that both track progress / aptitude but keep in mind individual differences, strengths, and weaknesses.
I started school during the A-E (or A-F) times, went through a 1-5 system, and finally went back to an A-E with corresponding GPA (grade point average) i.e. A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, all the way to E = 0. They would average these into your GPA- as long as you passed all of your classes, even with a D- in everything, you could graduate, though colleges all have their own standards. If you had a poor GPA you could attend either community college or take remedial courses to boost your average and get accepted into a better college.
When I was in elementary school in the 1970s, you could be held back a year if you were too far behind or promoted a year if you were far ahead; both were rare. I graduated high school in 1990, and at that time it was extremely rare for anyone to be held back or promoted; the philosophy was that they wanted students to be age peers all throughout school and holding a student back or promoting them too much would lead to social problems (unclear if any of this was supported by studies or just dogma foisted on students by the school boards.) If you excelled, instead of bumping you up a year, they would put you in advanced or "gifted" classes or even allow you to attend local college courses. If you failed a subject, it could be made up via night classes or summer classes; if you completely flunked out, were expelled, or left school early by choice (USA requires attendance only through 9th grade,) you could go back later and get your GED (general equivalency degree / diploma) which would then allow you to go on to a community college and maybe later a full-time university as above. The system has evolved to be pretty forgiving in that regard. I was in both camps- going to several "gifted" classes and special courses in high school, and yet skating on the edge of summer school in my senior year; I HATED algebra 2 and if I failed it I would have to take it in summer school to get my diploma; I passed with a D+ and that was all I needed, and the college I went to didn't seem to care.
I started school during the A-E (or A-F) times, went through a 1-5 system, and finally went back to an A-E with corresponding GPA (grade point average) i.e. A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, all the way to E = 0. They would average these into your GPA- as long as you passed all of your classes, even with a D- in everything, you could graduate, though colleges all have their own standards. If you had a poor GPA you could attend either community college or take remedial courses to boost your average and get accepted into a better college.
When I was in elementary school in the 1970s, you could be held back a year if you were too far behind or promoted a year if you were far ahead; both were rare. I graduated high school in 1990, and at that time it was extremely rare for anyone to be held back or promoted; the philosophy was that they wanted students to be age peers all throughout school and holding a student back or promoting them too much would lead to social problems (unclear if any of this was supported by studies or just dogma foisted on students by the school boards.) If you excelled, instead of bumping you up a year, they would put you in advanced or "gifted" classes or even allow you to attend local college courses. If you failed a subject, it could be made up via night classes or summer classes; if you completely flunked out, were expelled, or left school early by choice (USA requires attendance only through 9th grade,) you could go back later and get your GED (general equivalency degree / diploma) which would then allow you to go on to a community college and maybe later a full-time university as above. The system has evolved to be pretty forgiving in that regard. I was in both camps- going to several "gifted" classes and special courses in high school, and yet skating on the edge of summer school in my senior year; I HATED algebra 2 and if I failed it I would have to take it in summer school to get my diploma; I passed with a D+ and that was all I needed, and the college I went to didn't seem to care.
Chantilly didn't get what she was hoping for, but I suspect most other students would have a different reaction to receiving the same grade. Also, I'm curious to know what subject Patience got an A in, proud of her!
Patience probably got the A in Natural History or Comportment. I haven't decided yet...
As for Chan, it's a matter of great expectations combined with something else we're going to find out about shortly.
As for Chan, it's a matter of great expectations combined with something else we're going to find out about shortly.
Yes, I do quite enjoy how these pages read!! :-)
"Friend tube" is a cute name, too.
"Friend tube" is a cute name, too.
I've wanted to do a super long side-by-side for a while now. The problem is when we go to print it...
Patience seems to think a lot of things are alive, or at least have spirits.
Patience seems to think a lot of things are alive, or at least have spirits.
I really love that belief. She's a very original character :)
Firefly Jelly 28th Oct 2022, 3:00 PM
I thought for quite a bit about how grades might be assigned- and then I went with letter grades for the simple reason that you can make anagrams from them.
We'll soon see if Chan is overreacting or not. Shelby might be wild but she knows how to work when she has to. Nita is just a good student, no matter where she may be. Patience's situation is unique, as we'll also soon see.
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