When it comes to the letter grade on your test or homework, you might notice that there is no letter (字母) E. Have you ever thought about why that is so?
In the A, B, C, D and F grading system, the first four letters are considered passing grades. An F in this system simply stands for "fail". The word "fail" happens to start with the letter F, which seems to leave out the letter E. However, E grade actually has been used pretty commonly throughout the history of letter grades in the US.
The first college in the US to use a letter grading system like the ones we use today is Mount Holyoke College. In 1897, they began to use the following grading scale:
A: 95-100% (excellent) B: 85-94% (good) C: 76-84% (fair)
D: 75% (barely passed) E: below 75% (failed)
We can see the E grade instead of F grade.
Gradually, the letter grading system became more popular throughout the US. Later, many schools decided to change the E grade and into the F grade. There is no evidence (证据) to really support this, but one possible explanation is that teachers were worried that some students and parents might mistake E for "excellent".
Why do we have letter grades? Well, part of the reason is that they made grading simpler. As the 20th century began, school classrooms became bigger. Most teachers at that time thought this new letter grading system was an easy, fair and clear way to grade students.
Today, more and more people argue that letter grades don't fully reflect (反映) student learning. However, as teachers try to improve grading methods, many parents still prefer the letter grades because they are familiar and easy for parents to understand. Although they might not be perfect, the letter grades probably aren't going away any time soon.
