EDITORIAL: "One Grading System"

Wharton's decision to eliminate the "Pass/No Credit" option for its students -- under which failures meant no credit instead 'F's -- is wise because it encourages consistent grading among students. As long as grades are still handed out, recruiters, graduate schools, parents and friends will try to interpret them. In many cases, Wharton students will be compared to Engineering students, and College students to Wharton students and so on. The people comparing grades, however, could get the wrong impression if they aren't aware of subtle grading differences between schools. For example, College classes are graded with pluses and minuses. Wharton and Engineering courses aren't. If a student who perennially receives 'A minus's takes most of his classes in the College while a similar student takes most of her classes in Wharton, the latter student could end up with more straight 'A's -- and more 4.0s, as opposed to 3.7s, figured into her grade average. Perhaps Wharton and Engineering should give pluses and minuses. Perhaps the College shouldn't. More radical is the view that there should be no grades, period. But whatever the undergraduate grading system, it should be consistent across the board. One University, one grading system.