ABSTRACT
A grade represents an expert's judgment of the quality of a student's work in a specific course. The most effective means for ensuring that no extraneous factors enter into grading is for the instructor to make clear at the beginning of the term how final grades will be determined. The most common misuse of the grading system is the practice commonly referred to as "grading on a curve". The procrustean practice of grading on a curve rests on this muddle and should be abandoned. A different distortion of the grading system, rare nowadays, is an unwillingness to award high grades. A more common misuse of the grading system is the reluctance to award low grades, a practice popularly known as "grade inflation". Grading is especially sensitive to mishandling because assessments are done privately and results are not easily challenged. Teachers, therefore, need to be aware of this pitfall and make every effort to treat students equitably.
