What are the consequences of adopting a pass or fail grading system?

What do you think about the traditional grading school system, do you think they should change it to pass/fail only?

• Answer:

  I'm not in love with the current system, but going to pass/fail almost certainly isn't the answer. One idea to perhaps make it better is to go to standards-based grading (for a solid primer on the idea read Spencer (2012). Standards-based grading. Education Digest, 78(3), 4-10.). Standards-based grading, according to Spencer, "derives from the idea that teachers ought to have clearly defined academic goals for their students, be able to determine if they've met them, and then communicate that to students and parents." I'm not sold on standards-based grading, but the idea is intriguing. If I were practicing standards-based grading, I may send home a note that says: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1a, Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences: Jimmy has a good grasp of verbals and their usage in his writing, but he is unable to explain their function or use. We will continue to work with him in preparation for standardized testing. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1b, Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice: Jimmy has no problem distinguishing between and using both active and passive voice. etc. Basically the idea is you rate students on how close they are to meeting the actual course goals; in the above example I used those set forth by the Common Core State Standards. What intrigues me about the idea is it enables you to clearly spell out in a meaningful way: 1. What you expect the student to learn during this course. 2. What the student has or hasn't learned so far. 3. A plan of action to help the student reach all the goals set forth in #1.