As a full-time high school teacher when I first graduated from college and as an adjunct college professor for 30 years, nothing frustrated me more than the various grading systems I encountered.

According to most schools, a “C” at one time represented “average” work, and years ago a “C” while not particularly exemplary was an acceptable grade. Today, if many students receive a “C,” alarm bells go off, students go into a swoon, parents became apoplectic. It almost seems as if a “C” is equivalent to an “F.” Many college-bound students even consider a “B” as a quasi-failure and a matter of concern.

Many educators I know complain about some of the same issues when it comes to grading. The reference to grade inflation is part of it, but the whole grading system makes me cringe.

Here’s one example: When I assigned a research paper, and it came time to do the grading, I was generally fresh and in a great frame of mind when I started the task. Did I give more attention to the first few papers than I did to the last few when I was tired, starting to get cranky and just wanted to get to bed?

Were my tests well thought out to allow students to express their comprehension of the subject matter or did they regurgitate rote memorization which gave an edge to those students who were more capable of retaining this type of material?

When I was a student at Summit Hill High School (now part of the Panther Valley School District), we had a numerical grading system. I wound up with a 96.3 average for my three years of high school. (In Summit Hill, grades seven through nine were part of junior high school.)

We didn’t have a system of highest honors, honors or similar references. Our top achievement rated three stars. That’s right, three gold stars would be affixed to the appropriate marking period on the back of the report card. Lesser achievers could receive two or one star if they met the criteria. I always got three stars in my three years of high school. With six marking periods per year, I also netted a monetary reward of $54 - $1 per star - from my parents.

We had some quirky teachers who had personal policies that superseded the stated school grading system. For example, our science teacher, Robert “Biffo” King would not give us more than a 98, even if we scored 99 or 100. The top grade given by our physical education teacher, Alberta Embody, was 90, which for many of us really did a number on our overall average.

I am amazed to learn that even today some teachers have these personal policies which fly in the face of overall school policies. I wonder whether the administration is aware of these anomalies, and, if so, whether they choose not to make waves since it is usually longtime teachers who resist changes.

I must confess that I do not understand some of the grading systems that are around today. At one time, 4.0 was perfection. Now, some secondary schools which offer college-level courses will allow students to achieve a greater grade than 4.0, so if a student now achieves 4.0, it is no longer the best of the best.

The same is true with some numerical systems. Presumably, 100% is perfection, the equivalent to the aforementioned 4.0, but now some schools give extra weight and credit to more difficult courses, so students are winding up with grades of 103 or even higher, so what does this say about a student who earns “only” a 99?

About half of American high school students will be graduating with grades ranging from A-plus to A-minus, according to estimates for the U.S. Department of Education,

The average high school grade-point average (on a scale from 0 to 4) was 2.68 in 1990. Thirty years later, it had risen to 3.41 with the biggest increase occurring in private schools.

According to evaluations I received over the years from students who took my courses, I was a “fair” grader. Several said, “If you do the work, it’s a pretty easy A.” My grading policy was simple: The grades called themselves. In other words if a student’s average was 85, that was a B. I didn’t give points if a student came close. If the “B” was from 83 to 87, and the student’s average was 82, the grade was B-minus. Despite being begged by many students to be given a chance to do “extra assignments,” I always refused, because I thought it was unfair to students who didn’t ask for this special consideration.

Our role as teachers is to foster competency in the subject matter. Teaching is about encouraging students to appreciate the complexity of ideas and to be able to evaluate the information they are getting. Presumably, we are testing how successful our teaching has been with periodic quizzes and exams, including a comprehensive final exam. Today, however, there are so many grading variables that even the once mandatory final has either disappeared entirely or some students who have maintained top grades are exempt from taking it.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.