The text below defines the outlines of the standards for the grades
of A, B, C, D, and F. These standards are suggestive of common denominator academic values
and must be contextualized at two levels: at the department level (to capture
domain-specific variations) and at the course level (to capture course-specific
differences).
High Level Performance
High level performance implies excellence in thinking and performance
within the domain of a subject and course, along with the development of a range of
knowledge acquired through the exercise of thinking skills and abilities. A level work is,
on the whole, not only clear, precise, and well-reasoned, but insightful as well. Basic
terms and distinctions are learned at a level which implies insight into basic concepts
and principles. The A-level student has internalized the basic intellectual standards
appropriate to the assessment of his/her own work in a subject and demonstrates insight
into self-evaluation. The A-level student often raises important questions and issues,
analyzes key questions and problems clearly and precisely, recognizes key questionable
assumptions, clarifies key concepts effectively, uses language in keeping with educated
usage, frequently identifies relevant competing points of view, and demonstrates a
commitment to reason carefully from clearly stated premises in the subject, as well as
marked sensitivity to important implications and consequences. A-level work displays
excellent reasoning and problem-solving within a field and works consistently at a high
level of intellectual excellence.
The Grade of B
The grade of B implies sound thinking and performance within the domain
of a subject and course, along with the development of a range of knowledge acquired
through the exercise of thinking skills and abilities. B level work is, on the whole,
clear, precise, and well-reasoned, but does not have depth of insight. Basic terms and
distinctions are learned at a level which implies comprehension of basic concepts and
principles. The B-level student has internalized some of the basic intellectual standards
appropriate to the assessment of his/her own work in a subject and demonstrates competence
in self-evaluation. The B-level student often raises questions and issues, analyzes
questions and problems clearly and precisely, recognizes some questionable assumptions,
clarifies key concepts competently, typically uses language in keeping with educated
usage, sometimes identifies relevant competing points of view, and demonstrates the
beginnings of a commitment to reason carefully from clearly stated premises in a subject,
as well as some sensitivity to important implications and consequences. B-level work
displays sound reasoning and problem-solving within a field and works consistently at a
competent level of intellectual performance.
The Grade of C
The grade of C implies mixed thinking and performance within the domain
of a subject and course, along with some development of a range of knowledge acquired
through the exercise of thinking skills and abilities. C level work is inconsistently
clear, precise, and well-reasoned; moreover, it does not display depth of insight or even
consistent competence. Basic terms and distinctions are learned at a level which implies
the beginnings of, but inconsistent comprehension of basic concepts and principles. The
C-level student has internalized a few of the basic intellectual standards appropriate to
the assessment of his/her own work in a subject, but demonstrates inconsistency in
self-evaluation. The C-level student sometimes raises questions and issues, sometimes
analyzes questions and problems clearly and precisely, recognizes some questionable some
questionable assumptions, clarifies some concepts competently, inconsistently uses
language in keeping with educated usage, sometimes identifies relevant competing points of
view, but does not demonstrate a clear commitment to reason carefully from clearly stated
premises in a subject, nor consistent sensitivity to important implications and
consequences. C-level work displays inconsistent reasoning and problem-solving within a
field and works, at best, at a competent level of intellectual performance.
The Grade of D
The grade of D implies poor thinking and performance within the domain
of a subject and course. On the whole, the student tries to get through the course by
means of rote recall, attempting to acquire knowledge by memorization rather than through
comprehension and understanding. The student is not developing critical thinking skills
and understandings as requisite to understanding course content. D-level work represents
thinking that is typically unclear, imprecise, and poorly reasoned. The student is
achieving competence only on the lowest order of performance. Basic terms and distinctions
are often incorrectly used and reflect a superficial or mistaken comprehension of, basic
concepts and principles. The D-level student has not internalized the basic intellectual
standards appropriate to the assessment of his/her own work in a subject and does poorly
in self-evaluation. The D-level student rarely raises questions and issues, superficially
analyzes questions and problems, does not recognize his/her assumptions, only partially
clarifies concepts, rarely uses language in keeping with educated usage, rarely identifies
relevant competing points of view, and shows no understanding of the importance of a
commitment to reason carefully from clearly stated premises in a subject. The D-level
student is insensitive to important implications and consequences. D-level work displays
poor reasoning and problem-solving within a field and works, at best, at a low level of
intellectual performance.
The Grade of F
The student tries to get through the course by means of rote recall,
attempting to acquire knowledge by memorization rather than through comprehension and
understanding. The student is not developing critical thinking skills and understandings
as requisite to understanding course content. F-level work represents thinking that is
regularly unclear, imprecise, and poorly reasoned. The student is not achieving competence
in his/her academic work. Basic terms and distinctions are regularly incorrectly used and
reflect a mistaken comprehension of, basic concepts and principles. The F-level student
has not internalized the basic intellectual standards appropriate to the assessment of
his/her own work in a subject and regularly mis-evaluates his/her own work. The F-level
student does not raise questions or issues, does not analyze questions and problems, does
not recognize his/her assumptions, does not clarify concepts, does not use language in
keeping with educated usage, confuses his/her point of view with the TRUTH, and shows no
understanding of the importance of a commitment to reason carefully from clearly stated
premises in a subject. The F-level student is oblivious to important implications and
consequences. F-level work displays incompetent reasoning and problem-solving within a
field and consistently poor intellectual performance.