In the US, why is ‘E’ skipped in grading is schools? Students can get A, B, C,D or F but not E, why?
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E is not skipped. The grading goes from A to D.
A-D represent the passing grades. F is shorthand for Fail, aka did not pass. F is not really a grade, moreso than it is just saying you did not pass. F for fail or did not pass would mean the same. F is nice shorthand.
Second. It avoids confusion. Grading systems varied and can be confusing. Some times E was used for Excellent in systems that started with stuff like Excellent-Good-…- ending with Fail
Omitting E works to solve both problem and confirms a grade of F means Fail.
In my school district (Midwest, early 2000s) we used E for a failing grade.
There’s no standard and I’m sure it’s school district dependent.
A+ through D- (all of which corresponded to a percentage) and then E for a failing grade.
In college it was all percentages.
But if I remember correctly some professors also converted to letter grades. It was all enumerated in their syllabi.
In the days of receiving your grades written in pen directly on the paper you turned in to the teacher, it could be easy for a sneaky child to change their “F” to an “E” by simply drawing a line. Doesn’t actually change their grade for the teacher, but might make their parents a little happier when they see it.
The real question is “Why do we use a D to grade?”
It’s a failing grade, but it’s not an F. What does that represent? Like you failed but it was kinda close I guess so we’re passing you anyways?
In Virginia when I went to school, we didn’t have F. Ours went from A to E, with E being a failing grade, the lowest you could get.
I attended public school in the 1980s and there was definitely E for failing (59% correct or lower), F was not used.
The school system I was raised in didn’t have the letter “F” in the grading scale. They used an “E” for failing. I have no idea why???
Because anything below 50% is fail (F) and the percentage structure only goes from A – D.
86% – 100% is A
72% – 85% is B
60% – 71% is C
50% – 59% is D
In the late 70’s, the high school grading system was A, B, C, D with + or – and F’s were F1, F2, F3 and F9. Not sure how an F could really get any worse, but it did.
My district used E to show a grade that wouldn’t count for some reason (I don’t remember but I think it meant exempt) either because the student was sick and missed too much of the class or they’ve already filled their requirements for passing and didn’t need the grade
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