The Grading System Set-up

A = Excellent

B = Good

C = Average

D = Bad

F = Worst

Listed above is the typical grading scale at a typical college or university.  Some colleges have a plus and minus system, but the concept I will illustrate is still the same.

Being totally honest with yourself, have you ever been in a difficult course or had a difficult professor in college in which you said to yourself or to another person, "Man, I hope I pass this class."  When I ask this question across the country, almost unanimously students raise their hand in confession (present company included).  I did it all the time throughout high school, just hoping I'd pass.

However, there's a serious problem with that wish, and it's the main reason I earned mostly "C's" in high school.  Let me explain.

If you're a student in a college class, and you're just "hoping" you will pass the class, in all likelihood, what grade are you aiming for?  Unanimously, in unison, students answer a "C."'  Because in all reality what is a "C"? It's a "passing" grade.  If you get a "C" you're just happy you're still alive.  However, the problem with this way of thinking can be hazardous to your GPA.

If you're aiming for a "C," like a goal, you have a 50/50 chance of achieving it.  See how all this stuff ties in together.  So there's a chance you will reach it, and there's a chance you won't.  Now if you do reach this goal of a "C," you're happy, and you go on to the next class.  But what happens if you miss your goal? More than likely, you will either hit a "D" or an "F."'  Has that ever happened to a student before?  Probably more than we would like to admit.  I know it happened to me a lot.

When I got to college, I knew I had to get off the "C-your-way-through-school" treadmill.  So I asked myself, what would happen if I actually strived for an "A" in every class regardless of the level of difficulty?  The answer almost made me drop dead after my first semester in college.  I actually convinced myself not only that I would get an "A" in every class, but that I also "deserved" to get an "A" in every course regardless of the course.  By the way, with a little change in my philosophy, I ended up pulling a 4.0 (17 credits) my first semester in college.

Sounds like a lot of positive thinking, right?  Well that's part true.  It also had to do with an unbelievable amount of faith in God and belief in myself. 

I mentioned earlier in my introduction that teachers are human beings, and thus play favorites.  That is true, but I don't believe God does.  Why would God equip you with something and not equip me with similar tools.  Given, your tools may be a little nicer and even sharper than mine, but we do have the same tools: a mind to think with, a heart to love with, and a soul to pray with.  I just may need to spend more time polishing and sharpening my tools. 

With that mentality, I asked myself in every class, has anyone ever made an "A" in this course before?  If so, why couldn't I be the next?  God assured me that I could.  It was the most enlightening revelation of my academic life.  I realized that college does not measure your intelligence, it measures your endurance.  Remember?  It's not about "IQ," but "I Will."' 

The highest possible grade in a class is an "A."'  That means that even the "not so bright ones" like me could get one.  I say that facetiously, but I think you get the picture.

Let's look at the power behind raising your expectations.  If you walk into that same tough course and "expect" to get an "A," there's a 50/50 chance you will get it, right?  If you reach that goal, you will have astonished your friends, your parents, and maybe even yourself.  Give yourself a pat on the back, and get ready for the next course.  Now if you shoot for that "A," but you miss, what grade would you more than likely get from that class?  You're right, you would probably earn a "B" or, at the worst, a "C."'  Does this make sense?  See, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this concept out.  We don't get what we want, we get what we expect.  You can never raise your standards by lowering your expectations.

Just to test this concept further, when I first started teaching at the college level, I asked all of my students on the first day of class two questions: 1.)  How many of you "want" an "A" out of my course?  and 2.)  How many of you "expect" to get an "A" out of my course?  When I asked the class the first question, usually 30 students out of 30 would raise their hand; but when I asked the class the second question, only 2 or 3 would raise their hand.  Take a wild guess on how many received "A's" at the end of the semester?  That's right, only 2 to 3.  If that doesn't make my point clear, nothing will.

Well you might be saying, "Yeah Joe, I'm convinced, I need to raise my expectations in the classroom."'  But there's even more to this concept.  As simple as the idea of raising your expectations may sound, I have something that's a little more radical to share with you.  Let's re-examine the grading chart that I mentioned earlier.

A = Excellent

B = Good

C = Average

D = Bad

F = Worst

The New Grade Order

If you want to transform your grades, you can't stop at just raising your expectations, you must also get rid of your college's ancient grading system.'  I'm not saying you must do it physically by protesting, but rather mentally in the classroom.  I believe it's a major reason why most students just barely graduate.  It sets them up for failure by giving them too many options, especially if the school is on the plus and minus system. Let me explain.

When I internalized this concept of raising my expectations, I also set up my own grading system.  The university could calculate my grades any way they wished, but I was going to hold myself accountable to a higher standard.  I looked at their grading system and devised my own.  Here it is:

A = Excellent

B = Good

F = Worst

This grading system, which only existed in my head, implied that if I received anything less than a "B" in any course, it was like failing.  This may sound a little extreme, but guess what? It worked!'  I never earned anything less than a "B" in any course.  I don't call that a coincidence; when you look at my scale, I never made a "C" or a "D" in a course because those grades didn't exist to me!'  

Believe it or not, most students use some mental form of this now, but their chart looks a little like this:

B = Lucky

C = Passing

D = Repeat

F = Fail

Students always asked me, why I used my A-B-F chart, and I usually give them two reasons:

1.)  Quiet Desperation

Have you ever noticed how hard you worked in a class when you realized that you might miss a "C" and get a "D" in it?  You were willing to do whatever took to avoid repeating that course.  You would study like someone promised you a million dollar reward or something.  I know, I've been there.  I just thought it would make sense to do it with my new grading system.  Anytime I ever got close to not getting a "B," I would kick it into another gear.  It was just a psychological thing.  I can't explain it any better than that, but it worked.

2.)  Common Sense

I was always happy making "C's" in high school until I discovered the true definition of a "C."'  Most would define a "C" as being average.  And they would be right, but what is the true definition of the word "average"?  Allow me to define it for you.  If a person is average, that means they are better than the worst (i.e., D's and F's), right?  But that would also mean that they are worst than the best (i.e., A's and B's), right?  So if a "C" student is worst than the best and only better than the worst, doesn't that make them "Cream of the Crap"?  Now, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not accept that as a compliment. 

Those two reasons gave me the motivation I needed to design my own grading system.  For the record, I don't want to imply that getting a "C" makes you any less than a human being.  If the best grade you can earn in any class is a "C" (even a D or F for that matter), be proud of your effort.  However, if you get a "C" or lower in a course (and you shouldn't if you apply these strategies), and you know in your heart you "could have" done better, you should be ashamed of yourself.  I sure was embarrassed at my high school graduation.  Don't be proud of your grades, be proud of your effort.  Raise your standards by raising your expectations.

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