Grade A

Justice in course grading, one of Education's more perennial pains, is now receiving careful treatment by Dean Donald K. David at the Harvard Business School. But his prescription, to further perfect an already good marking system, won't relieve the real pain.

The real pain is not centered in the marking system as such, but in the Business School's whole examination policy. As it is now, except for one course on Managerial Reports, the final exam mark and the course grade are usually one and the same. There is some attempt to count class recitation, but the professors themselves admit this is slightly hopeless. The classes are so large and the material so vast that very few students get called on more than twice a term. Labs and homework are nothing more than borderline factors. Consequently, the student goes into finals realizing that everything depends on his performance. If he happens to miss the point of the case, his Low Pass is almost inevitable, regardless of his previous showing in class discussions or homework.

Rather than force all students to place their hopes on the nose of the final, the Business School could give several two-hour exams throughout the term, weighting each one progressively heavier. It is one thing to make sure the finals get marked more fairly; it is much more important to make sure that the whole course gets examined more fairly. Under this plan, the student would get a more accurate return on his effort and actual capabilities. The last two exams should be more heavily weighted since they would become more complicated and comprehensive than the first ones. The initial tests should serve as warning signals for men who are having rouble, either through inability to grasp the subject or lack of application.

This would be an important step toward raising student morale and putting teeth in the Administration's program of emphasizing class preparation and attendance.