Pass/Fail

To The Editors of the Crimson:

Although Alan Cooperman's story "CUE Suggests Pass/Fail Plan for the Core" (November 20) quotes directly (and, incidentally, without permission) from my letter to members of CUE, it misrepresents the views expressed in that letter. Because I believe the question of pass/fail for the Core deserves thoughtful discussion, I ask you to print my letter in full:

I am impressed by the argument that the pass/fail option would encourage students to select more challenging and intellectually demanding Core courses. In each area of the Core, certain courses will be perceived by a given student as riskier than others. Students who feel obliged to maintain the highest possible grade-point average are tempted to satisfy Core requirements by taking what they perceive to be the safest courses. The pass/fail option would reduce the risk involved in taking a course that treads on unfamiliar ground.

The main objection to the option is that it would allow a student to fulfill a Core requirement with a minimal investment of time and effort, thereby subverting one of the Core's central goals. To meet this objection, one might ask instructors who offer the pass/fail option to students taking the course to meet a Core requirement to describe what a student must do to qualify for a grade of P. Each Core subcommittee (or the Committee itself) could set and enforce its own guidelines. Under this proposal, a grade of P in a Core course taken to fulfill a Core requirement would not mean "D- or better." It would mean whatever the instructor (and the Core Committee) deemed appropriate.

Would the pass/fail option still be attractive to students under these conditions? I think it would. At any rate, I think any proposal that has a reasonable chance of weakening the link between the pursuit of a liberal education and the pursuit of a high grade-point average deserves serious consideration. David Layzer   Professor of Astronomy