Bustles

Are grades not given at Brown? I've heard this floating around a few places and am just wondering if there's any validity there... And if there isn't any, what makes Brown's grading special or different, because I'm certain that that's a common sentiment.

wolfmanjack

This seems to float around a lot. We have grades, but you can take any class Pass/Fail.

JustinTime

I have a similar question: What grade do you receive for a number score such as a 65? I've seen that there's only A/B/C/NC, so what becomes of the grades that would be Ds (not that I'm hoping to get Ds in my classes, but you never know)?

dcircle

a 65 in a class like organic chemistry can be an A (there is very steep curve in this class). in other classes it can be a C or an NC. it depends on the subject and the class curve

Sungchul

I think D's are just dropped. Erased from your transcript. Like it never happened.

modestmelody

There's just no such thing as D. A grade that "would be a D" is an NC. It's not really that hard to think about though-- professors usually don't fail students unless you're a statistical outlier in my experience, though some classes that's far more tightly controlled by a grade cutoff. Above that mark you get a C, above some other mark you get a B, above some other mark you get an A. It's pretty straightforward. Those marks, and how they're determined is solely to the discretion of the professor.

All NCs do not appear on external transcripts but do appear on internal ones.

coughdrop

no d's? grades lower than c's don't appear on transcripts? brown is such a joke!

wolfmanjack

You just don't understand.

dcircle

employers and graduate schools seem to think grades at brown are a pretty robust indicator of performance. in the realworld, no one distinguishes between an ivy league c and an ivy league d. either way, you are performing below average.

an "a" is above average and a "b" is average. just like in the real world, the main damages of failure accrue to you--you lose thousands of dollars and months of time.

every grad school and employer i've encountered understands this

modestmelody

Coughdrop-- all that means at Brown is that we only have one measure for below average. We don't delineate between below average and super below average. If your well below average you fail. That's that. If you're below average, you get a C. Typical grade distribution in a science class would be 1SD above mean is the A cutoff, 1SD below the mean is a C cutoff. Sometimes the A is a little lower and the C is a little lower, (A closer to the mean, C further from the mean). Anything that's far off the 1SD mark is just a fail.

We also don't have +/-'s. It just changes how much differentiation there is, it doesn't change the challenge of the course. Luckily I think that Brown realizes that further differentiation of grades leads to increased, meaningless competition and often dilutes the meaning since the difference between an A- or A or B+ is often trivial when there is so much differentiation used.

icebox4

ah, the obligatory occasional flame post.

Bustles

I see. Thanks!

i_wanna_be_Brown

at least no one has mentioned they heard we don't have tests, I heard a kid from Holy Cross on a flight to Providence telling his neighbor about how Brown doesnt have grades or tests, I obviously butted into the convo to correct them.