This autumn the Student Union for the Humanities and Theology (HTS) stopped the plans for a new grading system. But what do the students really think of it and which system is the most fair? These were some of the questions the Faculty did not raise, according to HTS vice president Angelica Kauntz.
“Why did you react so strongly against the new grading system, vice chairman Angelica Kauntz?”
“The students should not forced to accept a new grading scale which foundation has not been well laid-out.”
“Why did the faculties want to implement a new grading system?”
“The faculties thought that the students demanded a more differentiated grading scale but this claim have no foundation. The reason for developing a new system was to simplify transferring the grades outside national borders.”
“What were the deficiencies of the new grading system?”
“It had not been planned thoroughly. The different grades have no criteria; there is a fine line between every step, which makes marking more difficult and puts more pressure on the examiner. Furthermore, the assessment risks being more subjective. The aim was to make the grading system resemble international standards, but in reality, this failed since the new system was not in line with other countries’ grading systems. Even it is a grading scale with more steps, it does not correspond to the ECTS scale. In the U.S., the scale goes from A to F, where E in principle answers to the Swedish U, whereas in Sweden E is a pass. Conclusively, the new system rather misleads than simplifies.”
“How can you be sure which system is best for the students?”
“In reality, we can’t. However, this December we did a survey on how the students thought that the new grading scale would affect their studies and which system they preferred. Based upon that survey, we will analyse the answers in order to be able to continue in the right direction.”
“What did the students think about the new grading system?”
“The survey was answered by 549 out of around 4,000 full time students. Nearly half of the students prefer U to VG, 18 per cent U to G and 26 per cent prefer the new system, A to E + U, which already has been implemented at some international programmes within different faculties. Many thought that the new system would affect their studies in a negative way and felt an increasing amount of pressure concerning the grading. Many are satisfied with the present system and those in the interval U to G are generally the most satisfied.”
“Still, 26 percent of the students prefer the new system, a considerable number. What is your reaction to that?”
“It shows that there is in fact a demand for a change and that we have to go to the bottom with this question. These facts will be taken into account as we continue with the investigation.”
“Was HTS so unsure about the students’ opinion that you had to ask them?”
“Yes, that was the reason for us making the survey. Generally, what grading scale you want is an ideological question. Anyhow, today we are sure that the new system is not good for the students, seeing that there are no clear grading criteria. That is why we have tried to put a stop to establishing the new system, or otherwise it would have been introduced as early as next autumn.
“Perhaps it would have worked out really well?”
“I don’t know if that fast a change would be so good. At the Faculty of Social Sciences, they have implemented the new system rather quickly. I don’t know the consequences of that but they are looking at it now.”
“What grading system do you prefer?”
“I’m afraid the new system would make possible a more subjective grading, especially since there are more grading steps and no specific criteria on what you must fulfil to achieve the different grades. In my opinion, the most fair and simple assessment would be U to G.”
“How are you going to proceed with this?”
“The Board of Undergraduate Studies at the Faculties of Humanities and Theology, which I am a member of, will continue working on this issue, where the survey will be used as a template while analysing whether the new grading system is adequate or not. The students’ opinions are therefore not entirely decisive, but function rather as a public poll. In addition, we will make a survey for the teachers, in order to take their aspect into account as well.”
“Why is this particular question so important to you?”
“Receiving fair grades is of utter importance. That is one reason why we’re pushing for anonymous exams in order to prevent subjective assessment.”
“Is this the most important question of the year?”
“At the moment, yes. It arose this autumn, so we have worked a lot on the issue. At the same time, I think it walks hand in hand with the discussion about anonymous exams. Different times create different issues that receive a lot of attention, and right now, this question is the most important.
The question of whether there will be a new grading system or not will be continuously investigated and discussions will probably not have come to an end before summer.”
Text: Anna-Maria Holmgren
Translation: Anna Bergvall
