In 1792, William Farish , a tutor at the University of Cambridge, introduced a radical idea: assigning numerical "marks" to student work. Farish was inspired by the manufacturing industry, where factories "graded" products—like shoes—to determine their quality and price.

For most of us, getting an “A” or a “B” feels as fundamental to school as desks and chalkboards. But the modern grading system isn't an ancient tradition; it’s a relatively recent invention born from the Industrial Revolution and a 19th-century desire for efficiency.

While various schools experimented with 100-point scales and percentages, the letter system we recognize today was pioneered by in 1897. Their original scale looked a little different than ours: A : 95–100% (Excellent) B : 85–94% (Good) C : 76–84% (Fair) D : 75% (Passed) E : Below 75% (Failed) Who was Horace Mann? - by Robert Talbert

So, how did we get from "pass/fail" oral exams to the letter grades we see today?

Grading System - History Of The

In 1792, William Farish , a tutor at the University of Cambridge, introduced a radical idea: assigning numerical "marks" to student work. Farish was inspired by the manufacturing industry, where factories "graded" products—like shoes—to determine their quality and price.

For most of us, getting an “A” or a “B” feels as fundamental to school as desks and chalkboards. But the modern grading system isn't an ancient tradition; it’s a relatively recent invention born from the Industrial Revolution and a 19th-century desire for efficiency. History of the Grading system

While various schools experimented with 100-point scales and percentages, the letter system we recognize today was pioneered by in 1897. Their original scale looked a little different than ours: A : 95–100% (Excellent) B : 85–94% (Good) C : 76–84% (Fair) D : 75% (Passed) E : Below 75% (Failed) Who was Horace Mann? - by Robert Talbert In 1792, William Farish , a tutor at

So, how did we get from "pass/fail" oral exams to the letter grades we see today? But the modern grading system isn't an ancient