Grades in the UK and US: what’s the difference?

One of the first things I noticed as I began my studies in September was the difference in grading systems between the US and UK. When asked by another student about my ‘GPA’ (grade point average), the best response I could offer was my average percentage of 71 that I had achieved over the past two years at UCL. ‘71?’ they asked, ‘you must be really struggling!’ I was quickly informed that 70% equates to a C- in the US higher education system, the minimum score required to pass a class at UCLA.

Having completed my first quarter of classes abroad, I have now become more acquainted with the American grading system and how it translates to the UK’s. As the table below illustrates, it is a fairly simple conversion (Fulbright Commission n/d). In each case grade classifications are separated by 10%. With both systems offering five classifications, the highest grade is therefore separated from a fail by 31%.

UK Classification	UK %	US Grade	US %	GPA
First-class	70+	A	90+	4.0 (A+ = 4.00; A- = 3.67)
Upper second-class	60-69	B	80-89	3.0 (B+ = 3.33; B- = 2.67)
Lower second-class	50-59	C	70-79	2.0 (C+ = 2.33; C- = 1.67)
Third class	40-49	D	60-69	1.0 (D+ = 1.33; D- = 0.67)
Fail	0-39	F	0-59	0.0

UK versus US grade classifications (Fulbright Commission n/d)

The only difference between the two models is the absolute percentage values of each grade range. However this carries particular significance when considering the highest grades offered by each system. In the US an A-grade (90% or above) informs a student that they are at most 10% below an entirely perfect piece of work. By contrast, in the UK a first-class (70% or above) could be as much as 30% below this level.

I first realised the significance of this when I was awarded 98% for a reflective coursework essay written for my UCLA FTV106 class. While I was pleased with this mark and proud of my work, I could not help feeling that this paper was nowhere near 2% below a perfect argument of my thesis. Rather I am sure that had I spent more time and care on the essay it could have been a far better piece. Contrasting with this, my highest mark achieved at UCL to date has been 77%. This somehow felt like a much greater achievement and I am still unsure what I could have done to improve by 23%.

In an attempt to find out what separates these two marks from 100% I have looked at the marking criteria offered by both universities. UCLA’s (n/d) measures are very concise. Students are offered an A-grade (90-99%) for work of ‘superior’ quality, while an A+ (100%) is reserved for work of ‘extraordinary’ quality. UCL’s (n/d a) grade descriptions are a little more comprehensive:

First-class (70-79%): Shows a deep understanding of the question, and is very well organised and expressed. Evidence of very good analytical skills, critical thinking and appropriate reading. Very good grasp of concepts. Comprehensive use of relevant examples. 

First-class excellent (80-89%): Surpasses the standards associated with the 70-79% level. The work displays a deep, critical understanding of the question, with excellent level of organisation and expression. Evidence of excellent analytical skills, critical thinking and appropriate reading. Excellent grasp of concepts. Extensive and critical use of relevant examples. 

First-class outstanding (90-100%): Exceptional thoroughness and clarity. Exceptional insight or originality in the use of evidence. Outstanding critical ability based on extensive reading. Clear ability to formulate responses to questions in novel and relevant ways.

Clearly, the two grading systems value 100% very differently. It seems that in the US 0-100% is a measure of what is expected of students, thus full marks are perfectly attainable. At British universities 0-100% appears to be a measure of what is expected in the academic community. This is suggested by UCL’s usage of words such as ‘originality’, ‘critical’ and ‘novel’, implying that an outstanding first-class should be awarded to an article of journal standard. Indeed many university departments state that work receiving above 85% is publishable (see Nottingham University 2011; UCL n/d b). Thus students in the UK mostly receive marks in the 60s range, rarely reaching above the high-70s. I believe the impact this has on the psyche of British students is quite significant. A score of 70% informs us we do not need to do any better, but that we can do almost 1.5 times better. For those students not only driven by grades but also by doing the very best possible, this extra 30% is an enormous incentive to improve the quality of their work. This perhaps helps lay a clearer path towards a career in academia amongst UK graduates than it does in the US.

It is important to note that this blog is written from the perspective of a liberal arts student and that this article refers to the marking of essays rather than short answer questions such as those found in the sciences.

References

Fulbright Commission (n/d) ‘Marks’ (WWW), London: Fulbright Commission (http://www.fulbright.org.uk/pre-departure/academics/marks; 5 January 2016).

Nottingham University (2011) ‘Writing essays’ (WWW), Nottingham: Nottingham University (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/philosophy/documents/ug/essay-guidelines.pdf; 6 January 2016).

UCL (n/d a) ‘Grade Descriptors and Marking Criteria’ (WWW), London: UCL (http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/undergraduate/grade-descriptors; 5 January 2016).

UCL (n/d b) History Department Undergraduate Marking Criteria’ (WWW), London: UCL (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/history/undergraduate/current-undergraduates/marking-criteria; 6 January 2016).

UCLA (n/d) ‘UCLA General Catalogue: Grades’ (WWW), Los Angeles: UCLA (http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/archive/catalog/2005-07/catalog/catalog05-07acadpol-2.htm; 5 January 2016).

Geography 141 - Not letting go of the 'third world'

A key reason I was interested in taking this class (Geography 141 - Uneven Development Geographies: Prosperity and Impoverishment in Third World) was to explore the differences in how Geography and development are taught differently at my home an host institutions.

Without having even started the class an immediate difference has already caught my attention: the use of the term ‘third world’ in the class’ title. At UCL students are taught not to use the term as it inaccurately portrays parts of the world as a standard for which ‘development’ should be measured against. However ‘third world’ is casually thrown around throughout the Geography 141 syllabus. This is hardly surprising considering the US was an early ‘exemplar’ for development, with President Truman’s 1949 inaugural address spurring the rhetoric that the ‘first world’ was dutifully bound to develop the ‘third’ (Donovan 1982).

With the Cold War over, terms used to describe ‘first world’ allies, ‘second world’ enemies and ‘third world’ non-aligned countries to the US should have been made obsolete (Gaddis 1998). In fact even their successors, ‘developed’ and ‘un-’ or ‘underdeveloped’, have been hugely criticised by post-development theorists. Such thinkers argue that these terms are equally problematic for merely reinforcing Western and Northern hegemonies, therefore allowing such countries to create development discourses (Sachs, 1998).

Mapping of the 'three worlds' during the Cold War 

It will be interesting throughout this class to see if the term is challenged, or whether universities in the US choose to hold on to Cold War imaginaries and terms which maintain the nation's status as a global superpower in the field of development.

References

Donovan, R. (1982) Tumultuous years: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, New York: Norton.

Gaddis, J. (1998) We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History, Oxford: Oxford University.

Sachs, W. (1998) The Development Dictionary, London: Zed Books.

Winter Quarter Classes

With the mercury gently dropping below 14°C here in Southern California, we enter the winter quarter. As outlined in an earlier post, my rationale for choosing classes while abroad is to explore new fields that I hope will add further breadth and depth to my Geography degree. My choices for the second term are as follows:

Geography 141 - Uneven Development Geographies: Prosperity and Impoverishment in Third World
The purpose of this class is to explore how and why development initiatives across the world have resulted in such a wide variety of outcomes. While I have previously studied development at UCL (GEOG2014), this focussed more on explaining different forms of development, the actors involved and the main theories opposing it. These theories included post-colonialism, post-development, and even critiques of post-development (Escobar 1995; Kothari 2005; Matthews 2004). UCLA’s Geography 141 class focusses more on how livelihoods have been affected by development. I am not only interested in this class for the opportunity to study development from a different perspective. It will also be a great chance to further explore how a topic, and by proxy Geography, is taught differently at my home and host institutions.

Assessment: 10% attendance and participation, 30% mid-term exam, 30% research paper, 30% final exam.

History M155 - History of Los Angeles
As a geographer, Los Angeles is not only a fantastic place to study geography, but also an extraordinarily interesting place to study the geography of. Considered to be the ‘archetypal postmodern city’, urban geography takes a particular interest in Los Angeles (Sardar 1998: 149). History M155 is an excellent opportunity to study how the city came to hold such a glorious moniker. The class examines how forces such as race, culture, gender, class and sexuality came to shape Los Angeles’ history dating back to the colonisation of California by the Spanish in the 1540s.

Assessment: 33.3% mid-term exam, 33.3% paper, 33.3% final exam.

Earth, Planetary, And Space Sciences 9 - Solar System and Planets
Again following Bonnett's (2008) definition of Geography being routed in exploration both in the traditional and non-traditional sense, I have chosen to take a class that looks beyond Earth and at its surroundings. While not directly connected to the human or physical geographies that I have studied in the past, this class will provide a helpful insight into the environment (or lack there of) that Earth occupies. With an exploration of our solar system, galaxy and universe, the scale of Earth and its geographies can be fully put into context.

Assessment: 10% project, 30% labs, 20% in-class exams, 40% final exam.

References

Bonnett, A. (2008) What is Geography?, Los Angeles: Sage.

Escobar, A. (1995) Encountering Development, Princeton: Princeton University.

Kothari, U. ( 2005) ‘From Colonial Administration to Development Studies: a Post-colonial Critique of the History of Development Studies’, in Kothari (ed.) A Radical History of Development Studies, London: Zed Books, 47-66.

Matthews, S. (2004) ‘Post-development theory and the question of alternatives: a view from Africa’, Third World Quarterly, 25, 2, 373-384.

Sardar, Z. (1998) Postmodernism and the Other, London: Pluto Press.