Question: From Avondale and Alexandria, two thoughtful readers want to know, “When and why did the school system adopt the grading scale A-B-C-D-F?” and “What happened to E?”

        Answer: From Dyer Hall at the University of Cincinnati comes a couple of highly educated theories.

        “One (theory), we think, is a good one; the other one is a little shaky,” admits Nancy Hamant, professor and director of field experiences in the university's teacher-education program.

        “E in the past has meant excellent. So, in an A-B-C system, if you had E (as the lowest of the low), conceivably, a parent could misunderstand it to mean excellent. If a student brought home all Es, they (parents) may think they're wonderful.”

        When, actually, they would be not so wonderful.

        The other supposition is that, if you're grading work numerically by 10s, (90-100, 80-90, etc.) and you insist that under 60 be considered failure and labeled F, “then there's no room for an E,” she says.

        The theories come from Ms. Hamant and a collection of colleagues with teaching careers that “go back a long way.”

        Still, “There is no research we can do that will pin down a definitive answer” to the questions, she says. “There is not any good way to determine how that happened.”

        Meanwhile, of course, administrators in many primary schools have dropped the letter-grading system in favor of descriptors, words and phrases that represent “a broader kind of evaluation.”

        High schools and universities typically use standard letter (A-B-C-D-F) or number (1-2-3-4-5) grades.
       

        If you have a question, send it to Ask a Stupid Question, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati OH 45202; fax: 768-8330; e-mail: mpulfer@enquirer.com

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