Griswold Wants More High Grades, Failures

Dean Erwin N. Griswold suggested to the Faculty of Law this month that "grades may be more accurate overall" if more law students were given failing marks on examinations, and more received very high grades.

In a memorandum dated May 12, Griswold noted that "there is a very strong tendency to concentrate the great bulk of grades around the middle." He suggested that "the grades may be more accurate overall if this centripetal force is resisted, and if deliberate attention is given to the matter of having somewhat higher grades at the top, and somewhat lower grades at the bottom."

Griswold's remarks were part of a memorandum on grading blue books sent to the faculty on May 12. Members of the Law Faculty contacted yesterday said they considered the suggestions part of a normal review of grading policy. Griswold's remarks were suggestions and not binding on individual professors.

"Specifically," Griswold said, "I would like to suggest that if a blue book is really so bad that it is a failure, it should be given a falling mark, and should not be marked with a 55 or 56 on the chance that the man may have done better in other courses."

Fifty-five is the lowest passing grade at the Law School. A student is permitted to remain in the school despite falling one-and-a-half courses in a year, but he must maintain an overall average of 58, or 59 if he has failed one full course.

"Similarly," Griswold wrote, "we continue to have difficulty in producing an adequate number of high marks, particularly in the light of the caliber of those who are admitted here. Of course, we should not have 'inflation' in grading and I do not think that it is helpful to have a lot of fancy marks for their own sake.

Recognize Top Students

"Nevertheless, perhaps we should recognize more clearly than we have in the recent past that our top students are extraordinarily good, and that this should be reflected in the grades which are given on their papers." Grades of 75 and above are considered A's at the Law School.

Griswold suggested that the stiff competition for admission to the Law School had had its effects on grades. "In the current admissions situation, it is not surprising that we have relatively few failures."

But, he added, "Some students who are moving into our second and third years do seem to be very weak, and it might be desirable to push the bottom standard a little higher, and to encourage these doubtful cases to look elsewhere."