[xionon]

It isn’t a zero sum game. It’s possible for all students to get As and for that to still be a meaningful measurement of skill.

Grades don’t show your ability relative to others, they show your mastery of a set of knowledge and skills. You mastering something doesn’t prevent your neighbor from also mastering it.

[c-linkage]

It looks like grades may be different depending on when you were born.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_the_United...

In my day, Rank-Based grading was the system, but not just among the students in a specific class -- it was based on historical numbers. The same course was taught for many years so it was easy to get that longitudinal view.

Especially in secondary and high school, a 'C' meant you were average for the students who took the class. The tests had questions of differing levels of difficulty. If you couldn't answer the difficult questions, you clearly didn't "master" the material and therefore couldn't get an 'A'.

People with average ability would be expected to get an average on the test, so a 'C' would still mean you learned the material adequately and could move on to the next class / grade.