By and large, school grades are provided on a scale composed of different letter values. The letters traditionally range from A to F, with A being exceptional, B being above average, C being average, D being below average (though sometimes still passing) and F being failing. On occasion, other letters may be added to indicate other circumstances, such as I for incomplete. These letter grades usually correspond to numerical percentages, such as:
A = 90 to 100
B = 80 to 89
C = 70 to 79
D = 60 to 69
F = 59 or below
Letter grades are used as the fundamental criteria for evaluating a student's grade point average (GPA). All classes taken represent a number of credit-hours attempted, which is usually three. Each letter grade represents a value to be multiplied by the number of attempted hours. For example, an A is awarded a value of 4.0; the 4.0 is multiplied by 3 attempted hours, giving the student 12 points for that class. A grade of B may be worth 3.0 points, a C worth 2.0 points, a D worth 1.0 points and a F worth 0. The number of points awarded the student is divided by the total number of hours attempted giving a GPA between 4.0 (the highest) and 0. A decent GPA is often an important criteria for getting into college.
To gain facts or statistics about your local or state area, the best place to view the material is by visiting the website of your state's department of education. Each state may have a slightly different way of evaluating the results. For example, Florida offers fact sheets on grades as they reflect a particular district or all of them collectively. You may also be able to filter out the type of school or grade level you want to examine, such as high school, charter schools or K-8. In some cases, the state will match the scores against those of previous years, academic expectations or national averages.
To gauge how students in the United States perform in contrast to those abroad, international test scores or grade results are compared. This is especially true with regard to fields like math and the sciences. In 2009, results from the 2007 Trends in International Math and Science Studies (TIMSS) were published for general viewing. While the report does not elaborate on which countries were involved or how each one places, it does claim that U.S. students out-performed 23 out of 35 nations, fell behind eight of them and met the remaining four on a similar level.