Kerux: a portfolio of Calvin Theological Seminary - Volume 44.3 - 14 Dec 2009

Pass-Fail Grades and the CTS Community

by Braden Kok

After sitting through a semester of seminary, I feel seminary should be graded on a pass-fail system with exception to those who need grades to continue on with their academic studies. I am not writing this article because I am looking to slack off in school, instead I personally believe that going to a pass-fail system would actually promote a better education.

This view is confirmed by looking at schools like Yale, which has had a pass-fail system for the law school since 1960. Stanford followed Yale’s example and this academic year Harvard has made the switch to pass-fail. Harvard stated that the reason for their switch was to “promote pedagogical excellence and innovation and further strengthen the intellectual community” (The Harvard Crimson). We can see that several major schools have made the switch to promote an environment that will further a better education.

I also asked students what their thoughts were about a pass-fail system and got a wide variety of response. Those who were against a pass-fail system had a couple of common themes among their responses. They brought up the point about going on for more school and needing a grade to do so. I agree with them as I stated earlier. The other common theme was that they needed a grade to fulfill an inner desire they have for being told they are doing a good job. I understand people like to be rewarded for their work, but at the same time I would hope that by this point they are not learning only to get good grades. One person responded that grades do not matter as much to him, but he is learning because he wants to be properly equipped for when he goes into ministry, not to have an ‘A’ on his fridge. This person went on to say there would be less stress if it was pass-fail. He would not feel the need to have to maintain a certain GPA in order to keep a scholarship, but instead he could focus on learning the material and how it applies to his future ministry.

Another person brought up how there already are differing views among professors. The student felt he can put in 30 minutes of work on a paper and then spend 5 hours on another paper and get the same grade from the same professor. Then he pointed out that some professors remind us that in the grand scheme of things, grades do not matter. A church is not going to hire someone over another because they are better at parsing Hebrew verbs. The student then asked if one person more qualified for ministry if they receive an ‘A’ instead of someone who receives a ‘C’.

An argument I found interesting was that we should make the switch to pass-fail because there is a difference between studying to get an ‘A’ and studying to know the material. The student mentioned the dilemma she faces: is it more important to get the good grade to maintain the scholarship or should she learn the material in way that will be beneficial to them and their ministry?

I understand some people will say that a lettered system is our best way of measuring the education of students. I feel this is a system that is coming to pass, and more people are looking at other systems like pass-fail, which have promoted better academic success.

Some say that students would become lazy and less willing to do their studies, thus just coasting through seminary. To them I would say when we leave this place we are not going to have a grading scale that is going to hold us accountable in ministry. Someday, if we are not doing our job properly we will be let go. So I would hope the people who are in seminary today are motivated to learn not by grades, but by the desire to become more equipped to serve God in his kingdom.