Though I am presently opposed to a plus/minus system, I have heard convincing arguments from its advocates. For example, most proponents of the system argue that it offers professors more leverage when deciding grades and that it will distinguish one student who earns an 81 from another who earns an 89. Both students receive three grade points under the current system.
This policy adds fairness to most grades, but not all of them. My principal concern involves the top of the grading scale. One might argue that most people fall within the middle range and that fewer people are at the top, which is true. But the system should be fair to everyone, at least in theory.The problem is that an A plus does not exist in the new plus/minus system. And because even earning a low A here is a noteworthy accomplishment, the prospect of a high A is unrealistic for many students.
In the new system, an A remains the most perfect grade and the most valuable. To avoid inflating the grades, professors may be inclined to give A minuses where they would have in the current system awarded A's. The A minus therefore would become the only realistic grade that most students could get, and an imbalance results because an A minus (the only attainable A) spans only three points, whereas the B, C or D range is ten points.
Something should be done to counterbalance the lower end of the system. Is offering an A plus really a bad thing? An A plus (which professors are highly unlikely to award anyway) worth 4.33 would expand the A range, making the plus/minus system simply a more fair version of the system that is effective now, which is our objective anyway.
If most classes at the university were easy A's, I would not think the new system unfair. But the reality is that few classes here are easy. In fact, none of my classes so far has been easy.
In an ideal world, we would need no grades at all, because self-motivation and self-evaluation would drive students to succeed. Since grades are necessary though, they should be as fair as possible. Perhaps a plus/minus system that includes a range at the top which is equal to the other grade ranges would be the most fair.
Faculty should reconsider their hasty decision and open up the issue for discussion and clarification. Maybe with more such discussion and thought, a compromise could be reached.