Grades are meant to provide students feedback on their understanding and mastery of course material, but they often fail to serve this purpose. In reality, grades are used by universities to rate instructors' performance, as an outlet for instructors' frustration, and to artificially boost student performance and university prestige. They do not accurately reflect students' learning abilities or rhythms.

1. The Problem with Grades…
How you are graded.
The reality behind the shiny façade…

2. Ideally, what are grades for?
 Grades are meant for you to know where you stand at a
certain time. They are not the ultimate truth about your
capacities. They are just an indication for you, a signpost, so
that you know if you have studied enough or not, if you have
mastered a skill or not.
 Grades are also meant for the teachers to tell if you have
understood and mastered the material, and if there is
something they need to address in class.
 There should be no drama about bad grades, nor should there
be excessive happiness about good grades. Grades are what
they are.
 You are not given a grade, you earn a grade!

3. The Reality…
 Grades are used by university administration to classify your
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instructors into more or less comfortable employees.
Good grades = good employees, bad grades = bad employees.
Grades are a way for instructors to deal with their frustration.
Grades are inflated (artificially increased, you are being helped up)
for various purposes among which university prestige and,
therefore, higher numbers of applying students = more clients!
Grades are used to select a bunch of brainless memorizers as
honour students. They will be set as examples for everyone to
follow.
Grades are used to determine how much time you spend at
university and how much money will be taken from you. They are
not used to take into account your rhythm of learning.

4. Some links…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/20/whygrade-inflation-even-at-harvard-is-a-big-problem/?tid=pm_local_pop
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/12/05/harvard_grade_inflation
_the_real_problem_is_admissions.html
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economicintelligence/2013/12/26/why-college-grade-inflation-is-a-real-problem-andhow-to-fix-it
http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/curriculum-instruction/how-gradeinflation-hurts-students/
https://www.college.upenn.edu/about-grades
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_inflation