Legal Commentary

At the University of Arizona, the story goes, the venerable computer software used to maintain student records is incapable of recording anything other than a letter grade.  Accordingly, we have only A, B, C, D and F grades, no A+'s, or B-'s.  We may soon gain the technical ability to record plus/minus grades, and we have been discussing whether it is a good idea.  The pros of changing are that given our curve (25% A, 55% B, 20% C or lower), someone in the top third of the distribution and someone in the bottom third could receive the same grade.  This is (allegedly) a disadvantage to students seeking employment, and a disincentive to working hard because most students earn a B--no reason to burn the midnight oil to get a B+ because there are no B+'s.  The cons are said to be that plusses and minuses focus students on the wrong thing (grades instead of learning, and other forms of genuine merit), that the distinctions would imply a false precision about grades, and would be difficult to the faculty to assign accurately and fairly.

If your school went through this recently, what did you determine?  Is there a decisive case for either side that I have not raised?  Of course, it is much easier for the faculty to grade when particular attention has to be paid only to exams that are close to the A/B or B/C line, but if for some reason it would be better for the students, it would be worth doing.