A national survey of grading systems used in medicine clerkships

To better understand the variety in U.S. medicine clerkship grading terminology, the number of grading levels, and the distribution of grades within each level, the authors surveyed medicine clerkship directors in the United States and Puerto Rico in 1986 and 1987. Completed questionnaires were returned from 101 of the 124 medical schools (81%). Descriptor grades were the most commonly used form of grading of medicine clerks, used in 68 of the 101 responding schools; letter grades were used by another 28 of the schools; and four schools used a numerical grading system. Although descriptor grades were most commonly used for grading medicine clerks, there was lack of consistency in their use between schools. The authors discuss the data related to letter grades and descriptor grades across this representative sample of U.S. medical schools.