Grading System
Rick Retro’s Realm, Behind the Scenes #2: Adding arrows to letter grades and passing out points which may portend placement in a Rick Retro Hall of Fame.
Rick Retro’s Realm, Behind the Scenes #2: Adding arrows to letter grades and passing out points which may portend placement in a Rick Retro Hall of Fame.
(Note: This post to the text group was obsoleted and replaced by a Reference Rundown, which you can find here.)
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Here’s what you need to know about how my grading system works:
I give out letter grades like school teachers: From A to F, with a plus or minus possible for every grade except F.
Unlike school, I don't consider D-minuses to be a passing grade. I view a D-minus and F both to be dismal failures of approximately equal lack of value. But when I give an F, there was something I found Funny. Just something that tickled me in a so-bad-I’m-almost-entertained way that deserves special recognition. You’ll want to stay far, far away from anything I grade D-minus, but a few of you might get a kick from checking out a grade-F disaster every now and then.
When I grade, I grade the smallest units that can easily be divided up. So I’ll give just one grade to most standard theatrical films, while I will grade each chapter of a book, each episode of a TV series or each song on an album. The grades are given grade points as follows:
A+ 20.0
A 12.0
A- 8.0
B+ 5.0
B 1.0
B- 0.2
C+ 0.1
C 0.0
C- -0.2
D+ -2.0
D -5.0
D- and F -10.0
I assign weight, for example, to chapters or episodes of widely different lengths and then instead of one letter grade for a book or TV series, I calculate a GPA that will be from -10.00 to 20.00.
In addition, I assign Hall of Fame points whenever something is graded A-minus or better.
These are also weighted by length and media type, but in general an A-minus is worth 1 point per unit, an A is worth 2 and an A+ is worth 6. I do also remove 1 point per unit for a D+, 2 for a D and 6 for a D- or F. Because I can. 😁
Think of the GPA like a baseball player’s batting average that will give you the overall reliability of the quality of a TV show, in contrast to the HOF score which is more like a ballplayer’s home run total. The HOF score shows longevity and kind of counts the great moments along the way.
I’ve been using this system for a long time and it works well for me. As a special gift to you, I’m now adding a new feature. After a letter grade look for a little arrow “^”, “>”, or “v”. The “^” means it’s roughly in the top third of the grade level. I might have considered grading it higher and could improve the grade in the future. The “v” means it was in the bottom third and could be revised downward. The “>” is in the middle third of the grade level and is a fairly solid grade that likely won’t change on further viewings. The arrows are to help me going forward compare items I graded the same, but many years apart. I share them with you because transparency and insight in just one measly character provides great value! They don’t affect the GPA or HOF scoring previously described at all. In the rare case a grade is followed by a “?”, it means I have no clue how to grade this!
Thanks for your support.
Keep the comments coming!
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