Two states are considering bills that would require medical schools to use A-F grading systems instead of pass-fail.
Indiana and Texas are considering SB 289 and HB 5294, respectively, both of which would eliminate pass/fail grading for medical schools and all allied health education programs, including nursing and dentistry.
Currently, about 12 out of 155 medical schools in the nation use traditional A-F grading systems. A 2009 study found that using a pass-fail system in the first two years of medical school improves psychological well-being for students and has no decline in academic performance, residency placement or standardized test scores. A 2023 study also found that students at schools with a pass-fail system did not have statistically different performance scores compared to those at schools with traditional grades.
A Texas state senator called the pass-fail system a “quiet but consequential erosion of standards,” however, many object to the change.
The Texas American Federation of Teachers opposes the change, calling it counterproductive to medical student mental health.
Medical students are also speaking out against the switch.
“Pass-fail grading does not reduce rigor but fosters deeper understanding and collaboration while reducing unnecessary stress,” Maya Votapek and Carl Russell, medical students at Indianapolis-based Indiana University School of Medicine, wrote in an opinion piece published March 5 in Indiana Capital Chronicle. “Traditional grading systems pit students against each other and dampen collaboration with fears of seeming less capable.”
