Apes-USA

Congratulations! You have, right in front of you, a treasure. From within these pages
you will be able to pick up a good collection of reformist ideas and concepts, endowed with
the potential to bring about an epoch making impact on all kinds of assessments or evaluations
in general, and in the academic performance evaluation of students, in particular.
Once it so happened that Prasad was moved by a real life encounter with one of his long
time friends who shared with him her sour experience as a student in a premiere educational
institution. It seems that when she inquired with the professor who gave her a 'B' grade in a
course in which she expected an 'A' grade, she was called to a side and explained that it was
indeed a very high 'B', and that after all the difference between a low 'A' and a high 'B' is only
marginal! However, that marginal difference had resulted in her missing an admission into
an elite graduate program, which was her cherished dream unrealized.
Prasad was ruminating on that episode during one of his casual walks on the sandy beach
side off the Institute campus, on a beautiful Thursday evening of the Eighth of August Two
Thousand Two; when he was 'visited' by the slippery idea of 'SQUIDS' fl owing over the tidal
waves from the salty waters of the sea swashing on and off the sandy beach front. Yes, that is
it! 'SQUIDS' (singular) has indeed come as a unique blessing in disguise.
Here, 'SQUIDS' stands for 'Scale Quantum Unit Interval Domain Size' that is the most
fundamental basis for the design of a measurement scale. 'SQUIDS' defines the scale precision.
'SQUIDS' is the key concept used in resolving the mystery behind the unacceptably chaotic
behavior of the Letter Grading System, and also in developing an alternative system design
as well. The proposed design for a novel "Students Academic Performance Evaluation System"
has a tremendous potential to usher in a conceptual paradigm shift in all kinds of assessments
or evaluations.
The mathematical fallacy that is mysteriously implied in the design of the letter grading system has
been well brought out and resolved here.
Although the problem has been well analyzed and even a solution has been proposed herein,
there remains a substantial amount of work remaining! The next stage is the task of convincing
(and/or getting convinced by) the concerned stake-holders in academia, that can then
facilitate a smooth implementation of this novel proposal. You are urged to take a pro-active
leadership role in the entire exercise, to bring about the needed changes.