Grade E predates the modern A-through-F US grading scale. E was the original failing letter on the 1887 Mount Holyoke College grading scale. It was dropped from the national standard in the early 20th century to prevent confusion with the word Excellent. Most US schools today skip E entirely and run the failing tier as F. A small number of schools still use E for incomplete or exempt status rather than failing.
The 1887 Mount Holyoke Origin and Why E Was Dropped
Mount Holyoke College introduced the first standardized US letter-grade system in 1887, running A, B, C, D, and E with E as the failing tier. The system spread to other US institutions over the next two decades. By the 1920s, however, faculty across multiple universities reported that students were misreading E as standing for Excellent rather than the failing mark it was intended to be. The letter F was adopted as the new failing tier because F clearly stands for Fail with no ambiguity, and most US schools have used the A-through-F sequence (skipping E entirely) ever since.
A small number of US institutions still use E in modern grading, typically not as a failing letter but for incomplete coursework, exempt status, or as a placeholder pending a final grade. If you see E on a transcript today, the registrar's grading policy explains the institution-specific meaning; do not assume it represents either Excellent or a fail without checking.
Browse All Letter Grades on the US Scale
The US grading scale has 13 standard letters from A+ to F, plus two special variants (E historical, F- atypical). Use the chips below to jump to any letter's reference page, or see the full grading scale for all letters in one comparison table.
- Grade A+
- Grade A
- Grade A-
- Grade B+
- Grade B
- Grade B-
- Grade C+
- Grade C
- Grade C-
- Grade D+
- Grade D
- Grade D-
- Grade F
- Grade E
- Grade F-
Last verified: 2026-05-09. Sources: AACRAO transcript standards, NCES grade-distribution data, and the Mount Holyoke College historical record of the 1887 letter-grade adoption. Always verify the specific cutoff and GPA value with your school's registrar; institutional grading policies vary.