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Haverford College historical student grade books
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Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
These grade books span from the inception of the College until the mid twentieth century. The College was founded as Haverford School in 1833 and in its first few decades served boys in early adolescence. Over time, the School admitted older students with more education and transitioned to an academic program that was more suitable for a college. In 1856 the Board of Managers petitioned the Pennsylvania Legislature for a charter to grant degrees, which was prompty given. As Haverford College, the institution remodeled the course of study and created new rules for admission and graduation.
This collection includes twenty-three historical student grade books and registers from Haverford School and Haverford College dating from 1833 to 1948. Some of the books pertain to a particular class year (e.g., Class of 1845) but most include the grades of all students at the College within a particular time frame. The grade books list a wide variety of courses and show how the curriculum changed over the course of the nineteenth and twentienth centuries.
Processed by Elizabeth Jones-Minsinger, Maia Schwallie, and Rachel McQueen; completed, April 2024.
- Publisher
- Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
- Finding Aid Author
- Elizabeth Jones-Minsinger, Maia Schwallie, and Rachel McQueen
- Finding Aid Date
- January, 2024
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Collection Inventory
This grade book was used to document the marks of students who attended Haverford from 1833-1837. The begininning section of the book includes a list of students ordered alphabetically by last name. Each name is followed by a number, perhaps the rank of that student within their class. The next section of the book includes the marks of the Class of 1837 over their years at Haverford. For the first few years, each student has their own page of marks. For 1836 and 1837, however, dozens of students and their grades fill each page. Students received marks for various subjects, such as Mathematics, Scripture, Latin, Geography, Moral Philosophy, and History.
Physical Description0.1 linear ft.1 volume
This grade book was used to document the marks of students who attended Haverford from 1833-1855. Most marks were recorded monthly while a few were recorded by subject. This grade book also includes three dried leaves and a stack of paper slips. These slips of paper document money contributed by students for various needs, such as a new cricket ball. There are also slips of paper denoting money spent on groceries at Herris Heyl & Co., Wholesale Grocers.
Physical Description0.15 linear ft.1 volume
This class register contains the names and marks of students taking classes in the Moral Philosophy department from 1839-1842. The book includes grades for class sessions and exams. The Philosophy department was one of the first academic departments at Haverford College.
Physical Description0.125 linear ft.1 volume
This class register contains the names and marks of students taking classes in the Mathematics and Natural Philosophy department from 1839-1842. The book includes grades for each class session and class averages every four weeks.
Physical Description0.125 linear ft.1 volume
This grade book includes the names and grades of students taking mathematics courses at Haverford between 1839 and 1844. The students are listed by class year and each set of facing pages includes the grades of one class year over a period of four weeks. Mathematical subjects taught include differential calculus, algebra, astronomy, surveying, dynamics, optics, geometry, arithmetic, natural philosophy, and trigonometry. At the end of each academic year, the book records grades on public examinations.
Physical Description0.1 linear ft.1 volume
This register contains students that were a part of the Math Department of the Haverford School, now Haverford College, between the years of 1839 to 1843. It contains the names, home addresses, and the locations of the schools that the student attended prior to their admission to Haverford. The register also identifies whether the students had "entered previously," likely referencing that they had been to the school before in some capacity prior to having their name written down in the register. Lastly, the register records if the student, at the time of editing, had died (marked as "dec'd," short for "deceased"). These entries were likely made some time after this register was finalized, possibly when the Alumni Association was preparing was preparing this register for its catalog of students in the early twentieth century.
Physical Description0.96 linear ft.1 volume
This gradebook was used to record the marks of students who attended The College in the 1840s. Students were graded on both academic work and conduct. Each page contains the marks of one student. Many pages include the student's birthday and graduation year. The grades are divided by the subjects Languages, Mathematics, Literature, and Scripture. Some pages also include marks for conduct and Greek Testaments.
Physical Description0.083 linear ft.1 volume
This grade book contains marks of the 39 students in the Class of 1845. The book is written in ink and pencil, though many of the pencil markings have faded. The students received a grade from 1 through 10 each week of class, and their final grade is an average of these grades. The grades are documented in grids, where each column is a week in class and each row a student. The student's grades for that week are documented in the grids. The final pages include dates in 1845 from late May through September.
Physical Description0.0625 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1856 to 1864. The volume is organized by student name with all of the student's grades in various subjects for a single semester grouped together. Students completed coursework in mathematics, classical languages, and English literature. In addition to academic subjects, students were also graded on the character of their conduct. An inscription on the inside cover of the volume reads "Record of Recitations and Conduct of the Students in Haverford College commenced 1856-7 Winter Term -- 1864-5." The meanings of abbreviations used throughout the book are explained on one of the final pages of the volume. Several pieces of financial ephemera have been laid into the front of the volume.
Physical Description0.15 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1865-1875. The volume is organized by student name with all of the student's grades in various subjects for an entire academic year grouped together on a single page. The book features printed text on the side of each page dividing courses into the categories of Classics, Mathematics, English, Organic Science, and Scripture. There is also a category for deductions. The student's average grade for the year can be found in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
Physical Description0.167 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1875-1884. The volume is organized by student name with all of the student's grades in various subjects for an entire academic year grouped together on a single page. The book features printed text on the side of each page dividing courses into the categories of Classics, Mathematics, English, Science, and Scripture. There is also a category for deductions. In some instances, the student's average grade for the year can be found in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
Physical Description0.167 linear ft.1 volume
This grade book includes the names and grades of students that attended Haverford College from 1878-1883. The names are separated by year and class. There are sections for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The book also includes a list of materials in Barclay Hall, such as towels, sheets, and blankets, and their condition and quantity. The back of the book includes details of damages done to rooms and the potential cost to fix these damages.
Physical Description0.0625 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1884-1890. The volume is organized by student name with all of the student's grades in various subjects for the entire academic year grouped together on a single page. The book features printed text on the side of each page dividing courses into the categories of Languages, Mathematics, English, Science, and Scripture. There is also a category for demerits. The bottom of each page provides a space for the student's recitation average for the year, examination average for the year, and combined average for the year, although in most cases only the recitation average is noted. The back cover of the volume is detached.
Physical Description0.188 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1885-1893. At the start of the volume, the students are listed by class year and each set of facing pages includes the grades for all of the courses they took that year along with their examination average, recitation average, and combined average. Later in the volume, student grades for only one semester are noted on each set of facing pages. Most of the courses are listed by subjects, such as anatomy and history, but some are listed by the author of the primary text book used, such as Paley. The front and back covers of the volume are detached.
Physical Description0.0625 linear ft.1 volume
This volume catalogs the grades from each class year for both semesters from 1893 to 1901. Each academic year starts with the seniors' grades and ends with the freshmen's. The grades are divided up by course, giving a number grade on a 100-point scale. The total grade for each class is averaged together for the semester, and then the total grade for the year averages the two final grades for each semester.
Physical Description1 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1890-1894. The volume is organized by student name with all of the student's grades in various subjects for the entire academic year grouped together on one half of a page. The book features printed text on the side of each page listing courses such as Hebrew, Rhetoric, Moral Science, Astronomy, and Engineering. There is also a category for demerits. The bottom of each page provides a space for the student's recitation average for the year, examination average for the year, and combined average for the year, although in many cases these are not filled in.
Physical Description0.1 linear ft.1 volume
This volume contains Haverford student grades from 1894 to 1898. Each academic year starts with the seniors' grades and ends with the freshmen's. eEach page features the grades of two students, with each academic course listed, the amount of credits the class is worth, and the student's grade for it. This volume also divides grades up by quarter instead of semester and makes note of the students' number of unexcused absences. In addition, starting at the 1897-1898 academic year, the letter grade for each quarter is listed along with the numerical grade. An interesting note, a letter grade "E" was used at the time in the place of a grade that would traditionally be considered an "F" nowadays.
Physical Description0.98 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1898-1902. The volume is organized by student name with all of the student's grades in various subjects for the entire academic year grouped together on one half of a page. The book features printed text on the side of each page listing courses such as Greek, Scripture, Astronomy, Geology, and Engineering. There is also a space to record absences. The student's average grades for each quarter are recorded at the bottom of the page. There are several pieces of paper with information on methods for recording grades laid between the pages of this volume.
Physical Description0.167 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1903 to 1909. The volume is organized by student name, not class year or academic year, and the grades for each semester they were at Haverford are listed. This volume also includes graduate student grades.
Physical Description1.35 linear ft.1 volume
This volume is a Haverford College student grade book for the years 1910-1914. The front cover lists every student included in the grade book as well as their graduation years, specifying if they were a graduate student. If a Haverford undergraduate went on to be a Haverford graduate student, they received a separate entry for their graduate studies' grades. The book is organized by student alphabetically and class year numerically. The volume includes spaces for each student's entrance exam, midterm exam, and final exam grades. A student's a final grade for each quarter as well as their total number of unexcused absences is noted at the bottom of each page.
Physical Description1.375 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the names and grades of students attending Haverford College from 1902-1903. The volume is organized by student name with all of the student's grades in various subjects listed by quarter. The student's average grade per quarter is calculated and recorded. The book only includes members of the Class of 1905.
Physical Description0.1 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes a summary of Haverford College student grades from 1902 to 1905. The grade book is organized alphabetically by student name. Each page includes the grades of 10 students, and gives the grades, in order, from their entrance exams, their freshmen year, sophomore year, junior year, and senior year. The grades for each year are sub-divided into class subject and semester.
Physical Description1.33 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes the grades for the Haverford College classes of 1915 to 1920. It includes a typed list of all students with their class year on the inside of the front cover. Each page has one student's grades for one or two academic years (page split in half with space for one academic year on either side of the divide). There are occasionally notes at the bottom of the page with the student's date of graduation and degree (B.A. or B.S.). The volume also includes records for graduate students.
Physical Description1.42 linear ft.1 volume
This volume conains for students in the Class of 1921 through the Class of 1925. Each page has one student's grades for one or two academic years (page split in half with space for one academic year on either side of the divide). The book lists graduate students first for each class year and often notes where they received their undergraduate degree. Undergraduate students usually have two consecutive pages that capture all of their grades across four years. Entries often include information on degree and date of graduation.
Physical Description1.42 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes student grades from the Class of 1926 to the Class of 1930. Each page has one student's grades for one or two academic years (page split in half with space for one academic year on either side of the divide). The book lists graduate students first for each class year and often notes where they received their undergraduate degree. Undergraduate students usually have two consecutive pages that capture all of their grades across four years. The volume also includes information on degree and date of graduation.
Physical Description1.42 Linear Feet1 volume
This volume contains student grades for the Class of 1931 through the Class of 1934. Each page has one student's grades for one or two academic years (page split in half with space for one academic year on either side of the divide). The book lists graduate students first for each class year and often notes where they received their undergraduate degree. Undergraduate students usually have two consecutive pages that capture all of their grades across four years. The volume also includes information on degree and date of graduation.
Physical Description1.35 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes student grades for the Class of 1935 through the Class of 1937. Each page has one student's grades for one or two academic years (page split in half with space for one academic year on either side of the divide). The book includes undergraduate students only. These students have two consecutive pages that capture all of their grades across four years. The volume also includes information on the degree and date of graduation.
Physical Description1.4 linear ft.1 volume
This volume includes Class of 1935 graduate students; senior year grades for the Class of 1935; junior and senior year grades for the Class of 1936; sophomore, junior, and senior grades for the Class of 1937; grades for all years for the Class of 1938; freshman, sophomore, and junior year grades for the Class of 1939; Class of 1936 graduate students; freshman and sophomore year grades for the Class of 1940; Class of 1937 graduate students; freshman year grades for the Class of 1941; and Class of 1938 graduate students.
Physical Description1.29 linear ft.1 volume
This volume records information on students entering Haverford College between July 1943 and February 1948. It includes columns for class and course (in which student's last name entered instead), date of entry, name in full, post-office address, place born, date of birth, father's name in full, mother's name in full (full maiden name), and school or college last attended. The book starts with the C.P.S. (Civilian Public Service) students that entered on July 1, 1943. The first undergraduates listed are the Class of 1947, followed by transfer students entering September 1943, graduate students entering September 1943, R&R students entering in September 1943, students entering in January 1944, a special student entering in June 1944 (Frances H. Biester, born in 1893), freshmen entering June 1944, transfer students entering June 1944, freshmen entering September 1944, R&R students entering September 1944, freshmen entering January 1945, R&R students entering February 1945, students entering June 1945, transfer students entering June 1945, special student entering June 1945 (Jean Kelley, born in 1926, formerly at Bryn Mawr), freshmen entering September 1945, special students and R&R students entering September and October 1945, students entering in February 1946, students entering September 1946, graduate students entering in September 1946, students entering February 1947, students entering September 1947, and students entering in February 1948.
Physical Description0.81 linear ft.1 volume