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Letter grading system
Traditional grading system
Grading system related literature
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The article from the New York Times, “Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes,” by Max Roosevelt, has brought up many creative ideas on grades. This article shows that we as students often confuse our grades between effort with the final product. I find this article interesting because, many future occurrences in our life can depend on our grades in high school and college. Reading this article can also help us decide what plan of action we need to take personally, to put in the right amount of effort in to be rewarded with good grades. First we need to consider why grades actually matter
“Good grades are life’s way of saying there is a bright future in store for you.” (Unknown) This quote makes me think of my grades because they have a huge affect on our life now and in the future. It also makes me ponder on the fact that if I do not get good grades now I may never be able to achieve my future goals of work as a professional dancer. Good grades matter because if I do not get good grades it will make getting into college much harder. Now only do we need to get excepted into school, but many times we need scholarships to
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I also thought about the content a good deal. Grade of B = I read the course materials very carefully and participated in the course with more than average effort. I thought about my reading after I put the book or materials down. Grade of C = I read the course materials and participated in the course. The amount of work I put in is satisfactory. Grade of D = I read most of the pages in the course materials, but I only “passed eyeballs over black ink” in some cases. I deserve a passing grade for my work in this class.” (HSLDA Online Academy Eng. 101 Syllabus) These guidelines show that just doing what you are assigned is not enough. I need to not only read the assignments, but I need to think about them and use the information daily, to get a good grasp on the
Most students do care about their grades and want to succeed, so they may go into argue their grades. As shown in examples though, parents become very upset with their kids if they do not achieve up to their high class standards. A very good point is made by Shepard. Not all kids are good enough to receive A's. Parents need to be satisfied with a B because that is in the upper part of the college usually. Obtaining an A or A plus should be almost a honor. Shepard grabs the attention of me and other people by discussing how getting a B should be relieving still, even if it isn't
The author was a freshman at Princeton University when this article was written. He seems to have enough drive and determination in order to embrace grade deflation compared to his peers, who complained and disagreed with the grading system, which is what started this essay.
I have always valued school and enlarging my intelligence; I receive a sense of pride from earning a decent grade on a paper or on a particular assignment. Alfie Kohn wrote an essay titled “From Degrading to De-grading”; in it he suggests a different view on the current education system. Even though students expect marks and even seem dependent on them, grading should spur on a love of studying not deter it. Grades tend to reduce a student’s inclination for stimulating tasks, and lessen students’ interest in erudition.
Growing up, my parents never expected perfection but expected that I try to accomplish my best. The effort I’ve put forth in learning has been reflected in my grades throughout my high school career. I’ve entered myself in vigorous course work such as AP Government and AP English to become well prepared for my college career, all while maintaining a 4.4 grade point average this year. Not only do I engage in AP classes, but up until this year I had no study halls. I wanted my day to be packed full of interesting classes that I would enjoy learning about. My grades and choice of classes prove the effort that I put forth in my learning. Working hard now can only pay off in the future. Learning now creates a well-rounded human being. Working to learn is why I am so dedicated to my studies now.
In today’s society we feel the need to be graded in order to learn. The topic of the grading system has sparked three essays, by three different authors, about the pros and cons of the grading system. First, Jerry Farber, professor at University of California at San Diego, wrote A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System (333). Next is Steven Vogel, professor at Denison University, who wrote Grades and Money (337). The last two authors in this compilation are Stephen Goode and Timothy W. Maier. They both are journalists for Insight on the News. While each of these authors have their own point of view on the grading system, all three essays talk about how being graded affects learning.
In Robert Schlesinger’s op-ed article “College Students Need to Toughen Up, Quit Their Grade Whining”, originally published in the U.S. News & World Report, Schlesinger asserts that today’s students expect that an average or higher grade should be favored by simply relying on attending classes, without demonstrating much of an improvement in their performance, leading to the watering down of the fair grading system. Schlesinger describes it as “grade inflation”. Schlesinger references a study on student’s expectation of grades conducted by the
In contrast to the belief of many, Computer science professor at Yale, Dana Augluin, suggest that grade inflation is actually a good thing. She states “The desire for approval is a primary and crucial motivation for children. By the time they reach higher education, most students have developed an extraordinary sensitivity to grades and evaluation, and are situated well towards an anxiety end of the spectrum. But their task here is to grow away from that regime, towards intrinsic motivation, critically examined values and real thought”. (Jost 8) Within this quote she presents the idea that grades should not be the main focus. Grades are little more than something to reward the students for their work. In her opinion the University’s job is to prepare the students for life and teach them valuable life lessons that they can use to succeed.
In “How Grading Reform Changed Our School,” author Jeffrey A. Erickson discusses about how it is common in high schools to pass each student by their accumulated average of the entire class period. He described many examples to display the way of grading in high schools such as in behaviors, lessons, and tasks. He talks about the changes that were made and were in effect to achieve a grading average that reflects the student 's’ abilities and knowledge .
Students should be paid for having good grades. According to Psychology Today the United States has fallen behind other nations in education. In addition to this, approximately every one in four students in the U.S. drops out of school before graduation. The main reason for this is that students have little to no motivation. Students are either bored by school, or they are distracted by the other things that go on in their lives such as sports, jobs, friends and their own family life. Although learning has its own rewards, some students respond better to money. This essay explains how students will be paid and the reasons that they should receive money for getting good grades. Some reasons that students should be paid are: if students received rewards for having good grades fewer students would drop out, graduates would be better educated, people would seek higher education, less crime would be committed, less people would rely on the government and graduates would be more qualified for better jobs.
Grade retention seems like a reasonable solution to a serious problem. A child is significantly behind their peers, maybe they are emotionally immature, or they cannot quite grasp what is being taught to them. The first thing to do is make sure the child does not have a learning disability, after that, it is determined that since this child is falling so far behind there is no other option than to hold them back a grade. This will ensure that they have time to catch up with their classmates and move on to have a successful school career. Schools implement this every year, despite the research proving how unsuccessful grade retention is. There is no clear cut way to help a struggling child. Children learn in such diverse ways. It is a challenge to help someone falling behind, it takes time, effort and research to realize what is going to be effective for a struggling student. Grade retention is harmful to the student, it negatively impacts the child’s academics, it leads to early dropout, their self-esteem suffers, and it is not a cost effective way to help a child succeed.
Students are exposed to the grading system from the very moment they begin school. Parents receive progress reports in order to monitor how their children are performing in class. Report cards become bragging rights for students or make students find an inventive way to hide them from their parents. From a young age children are expected to bring home excellent grades and try their absolute hardest in their classes. Grades are the basis for how students are accepted into college, and even higher level programs. In his article, “A Proposal to Abolish Grading,” Goodman ineptly proposes the idea for school to rid of this grading system.
Pressures on children in today’s society are a problem that is becoming more evident in academics as parents and teachers put more and more emphasis on these children to outperform their classmates, stress in the child’s life becomes an interfering problem (Anxiety.org, 2011 Weissbourd, 2011,). From preschool children to college adults, pressure to execute academic perfection extends across all areas of curriculum. In our highly competitive, American society, emphasis placed on academic achievement has never been so intense (Anxiety.org, 2011, Beilock, 2011). This need to be the best, fueled by our culture in America, has created a social force affecting education, a force to be reckoned with at that. Too often, parents and teachers sacrifice their chil...
Teachers routinely teach you the standardized things you need to know to get promoted to the next grade. In my experience, throughout high school, once you acquire the knowledge to pass the test, high school teachers believe you have reached your potential and no longer push you to accomplish more. Unlike, high school teachers, professors are willing to provide an abundance of support to any student sincerely trying to improve. Not only do college professors help students recognize their potential, but become the driving force behind them exceeding their personal expectations. Professors continuously clarify what matters and why it matters; therefore, instilling a sense of pride in their work, as well as in themselves.
By nature, most students are brought up in an academic environment motivated to get A’s and B’s on their report cards. Those grades sometimes don’t thoroughly report how much a student has learned or gained knowledge in each topic. Some instructors throw in factors totally unrelated to learning, when the main objective of academic institutions is to learn. In order to clearly demonstrate how much a student has learned in the classroom, schools should change their current grading system and teach students how to learn.
Although the grading system needs improvements, it works in the aspect of keeping students motivated. Currently, many schools use the traditional pass/fail system, because it has been shown to be effective. The pass/fail system is applicable onto assignments and tests, because when a student’s work is being marked, teachers are not assessing whether a student is intelligent or unintelligent, but whether the student’s work meets certain specifications, that is, “one or more requirements that we set for a piece of student work” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, p.56). This type of grading system sees whether the work “provides evidence of the student’s achieving one or more course learning outcomes” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, p.56). The pass/fail system allows for tests and assignments to have set specifications. If a student’s work “meets (or exceeds) all the specs, it earns a pass/full credit; if it doesn’t meet all the specs, it merits a fail/no credit” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, pg.56). To gain the credits, students must “read the directions and requirements carefully” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, pg. 56). This task tests and allows the student to practice the abilities of following directions, which can help with fulfilling tasks in future jobs. Furthermore, another grading practice that both teachers and students can benefit from is letting students grade their own and their peer’s homework. A study by Simkin in 2015 studied to find if letting students grade their own homework had any benefits. It has been found that by implementing this practice in classrooms, students were able to receive feedback immediately, which “positively influence learning and increase retention” (Simkin, 2015, pg. 147) and were able to feel more included with the class as they experienced evaluating one another. It has also been found that when students grade themselves, it