A Flawed System Analysis

Alfie Kohn discussed multiple fabulous points in his article, “Degrading to De-Grading”. The author suggests more effective ways to assess students’ progress other than numerical or letter grades. Kohn goes into detail about why our current grading system is flawed. Grades can cause students to lose interest in learning which causes them to stop taking challenges. If students are not engaged and interested than they are not retaining the information they are being taught. The grading system can also cause students to develop unhealthy competition with one another for instance, “I got a better grade than you!”. Indeed, grades are a wonderful concept, but they tend to be more hurtful than helpful. In some cases, grades can have positive effects on students. For example, setting goals for various assignments, or receiving help where they are struggling. Though, there are alternatives that could make positive changes in the system.

Schools and college professors, who give you a good grade for excellent productivity on assignments, allow students to perform poorly, but still benefit relative to a person with an A. Two articles that observe grade inflation, find the rising problems of grade inflation, and finding solutions for grade inflation. Stuart Rojstaczer, an author from Grade Inflation Gone Wild, is a professor of geophysics at Duke university, and created gradeinflation.com in regards for his concern about grade inflation. On the other hand, Phil Primack is a journalist and teacher at Tufts University, and published in the “Boston Globe” Doesn’t Anybody Get a C Anymore? While college students, who work with little effort and still attain easy A’s by working poorly on assignments and exams, Primack and Rojstaczer, develop a firm connection towards grade inflation and the solution that can regain control over real education.

Historically, letter grades have served as a tool to rate educational intelligence. By looking at the progression of a student’s grades over time, people are able to determine whether or not the students are developing skills in certain areas. Using a one letter grade to determine progress has received many critiques as a common system used in America’s education. Critics claim letter grades cause students motivation and creativity to decrease because grades shift students focus from learning the material to obtaining a good grade.

In “Making the Grade” by Kurt Wiesenfeld and “In Praise of the F Word” by Mary Sherry, both authors establish an issue with the grading system in schools. Somewhere along the line, love for knowledge died and a generation of indolent students were born. They both however, point the finger of blame in different directions. Wiesenfeld claims society has molded the student to believe he/she can simply charm their way to good grades, whereas Sherry holds complete liability in the pampering of high school teachers.

While many believe that the grading system has a concrete standing in the success of education, other’s believe that it actually can inhibit or at least lessen the effectiveness of learning. In “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System,” Jerry Farber states that for the longest time, many have dismissed the fact that grades could be harmful to the learning process. He argues that grades lack the ability to bring about self-discipline within the students learning the content. While the educational system has rendered changes throughout the years, the grading system maintains its virginity and has been fairly untouched. He insists that many educators are in strong belief that grades are the only way to ensure that learning is to take place within the classroom. Most of society would dictate that the system has been fairly effective in getting individuals through their schooling. But as Farber points out, students tend to focus more upon the grades they are receiving and less upon the content itself. Throughout his writing, Faber uses many forms of rhetoric to persuade the reader to believe the fact that the grading system is corrupted and should be changed, and offers a solution which is referred to as the Credit System. With this being said, it can be stated that Farber effectively conveys his argument through his appeal to a younger

Kurt Wiesenfeld's article, "Making the Grade," presents the social issue of grades. The author explores the extent of this problem by examining the social environment in which these students were raised. Wiesenfeld also addresses the changing attitude towards what a grade represents and the true value of a grade. The author effectively uses several writing strategies to engage the reader, influence the audience and illustrate how much thought he has given this issue. The essay is organized by a logical progression from thesis to individual claims and the author provides real-world examples for the issues. With those real-world examples, Wiesenfeld explains how serious the problem can become and demonstrates why the issue should be addressed.

Grades: Unneccessary for Learning 30 years ago, the United States of America was ranked the leader in quality of education. However, today it is now reported to be the 36th highest in the world. The learning experience has altered drastically in the recent years. In his essay, “A Young Person's Guide to the Grading System,” Jerry Farber claims that students have become addicted to grades. He further explains that due to the negative impact grades have, people believe they need to be graded in order to keep them in line.

“What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s” written by Carl Singleton argues that our education system needs to enforce more failing grades to students who have not fully learned the required material. He believes that handing out failing grades in copious amounts to students will overall fix the issue of illiterate students among high schools and colleges along with draw attention to this issue and engage parents into their child's education. This argument could be fairly but is poorly executed and lacks valid evidence and supporting claims. Singleton fails to provide accurate benefits of this grading system he feels should be implemented. Carl Singleton overall expresses his concern of the grading systems deterioration and that the education system is not enforcing enough failing grades to students who have not fully mastered required material.

Grade inflation is the tendency of educators to improve a student’s grades. Although the practice is frown upon, grade inflation is a reality faced in educational institutions. In his essay “Grade Inflation - Why Princeton Threw in the Towel,” published in October 15, 2014, on MindingTheCampus.org, Russel Nieli documents the origins and consequences of grade inflation. Nieli (2014) claims that grade inflation rose across the globe after the 1960s. While he cites explanations for the phenomenon, such as the Vietnam draft and racial admission policies, Nieli (2014) argues the real factors for grade inflation include the following: student involvement in course grading, “weakening” education authorities, overemphasis on grades in employment, and the self-esteem movement. Lastly, Nieli (2014) chronicles the efforts of Princeton University, which opposed grade inflation through grading policies, but their efforts failed, as growing opposition forced the abolishment of those policies. I argue that Nieli overlooks how educators inflate a student’s grades, and I will critique Nieli’s stance on employment and grade inflation.

Kathleen Cleveland compares each child to a mosaic “created from the many ‘pieces’ of how he is, how he learns, and what he need in order to succeed in [education].” (p. 17) The most effective grading practices, according to those in favor of no-zero policies, provide accurate, specific and timely feedback designed to improve student performance therefore an educator should do everything possible to ensure that all students learn the academic criteria of their curriculum. Selby and Murphy argue that “low grades prompt students to withdraw from learning. To protect their self-images, many students regard the low grade as irrelevant or meaningless.” (p. 92) and the more students are led to focus on how well they’re doing, the less engaged they

Farber used many comparisons to relate learning in school to learning in your everyday life. He states, “Learning happens when you want to know… And if you don’t want it and don’t need it, you’ll probably never get it straight, grades or not” (Farber). He made the point that you do not need a grade to learn how to drive because you want to learn. Grades are just motivations to get something done. He believes just because a student gets good grades, it does not mean that the student has learned the materials. He believes that grades deteriorate motivation to do something you love. If someone was good at painting, but then was graded to paint, then it would no longer be fun and the student would hate it. Farber explains that self-discipline is a way to please yourself. This means you do not get something done because you have to, but because it makes you feel good to get it done. He offers a solution to the grading system-- the credit system. The credit system requires taking a class and if you meet the minimum requirement, then you will receive the credit. If you fail the class, then you will not be penalized, and you do not receive the credit. It will not go on your transcript, nor will it affect you. Farber full-heartedly believes the credit system is an excellent solution to the grading

He begins his argument for changing the design of grading by asking, "How confident are you that the grades students get in your school are accurate, consistent, meaningful, and supportive of learning? If grades do not meet these four conditions of quality they are broken” (p. 8) At the start of the school year our BLT has be attempting to answer, "What does a grade reflect?". We have not made that determination yet; I'm not sure anyone has quantified it

“It emphasizes competition and learning, not learning.” Glenda Potts, author of the article, “A Simple Alternative to Grading”, spoke of the traditional grading system. Potts argues that the current ABCDF grading scale is “flawed” and “hard to communicate” because it does not provide a full critique of a student's work in order for them to improve, only a number or letter grade. Because of this, it is easy for a student to adopt the mentality that they cannot do any better. Patricia Scriffiny, author of ‘Seven Reasons or Standards Based Grading’ agrees with this opinion, adding that traditional grades have no true meaning, and cannot prove a true analysis of what the student may or may not know.

So much in life depends on how well you do in school, it?s more recently come to light though that how teachers grade may not be good enough anymore. As time passes researchers are realizing that students can?t be treated the way they used to be, this includes how they are graded. The traditional grading system of the teacher giving a student letter grades is no longer an adequate way of measuring how intelligent students are. Though the traditional letter grading system has worked for many years, it?s time for alternative ways of grading; such as students grading each other, feedback instead of letters, and the hybrid grading system.

Challenging age-old traditions will not be easy. The traditional grading system generally goes unquestioned despite the fact that it often appears ineffective and potentially harmful to students. Battling antiquated traditions requires research-based “better practices.” Passionate arguments will not change the status quo. To succeed in the disposal of old traditions, you must have innovative, results-oriented options to take their place. Leaders armed with conviction look to press for thoughtful, positive reforms to see remarkable results.