Importance Of Grading In The School System

Grading in the School Systems: Are High Grades Worth the Negative Results?
Through my years of being in school, receiving grades always made me nervous, even if I knew that I did well in that course. I worked hard in elementary school for good grades because good grades meant rewards. I worked hard in middle school and high school for good grades because I wanted to get into a good college. I now work hard in college for good grades because I do not want to take the class over again. As school gets increasingly tougher, the thought of learning gets tossed aside. I agree with Kohn’s argument about what grades do to students and how grades should be eliminated. I honestly did not think this before I read this article. I figured if there were no grades then all students would start caring less and forget the point of receiving a degree for themselves in the …show more content…
Though I do agree that grades keep some students from skipping the class completely, I do not agree that a letter can determine how smart a person really is. A student does not need to receive a grade or be “ranked” to be told they are smart. I especially do not agree with ranking in schools. Even though I considered my rank to be good and I was proud of it. I did see how it bothered other people to see that number. I had many friends who were ranked higher than me and it bothered me when they rubbed it in my face. I was proud of my rank but they made me second guess it. I knew a lot of information and I probably knew more than some people ranked higher than me, but colleges and other people do not see it that way. Just because a student does not get high grades does not mean that they are not knowledgeable. They could do better than that person who got into college while they did not, but because of a grading and ranking, that student may never know. Kohn did a great job with this essay and I hope for the future that grades will lessen and thoughtful feedback will