The Grading System

“Research in cognitive science and developmental psychology reveals that human learning is very complex” (Rediehs). Knowing how a student is performing in school is a valuable asset for instructors, students, and teachers. In the United States we use grading to track the academic progression of students. Grades are important to education and serve many purposes. Grades motivate students, allow us to compare student performance across different institutions or organizations, and motivate students to succeed. Bernard Bull, a writer for Etale, claims that letter grades are effective in the short-term, but in the long term he argues that they can have negative effects such as; diminishing performance by extinguishing intrinsic motivation, crushing …show more content…
However, parents are much more concerned that their children are happy, balanced, independent, fulfilled, productive, self-reliant, responsible, functioning, kind, thoughtful, loving, inquisitive, and confident” (Edwards). Grades serve the current education system by displaying how well a student is doing and how well they are mastering concepts. They are harmful and stressful, “few practices in education are as sacred and yet dele-terious as grading” (Edwards). The current grading system in the U.S. needs changed for the benefit of our society. Today’s youth will be the leaders of tomorrow, we need to ensure that we are educating young people to the best of our abilities. Many experts will agree that there is a problem in our educational system, and the biggest problem tends to be grades. “Traditional grading can discourage development of students and their academic abilities” (Rediehs). The current grading system should be modified to a standards based grading system in order to increase classroom participation, decrease stress, and allow for intrinsic learning to take place in …show more content…
for a long time. There is a reason the system came into existence, and why it is still being utilized in most of U.S. schools. It is a beneficial tool for the effective teachers we have in our schools. “If an educator succeeds, then there shall be little to no variation in measures of student learning” (Guskey). As long as our teachers are ensuring that classes are mastering key concepts and that they are reaching their objectives then the traditional grading system can continue its important role in American education. Grades are necessary for grade point averages which are good predictors for academic success in college and the workforce in later stages of life (Bull). Students push each other to do their best by offering completion. “Students, while working individually, are actually in competition to achieve a standard of performance that will classify them into the desired grade range” (Structure of the U.S. Educational System: U.S. Grading Systems). Because the students are achieving high grades, their peers will feel obligated to attempt to do their best and get a good grade as well if not an even higher grade than their