There are a lot of on-going debates about the traditional grading system. Many argue that the system deters learning therefore; it should be overhauled and/or reformed. Alfie Kohn, an American author and educator that speaks and writes about education and parenting is very much opposed to the traditional grading system. In his essay “From Degrading to De-Grading”, Alfie Kohn argues against it, he claim that students are so grade driven that it reduces their interest in learning, creativity and preference for challenging tasks. Not only that, it also encourages cheating, disrupt curriculum and waste teachers’ time.…
Therefore, today 's students are learning less, getting less out of their education, and are less prepared for the profession that they get into. William Cole a literature instructor at Harvard University stated, "Most teachers seem to have forgotten the motivational power of a low grade" (Cole B3). Grades can do a lot more than just motivate students, but this is true. The option of failure is a motivator, and it encourages students to work hard. When students work hard for their success in school not only do they learn more about their profession but they learn a valuable life lesson that to succeed they…
In the article, “Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes,” studies outline a troubling trend in the minds of America’s youth: Students deserve high marks just for fulfilling rudimentary requests. While this concept seems to be present in most teens’ minds, many others hold a different view. In the Patrick Henry AP English Language and Composition Syllabus, this idea is explicated with clarity: “The grade of A is a performance grade, not an effort grade.” In this class, neither attending live seminars nor relying on prior knowledge is enough to obtain an extraordinary score.…
On September 13th, 2015, Ms. McCready published an article titled, “Why You Shouldn’t Pay Children for Grades.” This article emphasized the negative effects that students obtain while they are rewarded with money for their grades on their school assignments. Ms. McCready includes information which matches her argument throughout the entire article. “But no matter how much we want it to, money can’t buy smarts, motivation or school success,” states McCready. As the author speaks to parents of students in today’s generation, she informs the audience of examples and ways to praise a child who earns good grades.…
The Grades Challenge Freshman year was a difficult year for my grades. I was failing a few classes and it seemed like the harder I focused on the percentage, the farther I got away from it. I talked to my teachers about how I could try to get my grades up and was simply told “you won’t get a better grade.” I was stuck with what I had is what I was told, and they ended up being right about that year. I was worried that maybe something was wrong; maybe I wasn’t as smart as I used to be.…
“This is ridiculous!” Tim exclaimed, looking at his bright computer screen, “my professor won’t change my 93.99% grade to a 94%.” Having a 4.0 all throughout his years at PSU, Tim, my sister’s boyfriend, was furious when he discovered that his A- in his physics course was going to lessen his chance of getting into the graduate school he was aiming for. To him, an A- equals failure, despite his countless other accomplishments. A perfectionist to the core, even 100% wasn’t good enough, seeing that the highest grade he had ever gotten on a test was 114%.…
Over the past decade, a new topic in the education field has been getting a lot of attention in the media. The debates are over whether a student in elementary education should be allowed to continue if they fail a grade level. Many arguments have spawned from this topic with valid points being emitted from each side. Although it may seem as if there are many pros to skipping a grade, in reality, there are far more cons. Students should not be allowed to skip a grade if they haven't successfully completed it because it will hurt their development, strengthen the ideas that they don't have to work hard to succeed, and show them that consequences don't exist for poor choices.…
Everything now a day is based off number, whether it’s ones SAT scores, standardized test scores, or most importantly, ones GPA. College students, and even High school strive to reach a perfect four point zero semesters, or even acquire high honor roll. Unfortunately, according to John Taylor Gatto, and his article “Against School”, achieving that perfect semester, or making high honor roll, doesn’t always translate to receiving a honest education, but rather just schooling. On the other hand, Kristina Rizga, the author of the article “Everything you’ve heard about failing school is wrong” paints the picture of a non-fictional, academically bright character that lacks when it comes to standardize testing. Using Gatto as a basis of comparison,…
Many of us, whether as a parent, teacher or student, do not see the good in failure. We have become oblivious to the effect it can have on us long-term. According to “In Praise of the F Word” by Mary Sherry, “Tens of thousands of eighteen year olds will graduate this year and be handed meaningless diplomas.” (559)…
He asserts, “Let me make it clear that I recommend giving those F’s – by the dozens, hundreds, thousands, even millions – only to students who haven’t learned the required material” (192). However giving more F’s to the students does not prove that they deserve the grade. An F should be given to the students that deserves it, such as students that do not do their homework, do not show up to class, or cheat on test/homework. If a student does things that show that they deserve the F, then it should be given. In a recent discussion with parent LaToya Jackson, a mother of two, she discussed that although the educational system has a few flaws, she feel that giving more F’s to students would not solve the problems throughout the educational system.…
While children are in the early stages of growth, they have been praised and complimented on their good grades and intelligence. However, this type of praise and compliment is not the key to success in schoolwork and life. The most important key to success lies in the focus on effort not praises and compliments based off how well a child does on something, such as a game or test. Behavioral psychology or more commonly referred to as behaviorism explains why putting forth effort is important. Behaviorism falls under the category of a school of thought.…
It seems like an innocent question, but if you unravel it, a worrying trend surfaces. Grades, ideally intended as an effective means to learn, have transformed into a goal in itself. Grades force students to memorize those details necessary to pass a test, often disregarding true comprehension of the subject matter. In this process, the student’s personal development is becoming a footnote, overshadowed by the imperative significance of grades. What are the implications for educational institutions?…
Grades are essentially crucial to a student’s success. If a student meets the grades, they go on to the next grade level, class, or semester and if they don’t, they stay behind until they meet that level of expectation…
In those discussions, grades have been emphasized the most, and the achievements of others have been evaluated by easy scale, “A, B, C, D, F.” Even for a small child, the logic that was created by her grandmother and adults around was easy: Anything, but A was a fail. Without the desire to be a failure, the girl started to sit behind the desk with the textbook, looking through the lists of different formulas and memorizing them. The desire to As everything became number one in all her decisions, making…
The debate over whether parents should pay their children for good grades is getting more popular as the rate of high school dropouts is nearing 7,000 students a day. Parents have high hopes for their children when it comes to their future, so they typically emphasize how important education is to their children at a young age. Parents desperately look for ways to get their children’s minds off their smartphone applications and onto their school work, so they promise a cash reward or other incentives for performance. You may see initial improvement from the start, but it can’t buy good grades for very long. No matter how bad we it to, money can’t buy motivation, smarts or school success.…