When a child begins their many years of schooling, one of the primary stressors is making good grades. As time passes, the stress on achieving these grades increases. For many students, the only way to further their education is through scholarships. These are typically awarded based on grades; hardly mentioned is the actual learning process. Learning is often what is sacrificed to attain good grades. Therefore, receiving good grades can be viewed as counterproductive to learning. Grades are not a direct reflection of how much a student has learned.
An instructor’s ability to teach affectively and the personal criteria they require are examples of how grades are not always an accurate indication of their learning. The job of a teacher is to …show more content…
As Jessica Ellis stated, “For many families, the grade is the goal.” Students are under such tremendous pressure to receive good grades they are willing to do whatever is necessary to get an “A”. Good grades can be achieved, whether the knowledge is acquired or not. Many times, students cram all the information required for a passed test just hours before taking it, and forget it the moment the test is over. This act of memorization is not beneficial to the school’s desire for the student to learn. Joy Alonso offers the point, “I think most people will agree that examinations have a dual purpose: to test or measure achievement, and to stimulate learning” (32). In bypassing the original purposes of the grading system for other benefits, students are voiding its usefulness. Another example of a student caving to the pressure of good grades is cheating. A student can easily cheat their way through a class, have an “A” average, all while learning nothing. An instance of this scenario: A student with a 4.0 GPA has perceived expectations to keep up the high average. The student forgets about an upcoming test until a few days before. Instead of taking the time to actually learn the material being tested, they decide to cheat in order to keep up their grades. They didn’t see another viable option to maintain the 4.0 in the time given. When in reality, instead of coming up with a cheating method, they could have spent the time learning the material. The pressures of previously receiving good grades outweighed their better decision making capabilities. The grading system will never be functioning in its intended capacity as long as these stresses on students
An instructor’s ability to teach affectively and the personal criteria they require are examples of how grades are not always an accurate indication of their learning. The job of a teacher is to …show more content…
As Jessica Ellis stated, “For many families, the grade is the goal.” Students are under such tremendous pressure to receive good grades they are willing to do whatever is necessary to get an “A”. Good grades can be achieved, whether the knowledge is acquired or not. Many times, students cram all the information required for a passed test just hours before taking it, and forget it the moment the test is over. This act of memorization is not beneficial to the school’s desire for the student to learn. Joy Alonso offers the point, “I think most people will agree that examinations have a dual purpose: to test or measure achievement, and to stimulate learning” (32). In bypassing the original purposes of the grading system for other benefits, students are voiding its usefulness. Another example of a student caving to the pressure of good grades is cheating. A student can easily cheat their way through a class, have an “A” average, all while learning nothing. An instance of this scenario: A student with a 4.0 GPA has perceived expectations to keep up the high average. The student forgets about an upcoming test until a few days before. Instead of taking the time to actually learn the material being tested, they decide to cheat in order to keep up their grades. They didn’t see another viable option to maintain the 4.0 in the time given. When in reality, instead of coming up with a cheating method, they could have spent the time learning the material. The pressures of previously receiving good grades outweighed their better decision making capabilities. The grading system will never be functioning in its intended capacity as long as these stresses on students