The Pros And Cons Of Grading In Schools

R. Buckminster Fuller once said, “If I ran a school, I’d give the average grade to the ones who gave all the right answers, for being good parrots. I’d give the top grades to those who made a lot of mistakes and told me about them, and then told me what they learned from them.(R.)” Being graded in schools is not a new trend. From Kindergarten to seniors in college, every student is graded in their classes based on a set of criteria given by each teacher and is evaluated by how each student meets them. But, how far can a grade go? 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 …show more content…
Some teachers say grading is essential, without it, students and teachers alike won’t be able to evaluate a student’s academic progress where others view it as detrimental to a student’s overall success and creating a form of academic copycats and overlying stress on their students. The problem here is looking at this debate in a should or shouldn’t do angle instead of looking at in a how perspective. As in, how should we be grading? Not, should we be grading. Grading on social and life achievements should no longer be a major role in a student’s grades; rather, it should be categorized into separate parts of the whole grade, the majority being the academic achievements and assessments and the lesser being social and life skills …show more content…
Educating students in particular subjects is crucial to their ability to survive in today’s world. Especially with the way our school systems are set up. Many grades and classrooms are set up in a “building block” structure. You go through one class, topic, lesson, or grade and then after you have mastered that you move on to a more complex version. The grading systems in place now are very detrimental to this type of school structure and can truly harm a student’s progress (Being). For example, a student who has taken an English 101 class scored low on assessments, worksheets, and homework but received a surplus of points in class participation, extra credit, and group activities and was able to pass the class with a C. Then that student had to take an English 102 class, one that built on the English 101 class. The teacher in this class graded majorly on the students tests and homework scores rather than on extra credit and class participation. This student then failed due to the fact that he was not academically prepared for that class, he was able to pass a class, not on his ability to understand the materials, but through the access of other