Grades Get an F
Consider the following statement;
One hopes that this is true - I mean, it is true, right? Absolutely not. These days, grades are at best a rough approximation of a student's comprehension of a course's material, and even that is generous.
What makes up a grade? Many things make up grades, and a large number of components measure a student's ability to turn in work, not their ability to comprehend knowledge. In a class where tests are 40% of a student's grade, a student who gets a 100% on every test but neglects to turn in homework or classwork still receives an F. Now, did that student fail to comprehend the material of that course? No, they simply didn't turn in the "busy work" as required by their teachers, and I'm sure part of the reason that they don't turn it in is because it is a waste of their time to repeat a concept over and over and over again if they already comprehend it.
Yes, some students need to do a problem over and over and over again before they understand it. But, should other students be penalized in their grade because Billy needs to do an extra worksheet to understand how to add?
I mean, why do we go to school anyway? We go to school to learn, not to work. School is not work. I will repeat that again; school is not work. School is learning, and, as such, grades should only reflect learning.
If anything, the current system of grades distract from student learning. Rather than focusing on comprehending the material of a course, students get caught up in what they need to do to get their grade up to an A. They rush to copy the answers out of the book for their worksheet without understanding the very words that they are writing down.
The current system often causes students to believe that they are sufficiently prepared when they really aren't. There are plenty of students who go through the motions of doing their work but consistently get 50% on tests. Going back to our example of tests being 40% of a grade, a student can fail every single test and still walk out of the class with a B. Who is this good for? It's good for parents who want to boast about their childs supposed "gifts", but not much else. It doesn't provide incentive for teachers to teach for for students to learn. It provides incentive for teachers to give out worksheets to fill up the class time and it provides an incentive for students to just do enough to get it turned in. Half of the time, classwork and homework are only graded for completion! Yes, you heard me, graded for completion! Where's the reflection of knowledge in that?
I propose that we have a grading system solely based on tests. Such a grading system would reflect how well students comprehend what they were taught. Teachers should write the tests for each individual class so that the classic situation of, "You didn't teach us that!" can be avoided. This will get rid of "copy syndrome" and cause students to actually pay attention. No longer will they be able to fly under the radar by copying someone else's homework and handing in the busy work. They will actually have to learn. Students will actually be responsible for knowing the content of a course because their grade will finally accurately reflect a their comprehension of a class. What a comcept!
"Grades are an accurate reflection of student knowledge."
One hopes that this is true - I mean, it is true, right? Absolutely not. These days, grades are at best a rough approximation of a student's comprehension of a course's material, and even that is generous.
What makes up a grade? Many things make up grades, and a large number of components measure a student's ability to turn in work, not their ability to comprehend knowledge. In a class where tests are 40% of a student's grade, a student who gets a 100% on every test but neglects to turn in homework or classwork still receives an F. Now, did that student fail to comprehend the material of that course? No, they simply didn't turn in the "busy work" as required by their teachers, and I'm sure part of the reason that they don't turn it in is because it is a waste of their time to repeat a concept over and over and over again if they already comprehend it.
Yes, some students need to do a problem over and over and over again before they understand it. But, should other students be penalized in their grade because Billy needs to do an extra worksheet to understand how to add?
I mean, why do we go to school anyway? We go to school to learn, not to work. School is not work. I will repeat that again; school is not work. School is learning, and, as such, grades should only reflect learning.
If anything, the current system of grades distract from student learning. Rather than focusing on comprehending the material of a course, students get caught up in what they need to do to get their grade up to an A. They rush to copy the answers out of the book for their worksheet without understanding the very words that they are writing down.
The current system often causes students to believe that they are sufficiently prepared when they really aren't. There are plenty of students who go through the motions of doing their work but consistently get 50% on tests. Going back to our example of tests being 40% of a grade, a student can fail every single test and still walk out of the class with a B. Who is this good for? It's good for parents who want to boast about their childs supposed "gifts", but not much else. It doesn't provide incentive for teachers to teach for for students to learn. It provides incentive for teachers to give out worksheets to fill up the class time and it provides an incentive for students to just do enough to get it turned in. Half of the time, classwork and homework are only graded for completion! Yes, you heard me, graded for completion! Where's the reflection of knowledge in that?
I propose that we have a grading system solely based on tests. Such a grading system would reflect how well students comprehend what they were taught. Teachers should write the tests for each individual class so that the classic situation of, "You didn't teach us that!" can be avoided. This will get rid of "copy syndrome" and cause students to actually pay attention. No longer will they be able to fly under the radar by copying someone else's homework and handing in the busy work. They will actually have to learn. Students will actually be responsible for knowing the content of a course because their grade will finally accurately reflect a their comprehension of a class. What a comcept!
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, October 07, 2009 at 8:53 PM.
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