For decades, the traditional grading system has been in practice in schools in India. Activities and projects are assigned an arbitrary point value which are then judged on what scores to be given. However, according to many students and parents, grades and GPA don't measure how much the student has learned or what information he has retained. Rather, they measure how hard he/she is willing to work and how persistent he/she is.
In India, although the education system still prefers the grading system in schools, no student is failed up to class 8. Top schools in Panchkula also work on this system. However, should grades be a determinant of student's performance in school? Here are some reasons why we feel grades should be eliminated.
1. Grades are subjective:
Since the teacher decides how a subject is taught and assessed, grades are nothing but subjective. A test question can have either a right or wrong answer but if students are not allowed to express what they know, the objectivity of learning is compromised. On the other hand, providing meaningful feedback on how the question could have been addressed, can give students a chance for real learning.
2. Discriminating System of Performance Analysis:
Students who get good grades remain motivated, retain interest and complete assignments. Students who earn poor grades don’t see any value in the activities and thus don't feel encouraged to complete them. This creates a discrimination between “good” and “bad” students. The high achievers are praised and promoted while the low achievers are placed in remediation. This can turn a child against learning and scar him for life.
3. Poor weighting of activities can be unfair on students:
The total score given to a particular subject in done by teachers who weigh them according to their own judgment. For example, some teachers may weigh test scores higher than homework. A student who does his homework regularly and diligently but fails to perform in tests, will be judged unfairly. Alternately, an intelligent student, who wants to manipulate a bad system, will ignore all of the activities and projects, and instead focus on test scores only.
4. Grades can garner dishonesty:
In order to score good grades in tests, students may get encouraged to cheat in class. However, in a class where there is no grading system, students don't have a reason to cheat. There’s no punishment awaiting them, if something isn’t done.
5. Limited opportunity for self-evaluation:
In a class driven by conversation and narrative feedback, learning becomes a conversation. Students should be given a fair chance to discuss their performance and identify their areas of improvement, rather than get penalized by grades.
6. Eliminating grades will force colleges to change the system:
If grades are eliminated, colleges and universities will be forced to evaluate a student from an overall perspective, emphasizing portfolios, essays, field work and recommendations. Some schools are not even interested in GPAs. If educators come together, this may create a new system for admission to colleges.
7. Grades make students lose interest in learning:
Grades reward the “good” kids, whose parents further pressurize them to complete all activities, study hard and get better grades. However, the entire focus gets shifted from learning to chasing grades. Children with good grades can get admission into the best colleges but this does not ensure that they turn into great human beings or performers. Learning comes from real life lessons and not just from test books or grades. Students who underperform are left to be ridiculed by the society. In reality, some of these kids can turn out to be very bright if given proper guidance and training, but they are doomed by the letters, the numbers and the grades.
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