Written by Caroline Williams
In order to craft one well-written essay, a student will typically spend a majority of time writing and editing. In order to study for one test, a student will likely spend multiple hours working to cement that information into her brain. In order to prepare for an oral presentation, a student will probably spend a great deal of time intelligently generating the presentation. What does all this effort on assessed material amount to?
One measly letter.
Hours spent writing, studying, and preparing materials merit a student one letter. While letters are appropriate for defining blood type, bra sizes, and an airplane seat position, they do not suffice to mark a student’s progress. Think about it. Each of the instances where letters are appropriate seem to be circumstances in which one categorization is able to define something. Yet, since a student’s grades constantly change, it is unjust that grades place a student into one group. While a student may receive a poor grade on one assessment, the student will very likely receive a different grade on the next. Somehow, a professor reads student’s 500+ word essay and decides it deserves a simple letter. As a result, this categorizes the student as that one letter. How is that fair?
Grades fail to show a student’s effort towards a finished product. Obviously, a C or a D is not a desired grade, yet, maybe, it is due to circumstance. Perhaps a student really struggled with a personal problem during a certain assignment, resulting in a poor grade. While a teacher may understand to a degree, any extent of understanding fails to be reflected on a transcript. The transcript will simply display the grade received. Afterwards, when looking for employment or a future schooling position, all the institutions see is the poor grade. They will not see the struggle surrounding the letter. Grades fail to show the work a student puts forth and any existential personal issues.
Additionally, grades create a culture of students working towards a letter as opposed to obtaining general knowledge. With benchmark testing, standardized assessments, and rankings so prevalent in society, students’ vision becomes impaired. Students aim for the letter, the ranking, or the high standardized test score. Students begin to learn in order to receive a positive grade, as opposed to obtaining knowledge. Learning should be done in order to better ones self or community, not for a letter. Grades inhibit students from learning for the sake of gaining knowledge, and, ultimately, grades create unhealthy learning environments.
Grades are not only a construct students use to mark their own intelligence, but also are used to compare intelligence to their classmates. It seems grades create competitive classroom environments instead of healthy collaboration. Competition in schooling should be encouraged, but merely for the betterment of an individual self, not as a means of surpassing a classmate. Because grades are so cut-and-dry, grades allow for easy comparisons between classmates. Students attempt to outdo peers and neglect the fact that learning is for the individual. It is not meant to be a means for one student to outshine another, though that is what it inevitably results in. Even though grades have the potential to be healthy academic motivators, grades are typically a destructive practice.
I am sure many students believe grades are incredibly useful, and to some degree, I agree. They can definitely serve as a necessary push in minimal instances, however, I believe there is a better way: narrative assessments. I think letter grades should be completely eliminated. Instead of receiving letters on transcripts or papers, students should only receive written feedback from professors. This would allow for students to see what words would serve in place of a simple letter. Additionally, future readers of a transcript would be able to get to know a person through a more thorough description of their work. Additionally, it would eliminate the innate comparisons between students. Currently, grades are an integral part of our culture, however, if letter grades were to be eliminated, I believe students would reap major benefits.