Introduction
The last decade saw many anthropological studies that sought to identify the challenges and mismatches between what people understand about real-life experiences and learning in colleges. Numerous researchers have also attempted to explain why formal education has resulted in a “lack of learning.” Learning institutions often promote credentials and obedience to the detriment of learning. There have been questions about how curriculum developers and educators should do to improve learning in schools. Some scholars have suggested that the education system should get rid of grades as a significant change towards the acquisition of useful knowledge and discouragement of rote learning. Grading in school leaves no space for adventure, zest, and risk, which thwarts genuine learning. This essay looks into the ineffectiveness of the grading-based education system by giving an analysis and reasons to abandon grades in school.
Interpreting the Grading System
Grading is a system that assumes uniformity in the input, process, and output. Psychological schools of thought show that people have different abilities to synthesize information. Holding to this premise, students experience learning at varying cognitive levels; hence, the grading system does not suit an ideal school system. Besides, grades do not provide adequate information; they confine the student to accomplishment, excellence, compliance, and effort to gain in learning (Schiefele 115). This approach to education elicits a state of competition that hinders the rewarding acquisition of knowledge.
Reasons for Abolishing Grades
Grades Produce Little or No Motivation to Students
Numerous studies have revealed that student engagement declines throughout high school and college levels. One of the primary elements of active involvement in learning is individual excitement about the content being delivered (Reviews). Motivation is killed in a grading system since students often study and take exams to satisfy the teacher’s needs or because they desire to achieve an excellent grade to outshine their peers. The goal of the school is excellence, not learning. From a different perspective, many students aim at higher grades to take part in sports activities or impress their parents, which becomes their incentive (Schiefele 115). Offering learners rewards creates a dangerous motivational system if such enticements become less attractive. A better way of acquiring knowledge can be achieved by encouraging intrinsic motivation through objective learning.
Anxiety and Stress
The overall environment of a school is often regarded as stressful and arouses anxiety among students. These characteristics not only affect their academic performance but also worsens their physical and psychosocial wellbeing (Reviews). Anxiety and stress among students are factors associated with academic loads, transition phases, hindrances from accessing the desired specialty, and highly competent classmates (Schiefele 116). Eventually, these elements may lead to reduced academic performance, dismissing the grading system as an appropriate approach to schooling. In this way, the approach tends to reduce the quality of thinking and learning among students. Excellent examination results are overemphasized to the extent that the students memorize the information for a test rather than seeking the comprehension of the content.
Grades Define the Student
Another reason for abolishing grades from school is because they serve as fake incentives for learners to strive for the reward and avoid punishment. Students study for many years seeking good scores that may earn them opportunities in the next level institutions of learning. Tomar attests that the school is designed in such a way that it offers a limited scope of study on relevant materials only. Many years of memorizing concepts leave graduates without defining their interests because they have missed such opportunities in school.
Eliminating the Status Quo of Letter Grade
The current education system hinges on an assignment-based framework where performance is regarded as the ultimate measure of success among students. This educational judgment based on a number system has had adverse implications for students. As such, the status quo of traditional letter grading systems should be challenged in favor of a better standards-based system. According to Tomar, human beings have intrinsic likeness and continuity, and it may be a thought-provoking move to drift from conventional approaches to learning because they have been used for a long time. Nonetheless, the fact that a flawed system has been in effect for many years does imply that a better approach cannot be implemented. The ABCDF grading scale that became the measure of knowledge in 1898 rewards cheating and trains learners to value grades over education, which undermines learning and imagination.
The existing grading scales are characterized by a vague relationship with the level of accomplishment, work ethic, and intelligence. The system is biased based on the premise that a student with an A grade is deemed to represent a high level of proficiency and understanding of concepts while vice versa is true. Many learners are more worried about the letters than the pursuit of knowledge. The authenticity of results is often questionable in case the process of examination is influenced by the teacher’s personal bias or the financial status of the student.
Grades encourage dishonesty and low work ethic, especially in cases where a large number of students are involved. Due to poor study habits, learners end up plagiarizing or attempting examination papers in collaboration because they lack an understanding of the concepts in question (Reviews). Unfairness resulting from flawed moderation of test materials could also result in cheating. Other factors include competition from peers, perceived lack of consequences of being caught, and motivation by high grades.
A feasible solution to the traditional grading system is the implementation of a standard-based school system to measure student performance based on his or her proficiency and well-thought objectives. Some learning institutions have integrated this strategy into the traditional method with a view of achieving a hybrid solution to educational flaws. However, shifting entirely to standard-based grading has many benefits that promote the success of students (Reviews). The learner-centered approach gives the student a rational mindset and growth, which plays a critical role in accentuating their skills with the demotivating the demoralizing element of the grade.
Conclusion
The grading system should be regarded as a flawed approach to learning. It is a traditional way of learning that does not support the proper acquisition of knowledge and skills needed for personal growth. It encourages many demoralizing aspects such as cheating in exams, rote learning, false perceived benefits, and low work ethic, among others. The overall learning process should not be a burden to teachers and students, but it should provide an environment where students enjoy learning rather than worry about achieving good grades. Substituting the traditional grading system with the standard-based approach to learning will have many benefits for both students and teachers.
Works Cited
Rediehs, Laura. Trust and Distrust: The Problem with Traditional Grading, St. Lawrence University. 2020. Web.
Schiefele, Ulrich. “Classroom management and mastery-oriented instruction as mediators of the effects of teacher motivation on student motivation.” Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 64, no. 1, 2017, pp. 115-126.
Tomar, Dave. Eliminating the Grading System in College: The Pros and Cons, The Best Schools, 2019, Web.