From the time a student enters the classroom, they are assessed and graded on content knowledge and level of understanding. Throughout their time in the education system, they receive report cards with grades for all subjects they have studied. Grades are used to tell students, especially those who do poorly in school, to work and try harder. Students are told that their grades represent their knowledge, understanding, ability, and completion of a grade. They might also be taught that their grades will determine their future success. This, ladies and gentleman, is the American education system.
We seem to base everything we do in our education system on grades, and I’m not just talking about letter grades. We assess our students with standardized achievement tests which produce number grades and place students in levels of proficiency. These levels then determine a student’s ability, or lack of ability, in a given grade level. Students are considered proficient, basic, or below basic based on their scores. This then gets transferred into the classroom where students are graded with letter grades and number grades. They are expected to make growth, and when they don’t, they are told they are behind or they are lacking foundational skills. They are then tested some more to determine if more direct intervention is needed.
In the classroom, students are given assignments and tests and graded on said assignments and tests. Most students are graded on correct answers. Some teachers might include the neatness of their work, whether it’s on time or late, or whether they showed their work on the assignment or test in their grade. A student receives grades throughout the year, they are kept in a gradebook of some kind, they are printed quarterly, and they are discussed during parent/teacher conferences. Conversations about grades usually lean towards comparing students’ abilities with other students in the same grade level. In the end, a student is seen as a grade, and they are told that their grades will “determine their future success.”
Let me stop here and say, a student’s grades say nothing about their future success. A student is much more than a grade. After being in education for over ten years, I have still yet to determine the purpose and value of grades. Did you know that grades are relatively a new practice in the education system? In the 1970’s, only 67% of primary and secondary schools used letter grades. Today, grades are more about streamlining communication between education institutions than actual student learning. Grades can also create a false sense of self-worth in students, which in turn, can be detrimental to students’ learning. A child who can’t get past a “C”, no matter how hard they may be trying, begins to think that a “C” is all they’re worth. A student who has straight “A’s” can become defeated and depressed the first time they see a “B” on their report card.
What exactly is the purpose of grades? What does a “C” tell a student about their learning? What do “A’s” actually mean? If learning is a process, then how can we grade students on a process they are going through? As John Dewey once said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” How are we helping our students learn by giving them grades? Not to mention, grades are even more detrimental when feedback is not provided. Education is something that happens throughout time. Learning comes through failing. Growth comes from practice and discipline. If a student is to learn, and learning comes through failing, then how can we put a grade on learning? If learning is individualistic, then what exactly are we grading students on?
A student is much more than the grades he or she receives. Some students will struggle in reading, writing, and/or math. It is only through practice, trial and error, and reflection that true learning can be obtained. It might take some students years to catch on to certain concepts. For others, it won’t take long at all. Either way, a grade does not encourage, support, or help students achieve academic success. Grades do not encourage learning. Neither do they support individualized learning. We need to consider the meaning and value of grades. Do they encourage real learning? Do they support students throughout their journey of learning? Do they promote positive encouragement for students?
Let me suggest a novel idea. Instead of expecting students to “make the grade”, why don’t we spend time meeting students where they are at and provide opportunities for them to practice, fail, and learn from their failure. Rather than expect them to get every answer correct and grading them on their correct answers, let’s focus on what they do well and support them in their areas of weakness. Let us be intentional in what grades mean, and if we can’t properly define what a grade is and how it promotes positive learning, let us move away from using such obscure definitions, such as grades, for learning and growth.
If we are to encourage learning, then we must meet students where they are at, provide individualized learning, and allow students to progress at their own pace. Their learning should not be dependent upon grades, but rather their progress through content standards. Instead of a grade, we should be providing notes and feedback for students, parents, administrators, and any other entity that details students progress, needs, deficiencies, and accomplishments. We are in the job of helping students become better versions of themselves, and I don’t see how grades do that.
Welcome To The Classroom 