Changing The Conversation Essay

Peanut butter and jelly, hot chocolate and winter, fireworks and the Fourth of July. Grades and learning are also placed hand in hand because they go together right? Learning is to acquire knowledge or skill; grades are a letter or number reflecting the quality of a student's work in a course, test, or project. Over time, teachers and students have become trained to focus more on the grade, rather than learning the concepts being taught. This is a big issue because if the concepts are not learned, it can not be reapplied later and consequently has to be retaught. Teachers are evaluated on their classes’ grade averages, and students depend on their class ranks, GPA, and test scores to apply and be accepted into their dream colleges. Standards

Some students may take longer than others. One size doesn't fit all in learning, so teaching practices shouldn't either. There needs to be flexibility when working with students to help them find success. (Stackstien3, Star. "Changing the Conversation: Grades vs. Learning."Education Week. N.p., 3 Sept. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.) A national movement was put forth called “No Child Left Behind.” The purpose of the movement, was to raise test scores. Unfortunately, there was little-to-no improvement in scores. Americans deem it as a failure that has done more damage than help. (Busteed, Brandon. "GPA, SAT, ACT ... RIP." The Gallup Blog 9 July 2013. Rpt. in College Admissions. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.) Narrative feedback on assignments or in conferences is the best way to help students process what they’re being taught and understand mistakes. ( Stackstien3, Star. "Changing the Conversation: Grades vs. Learning."Education Week. N.p., 3 Sept. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.) It is not enough to tell a student they aren't doing something correctly, other possible ways to do it better need to be provided or they won't learn how to apply it. A person's success is determined by how well they use their talents on a daily basis. Not by trying to be the same as others and "fixing their

RIP." The Gallup Blog 9 July 2013. Rpt. in College Admissions. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.) By helping them discover what their strong suits are and showing them how to use them in their day-to-day lives. Each person's success is best determined by how well they use their unique talents on a daily basis. Not by conforming to others trying to "fix their weaknesses." (Busteed, Brandon. "GPA, SAT, ACT ... RIP." The Gallup Blog 9 July 2013. Rpt. in College Admissions. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.) As an example, a student was going to focus on learning and established he would be okay with whatever grades resulted from that. His grades on assignments actually improved from this decision and he did make straight A's in all his classes. (Rubino, Jen. "Grades vs. Learning." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.) What students and teachers need to understand is that grades and learning do go hand and hand. You don’t have to sacrifice grades for learning or vice versa. Even with a large class, teachers can teach the same concept in different ways. If students study the material and don’t stress about whether or not it will be on the next exam, the results will be more beneficial for everyone. Grades and