Is It Better To Have School Based Off Of Grades?

Many students have gotten bad grades before, and they all have the same sinking feeling when they see that one little letter. What if there was a way to get around the letter? To have an education system that was not based off of grades? Already, in a small number of schools across the country, schools grading system have begun to change, adapting to different students needs. Some do not even use grades at all! All that is used is a grading system where teachers give students direct feedback, which allows them to know exactly where their strong points and weak points are in each individual subject. This can allow students to focus on key areas and know exactly what they need help with, not just a general class such as math needs work, which

Many people work hard for the grade. Having this system motivates them to try as hard as they can and get the A+. “The goal of earning an “A” or avoiding an “F” is often enough to help students study and prepare for that next exam” (Darcy Mullin, Rethinking Letter Grades, 1). Letter grades set goals for students, allowing them to be able to see what they are working towards. This also would be making it easier for them to be able to work towards that goal. However, many people would disagree, saying that grades point students towards all the wrong goals. They even going so far as to say, “Letter grades only motivate students that are successful at getting good grades and even then it only motivates them to achieve a grade, not to learn”(Darcy Mullin, Rethinking Letter Grades, 1). This shows that this supposed ‘motivation’ that grades can give students can also be the ones that brings students down. Tampering with their education and motivating them for all of the wrong

For example if a student drop from an A to a B the student and/or parent are able to easily tell with letter grades how much they dropped and talk to their teachers about what lowered their grade. It is also very easy for them to be able to tell what their child's grade means, seeing as how every parent knows that an A+ is the best grade and an F is something to be disappointed about. Despite how easy it is to tell how much they have changed it can also make it harder in a number of ways. This is since it does not accurately display grades, especially when a student receives an F. They could have made a vast improvement from 25% to 55% and still have an F. This would not show any change at all, even though that student have more than doubled their averages! Also there could be a change within a higher letter grade, such as a B, and you wouldn’t be able to see it because of how the percentages are split up between grades. There could be huge change in a percentage wise grade, but you would not be able to tell! However, getting annual feedback from teachers could have told a student that receives grades such as this that they are doing better and why. Reassuring them that they are on the right path, even if it would look like they are not if they had only received an