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Abolish Grades? I Don't Think So

© Flora Brown

"I wish we didn't have to get grades," moaned one student as the first week of school came to a close. For a moment the prospect of completing activities and taking tests without receiving grades may sound desirable. If we think of grades as the tangible indication of performance, however, few of us would be satisfied if we didn't receive grades. To perform our school work and other tasks without receiving some kind of feedback would be like talking to someone who remains silent throughout the whole conversation; who never nodded, made eye contact or managed even a single grunt. It takes a high level of maturity for intrinsic rewards to be enough. Most of us aren't there yet. I doubt, for example, that many of us enjoy the intrinsic rewards of our jobs enough to work without pay.

"Grades are the currency of the teaching and learning process," begins an article from the University of Manitoba. They reflect achievement, abilities and often potential for future success. Although some students take grades very personally as signs of approval or disapproval, it would be difficult to give students a clear assessment of performance without them.

Grades are the motivating force behind learning. Let's face it: without grades few students would even read the assignments, much less try to absorb the concepts. I always give a test on my course syllabus on the second day of class. Not because I'm an evil witch (as has been rumored), but because it assures that everyone reads the syllabus with heightened interest.

Assessing performance seems better understood by students when it moves away from the classroom. My grandsons, for example, enjoy their Play Station games and seem to happily accept that only when they achieve certain maneuvers will they receive the password or code to proceed to the next game level.

There are certainly no rules or principles of grading upon we would all agree. How a teacher grades reflects a lot about the teacher's background, values, assumptions and philosophy. How a student reacts to grades reflects a lot about the student's background, values, assumptions and philosophy. But since they are an integral part of education, there are some steps students can take to insure that grades are fair, equitable and meaningful as possible.

1. Determine the role grades will play in a class. Some teachers give a variety of ungraded assignments prior to tests or essays that will be graded. Other teachers give quizzes to help you see your progress, but only count the big tests as part of your grade.