For decades, grades have been used as a measure of students’ mastery of a given subject. In different countries, the education system is divided into various sections, and students are deemed qualified to proceed from one level to another by using the grades that they score as the benchmark for such a decision. The myth of the grades being the central determinant of intelligence has taken hold, and this has resulted in the teachers being compelled to grade all the tests in a given level of education. From the time that children enter the pre-school classes to the time they complete their college education, they are subjected to a grading system that classifies them. This ideology has resulted in children concentrating on reproducing what they have learned in class and transferring the answers into the tests. Although teachers strive to make the test comprehensive and representative of most of the works that learner cover in a given period, some of the areas go untested.Grading does more harm than good to learners in their quest for knowledge since the system is discriminatory and it over-relies on reproducibility rather than the application of the skills.
Discussion
Grades diminish the interest that children have towards various topics. In the schools, the discussions held by students and their instructors are inclined towards how well they can perform through scoring high grades. The objective of the education system is to produce citizens who can fit in the dynamic job market and support the country’s economic growth. This can only be achieved by developing the right skills through learning, internship, and mentorship. It is noteworthy when children are overly sensitive on the grades that they will get, their passion shifts from the subject at hand to the tests (Noddings, 2012). Unfortunately, those who score lowgrades may lose interest in their careers since they can consider themselves as failures. This has also been cited as a major cause of changing courses by learnersespecially in their freshman year in college. Most of those who fail to believe that that there is no possibility of making it in the following years if they fail in the first year. They, therefore,shift to other courses which they consider to be less complex.
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Research by Noddings (2012) indicates that a grading and learning orientation are inversely related. Intrinsic motivation to pursue a given career has also been on record for having been impeded by grades. It is also imperative to note that the career market has also bought into the idea and this does harm to the dreams of prospective professionals who cannot score above the average mark. This is inappropriate in a dynamicenvironment that is dependent on people’s on-the-job skills and competencies rather than the ability to reproduce answers. The grading system has also influenced the employers, and most the recruiting agencies for in blue chip companies target high ranking individuals who are thought to be more intelligent. The ranking system in the class is transferred to the job market whereby those who do not perform below the expectations do not eye such big business. However, the class performance does not always translate into the desirable work output.
Secondly, grades instigate learners to settle for tests that are easy to perform, and this diminishes their creativity. Although this may not be observable in the lower grades where children are subjected to similar tests, it is common in the institutions of higher learning whereby students forego courses and subjects that are considered as complex and having a high probability of failure. This makes them focus on the primary goal of leaving an institution with high grades rather than achieving useful knowledge.
Also, during class work, students are aware that everything that they do contributes to their final grade. They are, therefore, calculative and incredulous to avoid taking any unnecessary intellectual risks. Forinstance, when there are given options in a given subject, they are likely to choose shorter books and simple projects mainly because they are after finding answers quickly and avoiding errors as much as possible. Thishas also been the cause of having few students in technical courses that areknown to take much of students’ time (Murdock et al., 2007).A significant number of the learners abhor spending long hours in the library while at the same time glaring at the risk of failing. Those who have a sharp memory with numbers may find such courses favorable, and they are therefore regarded as more intelligent.
This has also been the primary cause of some subjects such as literature, sociology, anthropology and other art subject being positioned at the bottom of the list of the most complex courses. According to Murdock et al. (2007), learners who consider themselves as less intelligent and having the risk of scoring low marksarelikely to settle for the courses at the bottom of the list. It is noteworthy that most of the innovation in the technology industry requirestraining in the technical courses. The predilection for easy tasks reduces the number of individuals making instrumental discoveries that are crucial to development. The ingenuity of persons who have been iconic innovators in the world, for instance, The Facebook Founder and the Head of Microsoft Corporation dissipates the standards set by the grading system as a prerequisite for development milestones.
Grades also reduce the quality of learners’ thinking. In schools, students are exposed to a pool of information which is aimed at expanding their capacity to think and perception of the world around them. For instance, students who study medicine may be oriented, although not in details, to social subjects to understand the nature of people and community dynamics. This not only can make thembetter practitioners but it also expands their thinking. However, the over-emphasis on grades has resulted in individuals who are well acquainted in their subject area but with no knowledge of other closely related issues.
The justification for this that the tests offered to the students is predictable, and most of them find no need of venturing into other subjects. For instance, when students anticipate sitting for mathematics test, they dedicate all their efforts to the subject, and they may not have room for reading about the current technological innovations in the country. Research conducted by Grolnick and Ryan (2011) found out that learners are less apprehensive with finding the truth of a given topic than its likelihood of appearing in a test. In an experiment conducted by the authors involving a graded and ungraded social media competence test, those who were graded were found to be shallow on details than those who were not graded. The latter group had more information regarding social media since their objective, according to the authors, was to dig for details rather than passing a test.
Although the research on the effects grading has reduced over the last decade, Grolnick and Ryan (2011)indicate that grade oriented learning is associated with high levels of cheating. Learners are likely to use a myriad of dishonest methods to ensure that they do not fail in the test, especially for unsupervised projects. For instance, when given a piece of homework that they cannot handle comfortable, they can hire tutors or other experienced learners to answer the questions on their behalf. This may give a false indication of the intelligent levels of such students. Unfortunately, they are released to the job market without having passed in their courses, and this has detrimentalimplications on the quality of services that they offer.
Murdock et al. (2007) also indicate that the possibility of some learners cheating mounts panic and fear among the best performers and they are likely to perform poorly. Also, those who do not have the means to cheat and hand in papers completed dishonestly feel subjugated and unfairly graded. They may lose the motivation to study hard after being aware of the loopholes that encourage cheating. Therefore, the grading system cultivates a culture of dishonesty among some students and the ability to obtain results through manipulated methods may lead to frustration later in life when the learners would be required to perform tasks autonomously without relying on the help of experienced professionals.
Another major reason that makes grades injurious to the learners is its detrimental effects on achievement. Maer and Midgley (2011), in their research, found out that overemphasis on assessment can demoralize the pursuit of excellence. The authors point out that regardless of the quality of assessment, the use if grades shift the attention of the learners. It is noteworthy that instructors try to capture most of the content they have covered in class in the tests. Also, the education management bodies also set standards for tests to ensure that the grades that learners score are a representative of their understanding on the topic. Practically, a significant number of the areas go untested especially if they are not directlyrelated to the course. Furthermore, even if students score high grades in given test, research indicates that their attention is on how well they are going to score rather than the exact meaning of the subject. Therefore, while institutions might record excellence in results, the same thingwould not be said on the understanding that leadershave in the different courses.
This also has an implication on the later performance of the students in their careers. Their movefrom one level to another is through the perception that they have satisfied the performance requirement in the different levels. Their concentration on grades robs them the ability to comprehend the actual skills in the courses. Therefore they may require more mentorship, on-the-job training, apprenticeship, and refresher courses when they finally pursue their careers. This increases the overhead costs among the employers, and some of them may experience high turnover rates due to the frustration that the new employees go through while trying to carry out their tasks with precision.
This is unlike is a situation whereby the system would be focusing on quality of the knowledge that the students reproduce. Research indicates that quality education can have positive results on both the results and job performance. The rationale for this is that students would not be under any pressure to be among the best and they would be studying to gain knowledge rather than to score high marks. When doing a task, they would borrow information from different dimensions, and this would result in quality answers that would depict their in-depth understanding of a given subject. This would also make learning enjoyable, and it would eliminate the pressure that amounts during the exams due to the fear of failure. Research conducted by Wagner (2014) indicates that panic is one of the leading causes of poor performance in the primary tests particularly is the ones used as determinants on a transition from one level to another.
Counter Arguments
The harmful effects of grades are, however, countered by a school of thought that hails its contribution to the qualification of students’’ understanding of a given topic. Without a standard, amethod of assessment, it would be difficult to derive the outcomes of a course. Also, the group argues that it is a fair process of evaluating the reproducibility of the learners because it is uniformly appliedto a given group of students. However, the use of the word assessment is rather wide, and t should be used objectively when it comes to the quantification of value. According to Wagner (2014), learning and teaching are difficult to measurethrough the application of numeric values since indicatorsare selectively chosen nd they do not represent a comprehensive review of any given course. Also, the instructors objectively determine the most important points which are thought to represent the expected outcomes of a particular course.
Also, this is thought to create a deficient perception of academic excellence. Contrary to the notion that quantified tests are an expression of understanding a topic, the assessment extends to focus on dynamics that are simplistic and out of the context of the expected outcomes of a course. For instance, while awarding marking in a sociology paper, an instructor may heavily penalize a student with grammatical errors but with valid points or be overly concerned with the number of analgorithm that has been memorized in a mathematics paper. Therefore, the position of grades on a scale of 1-100 is not only divergent to the intention of learning but can also demoralize learners who may not be perfect in putting their ideas on paper (Wagner, 2014).
How the System can be improved
Since grades have been accepted as a way of measuring the understanding and outcomes of education, it would be challenging to have a complete overhaul of the system.However, the value ofgrades can be improved in various ways. First, educationinstitutions can create portfolios which could be constructive in offering a thoughtful way of gathering meaningful learning. According to Wagner (2014), this would allow learners to express themselves using various ways on their understanding of a given topic and be gradedby the points they cover and how they relate them to real life situations.
Secondly, classes should not be used to rank students since it discourages those who fail. To assess the outcomes the courses, they should only be used to evaluate student's ability to use the skills in solving the intended problems rather than reproducing the answers in written texts. This would offer a leveled ground for all the students’since it would be focusing on the long-term goals of education. The objective of going to school is to attain knowledge and advance one’s career. Therefore, being subjected to such an environment would help to distinguish those who can make productive professionals and those who require further training. Although such groups would still be regarded as ranking, it has a practicalaspect that encourages understanding and application of knowledge.
In conclusion, the widely accepted use of grades to quantify learning outcomes and performance is harmful since it negatively affects the quality of experience and it shifts the focus of learners from the actual content and objectives of a course to how well they perform. Grading through qualification is also unfair to students, who can express themselves on paper, and they might be labeled as failures, and this could have damaging implications on their careers. By being graded, learners can also use dubious methods to ensure that they pass tests and they may avoid challenging tasks to avoid taking academic risks. However, this can be changed by focusing on the application of knowledge in solving real-life problems. This would shift the learners' concentrate on understanding the course content and objectives and later transform them into highly efficient practitioners.
References
Grolnick, W. S., Ryan, R. M., &Deci, E. L. (2011). Inner resources for school achievement: Motivational mediators of children's perceptions of their parents. Journal of educational psychology , 83 (4), 508.
Midgley, C., Kaplan, A., Middleton, M., Maehr, M. L., Urdan, T., Anderman, L. H., ...&Roeser, R. (1998). The development and validation of scales assessing students' achievement goal orientations. Contemporary educational psychology , 23 (2), 113-131.
Murdock, T. B., Miller, A. D., Anderman, E. M., & Poindexter, A. L. (2007). Who are all these cheaters? Characteristics of academically dishonest students. Psychology of academic cheating , 9-32.
Noddings, N. (2012). When school reform goes wrong. Education for Meaning and Social Justice , 50-52.
Wagner, T. (2014). The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools DonÕt Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children NeedÑand What We Can Do About It . Basic Books.
