This blog entry was cross-posted at Brilliant or Insane
“What do I have to do to earn an A?”
If you’re an experienced teacher, you’ve been asked the
above question too many times to count. We need not look any further to provide
definitive proof that our archaic grading system has failed our students.
Instead of being motivated to learn,
students enter our classrooms motivated solely by grades. The good students
have learned to play the game. They turn their work in on time, answer a couple
of questions in class, fulfill the rubric’s requirements, and occasionally—when
necessary—they complete extra credit to ensure they’ve accrued the necessary
points.
The end of the marking period arrives and the student has
“earned” an A. At an awards ceremony, the student receives an Honor Roll Certificate;
her name is published in the school newsletter and maybe even in the local
paper. Perhaps, she even receives a
certificate for a free pizza from the local pizza parlor. Her parents proudly
display their “My Child is an Honor Roll Student at XYZ Middle School.” So
while seemingly, everyone wins, nothing could be further from the truth.
Our current “if-then” grading system rewards students for compliance,
instead of learning. With the focus on outcomes, students will take the
shortest and easiest path to the A, including cheating. Such a system takes
away from the love of learning and reinforces superficial learning, instead of
true understanding.
By ditching our current grading system in favor of the SE2R
Approach or another Standards-Based Learning system, students will take control
of their learning. As Daniel Pink suggests in Drive, “increasing student autonomy promotes greater conceptual understanding,
better grades, and enhanced persistence at school and in sporting activities,
higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological
well-being.”
Ridding our schools of our antiquated grading system won’t
be easy, but doing so will increase student learning and their love of
learning.
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