From A To B Mark Goldblattt Analysis

While reading Ken Bain’s book “What the Best College Students Do” of the five different types of students he describes, I feel like I fall under the label of one having mediocre grades but achieving success. I make good grades, however I do not necessarily believe my grades always reflect my hard work, determination and effort put in, similar to his theory on false hope in standardized testing. Throughout my school career, I have consistently made A and B grades. I can remember only one C grade, which was a quarter grade, and very disappointing, but a lesson learned. At the same time though, and as Bain helped me realize through his text, grades are not everything and making a C is not something that is going to kill me; there is simply more to school than a letter grade. In fact he points out through most of the 1800s schools only used two grades, pass or fail. As seen nowadays, schools have since adopted the letter grade system.

Whether we realize it or not, test scores play a vital role in many people’s self esteem. A person who frequently scores high will be confident that they are very intelligent and will expect others to see them that way. Asimov attested to this when he stated, “All my life I’ve been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I’m highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think that too.” (Asimov, 536). On the other hand, those who score low on tests often write themselves off to be unintelligent. Emphasis on the importance of the ACT or SAT test scores can lead an adolescent to conclude that he or she is not capable of succeeding in college and lead them to not pursue higher education. The tragedy is that we may pass on opportunities because we have labelled ourselves unintelligent based on a test score which is not a true refelection of our

To counter the constant negativity, he also exemplifies solutions for fixing grade inflation. For example, Brent Staples references Valen Johnson’s proposal for a grade point average reform that accounts the selected major into the grade point average system (389). With this example, the reform will significantly decrease the median grade point average and reward those who achieve high grades in courses related to their respective major. Behind this positive message, Brent Staples still criticizes college administrators for prioritizing their public image over a legitimate grading system without the complaining tone in the majority of his essay. Furthermore, Brent Staple’s examples do solve an actual issue and not a phantom problem. In 1975 alone, there was over tens times more bachelors in psychology than there were available jobs for them (Bird 424). Because the current grading system allows for counterfeit grade point averages, there are an excessive number of psychology bachelors. Brent Staples provided solutions because this issue proves his criticisms in

In the article A’s for Everyone, Alicia Shepard recognized a pattern in which her students placed too much emphasis on the letter grades received as opposed to the actual understanding and retention of the curriculum being taught. To understand this phenomenon, Shepard drew upon both the historical catalyst which led to it and her personal experience as a college professor. The systematic indoctrination of the importance of letter grades originated during the Vietnam War when "Men who got low grades could be drafted," (p. 3, par. 4). This having occurred, the pressure to obtain a higher grade became less about gaining knowledge and more about regurgitating information to receive an A. Subsequently, future generations stressed to their offspring

Historically, letter grades have served as a tool to rate educational intelligence. By looking at the progression of a student’s grades over time, people are able to determine whether or not the students are developing skills in certain areas. Using a one letter grade to determine progress has received many critiques as a common system used in America’s education. Critics claim letter grades cause students motivation and creativity to decrease because grades shift students focus from learning the material to obtaining a good grade.

“In the United States today, there is no more certain investment than a college education”(Carnevale and Melton). Education has always been a major component of American society. One can only go so far without an education, and the more education and knowledge someone has, the better their chances of being successful. Some people believe a high school education is enough, and it is, enough to land a job at a fast food restaurant. I speculate they feel this way because they feel school is not for them, or maybe they just do not want to go far in life. To get far in life people must go above and beyond, and learn things that others do not know to make them

Each year high school students from around the country take the SAT or ACT. The ACT and SAT are both standardized test used by colleges to determine the knowledge of a student and predict what their performance will be in their first year of college. An immense amount of pressure is put on student to receive certain scores in order to obtain scholarships and admission into college. Even just one point on a student’s score can determine if they will be accepted into their dream college. However, the results from standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, are often inaccurate. Because of this one’s knowledge and academic ability are misrepresented, and they are denied certain opportunities. Standardized tests such as the ACT and the SAT

The article “Gimme an A (I Insist!) by Abigail Sullivan Moore is a commentary on grade inflation in high schools. The author discusses how high school averages are on the rise while SAT scores are staying the same. Moore goes into detail about how teachers are giving students better grades in an attempt to spare their feelings. She then covers how this negatively affects our students. The major points that will be covered in this paper are how relevant this article is and how the problem discussed is affecting our students.

Bruni writes, “Many kids at all grade levels are Bubble-Wrapped in a culture that praises effort nearly as much as it does accomplishment” (par. 24). By glorifying even average work, students are not motivated to try harder to achieve the desired outcome. As a result, American students do not rank as well as students from other countries in international tests. Giving students harder material and higher expectations will help them unlock their true potential. At first, students may find it difficult. However, after putting in more work to achieve results, they will feel more confident in their skills and will be able to compete with students around the

When my chemistry teacher handed back the test we took, I frustratingly wiped sweat away from my eyebrow. Another C- no saving my grades now. Even if I studied diligently for eight hours a day and aced everything, I can do no better than a B-. I thought about my friends who go to a less prestigious school; they can put in minimal amount of work in chemistry class and still manage an A-. Then, I stumbled upon “In Praise of the “F” Word”. In her article “In Praise of the “F” Word”, Mary Sherry makes a case that high schools are giving students grades that they don’t deserve or didn’t work for, producing “semiliterate” graduates. “In Praise of the “F” Word” attempts to persuade teachers to grade harshly on students in order for them to truly comprehend the material and be prepared for the workforce when they graduate. Sounds fairly reasonable at first glance, doesn’t it? However, if one analyzes this proposal, it’s not hard to find a myriad of underlying consequences with it. If teachers decide to go through with Sherry’s plan, they put their students at an immediate disadvantage and jeopardize their chances of getting into a better college.

In “In Praise of the F Word” Mary Sherry focuses not on how the difficulties that the students have to face affect their performance in school, but how the “fear of failure” compels them to work. Sherry believes that diplomas are meaningless; because most passing students did not master the work. Additionally, some high school graduates told her that they do not even know how they get the diplomas. She believes that the fluning policy is “an expression of confidence by both parents and teachers” (Sherry 560).And we should give the students the choice to be success or fail. Sherry falsely assumes that flunking a student will make the students perform better at school.

Several tests of research were conducted on students of the two different grade levels, elementary and middle school. Two University students, Lisa Blackwell of Columbia University, and Kali H. Trzesniewski from Stanford University conducted research to observe that once the work became difficult, and the grading became a lot harder to please, how their grades were going to be affected. Parents or guardians accustomed their children to compliments on their intellect,

Sylvia, from “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, and I have experienced a very similar realization of our naivety. The good grades came easy in my high school English classes. I assumed they would in English 1102 as well, but I could not have been more wrong. This class has been especially trying, but I can honestly say that I have grown as a result of it. The unexpected bad grades I received influenced me to fully grasp and understand the errors I made throughout my essays, in order to create clear works that exhibit all of the necessary requirements. I intend to portray my strengths and weaknesses in my portfolio by specifically discussing my complications with introductions, generalizations, and grammatical errors.

High school grades are a better way of looking at a student’s work progress than through only an standardized test(s). High school grades give a better idea of how the student will look in their future education and career. Standardized testing can shock and freak some students out and make them worry and not do so well, where as high school grades can be looked at through an extent of time on the student. Also the test scores have been categorized by the students work ability, and there are many other problems with the tests for example with the questions and how the results come out. “High school grades reflect years of effort and are a more reliable assessment

Billy studied day and night for his biology exam hoping he would get the best grade he could get. When he got his test back he saw a big red f on the top. Some might argue that Billy didn't the material and that he deserved the F. Billy knew the material but he isn't a good test taker, now, Billy has to retake the class because he failed the exam. If teachers gave students gave students more F’s the F’s would decrease students motivation and American eduction would not benefit.