Letter Grading In Middle School

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.

Would you consider yourself as a grade junkie? Do you always strive for an A and take nothing less? In his essay “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System,” Jerry Farber argues that the grading system is not a good way of evaluating students academically. He believes that with the grading system the way it is, students’ do not try to learn; they only push towards getting a good letter grade. Though some may disagree, Farber's view on the grading system is true.

When you really break it down Standardized tests are inefficient because they rarely show information we aren’t already aware of. Ask any teacher and they can pick out which of their students can read and write. That revelation usually comes in the shape of a letter or assessments that break down progress based on skills. Prearranged high stakes and the associated high stakes pressure, people will develop a scheme. “And it is all too true that grades vary widely because of four main factors: a teacher 's conception of achievement, a teacher 's sense of equity and rigor, a teacher 's ability to teach, and the composition of students.” (Jouriles,

The scourge of seven seas that is education is the nationwide practice of grading. The initial purpose of the practice known as grading was to measure a student's level of success involving taught subjects. However, over time it has evolved into a different animal altogether and has sparked controversy in the minds of those under its influence. In one essay titled, “A Young Person's Guide to the Grading System,” Professor Jerry Farber states his thoughts on the imperfect practice. Within the paragraphs, he outlines the effects of the grading system on students and a possible solution to the situation. Over the course of the essay, I agree with his explanation of the effects that grades have on the student's’ mind,

Of all the problems we have in our education system, grading is the most misunderstood. Alfie Kohn reinforces the idea that grades have a negative impact on students,in his essay from “Degrading to De-grading”, by stating that grades encourage students to take the “easy way”, by taking the least challenging courses. Another point Kohn makes is that students’ learning is negatively affected by grades because the students only recite the information for the test. After the teachers test the information the students just “learned”, the information becomes irrelevant to the student.The students quickly forgot the information and never really learn it. Not only do grades harm the student, but also the teacher. Grades harm

All students learn differently and test differently, so all students shouldn’t be graded alike. There is no one person that learns the same way in school. Every student is different and should be treated that way. The testing that goes on in schools seems like the people that make up these tests don’t think about that. Standardized

The letter grade system offers many benefits to students the most compelling would be it is easy to understand there is a grade associated with a number system. If a student was to receive a pass/fail grade there is no desire to outperform nor do they have the desire

Have you ever had a bad experience with grades? Do grades create a preference for the easiest task? In " The Case Against Grades" Alfie Kohn argues why grades should be completely erased out of the system. I agree with him, when he says that "grades create a preference for the easiest possible task" and " grades tend to reduce the quality of students' thinking". I disagree with him, when he says that " Grades tend to diminish students interest in whatever they're learning".

Personally, I prefer letter grades because I am capable of viewing the what I have which allows me to know whether I should work harder in the class or keep doing what I am doing. Having grades gives a kinda comfort for me because I have something solid; it is a system so it does not change. After reviewing a few essays on grading systems,  the majority of them tend to be against having the letter system. One of the documents I read, “How Three Schools Buck the

Are grades a state of the art method of assessing one 's academic aptitude, or rather, are they an antiquated relic from the Victorian era of teaching? I ask this because as of late, grades have been under heavy scrutiny for corrupting students with the false pretense that good grades are more important than actually absorbing the subject material. The argument that students would rather receive a good grade in a course instead of actually gaining a comprehensive understanding of the subject shouldn 't be news to anyone. This has been the case for a long time, and many people would fully acknowledge this.

Soon they are off to school. School comes along with lots of new experiences, some good, others bad. Among those things there are a few that are arguably unneeded. Grades are slowly making their way to the top of the list. The way we currently measure success in school is through a letter grading system. A is great, B not so much, C and D unacceptable, and F? Forget about it! (Ellis) This is the way we have been grading middle and elementary schools since the late nineteenth century after it had been tested throughout colleges and high schools beginning in the year 1756. A standardized grading option was needed to keep the growing number of schools on track with each other. (Lassahn) Just because this is the only way we have found to measure the growth of children for the past two hundred or so years. That by no means proves it is the best way. The stress and burden it puts on the children outweighs the purpose of grading.

Today, millions of students describe school as too hard, too stressful, and too much. While that may be true, school is benefiting these kids more than they realize. Kids who desire to succeed in life strive for exceptional grades, while others who do not have much say about their future are subtle with failing a class. Getting an A in a class does not define someone's ability to learn, their intuition, or their ingenuity, but it shows their determination. That is the determination that will get them somewhere far in life. But if everyone received an A in a class, does that mean they will all go somewhere far too? If we used a pass-or-fail grading system within our school, we would never know, as it would not show students full potential and their ability to try. Instead, it would result in a lack of competitiveness and it would not provide an accurate representation of performance level and knowledge, therefore I believe we should stick to our regular A, B, C, D, or F letter grades.

Some people think that getting good grades in middle school doesn’t matter, colleges don’t look at grades until high school. Well that is not true. colleges are always looking at your GPA for all grade levels, but yes, the most important GPA’S are in high school. Getting good grades in middle school can be hard, but you have to make goals and techniques to be successful from when you start middle school to when you graduate college and so on. Here are a couple ways that can help you with making sure you're getting good grades.

“If we assign grades to a student’s performance without the misleading practice of assigning grades to pieces of writing, we believe grading will recede into a minor, bookkeeping status like taking attendance, at the same time grades will become more predictable for both students and teachers.” Smith and Dunstan imagine that if the progress a student makes in the classroom is graded rather than the individual work they turn in, then grades can become more comprehensive, and only serve as a representation of how much work a student has put into the class. For some, this may be an almost utopian view of the classroom, and others may argue that a universal grading system like the one described would cause chaos both within and without the academic community. I believe the result would lie somewhere in the middle. While grades should do more than assess the quality of work a student turns in, such the improvement they make in their writing through a semester, grades should not assess this improvement alone. Instead, a balance should be struck between how well a student understands and accomplishes the goals of individual writing assignments and their performance over the course of a term or section of a

Do grades actually represent how well a student understands the material? How are grades determined for students with different learning needs? I believe that grades should no longer exist. In my opinion, there is not a proper way to individually grade students. Students with disabilities are graded differently than traditional students. Students who understand the material perfectly but have no motivation to work are graded the same as students with excellent work ethic; that is not fair. I do not think that a grade range defines an individual student; their grade does not truly represent their capability. I believe that a student who does not comprehend material but guesses and cheats for good grades should not be graded the same as a hard working student. I believe that grades should not determine a student's intelligence. I believe that good grades are pointless if the student does not work hard to achieve it on their