Plus Minus Grading System Case Study

The grading system benefitted me in the way that we had opportunities to do other activities other than doing all of them. I personally do not do well in front of a crowd of people, so the performance was automatically out of the picture for myself but, because of the options I was still able to find points in other areas of the class. I happened to learn a lot through both the learning logs and presenting the making a case. Additionally, the extra learning activities we were given the opportunity to do, helped me learn in a very interesting way. The learning activity that asked about production notes made me think and learn in a very different way than I am used to. I am not too knowledgeable about individuals that usually play in movies so I had to do some research to decide who I thought could be the perfect fit for the

What if everyone in the U.S. had an A+ grade and a 4.0 GPA? Grade Inflation is a serious matter that teachers, parents, administrators, and school board members all around the nation think and argue about. Grade inflation is when “…teachers [are] paying a higher and higher price for the same product from students.”(Hunt, preface XV) The argument about grade inflation is very recent, starting around the late 20th century. “I found that grade inflation, while waning beginning in the mid-1970s, resurfaced in the mid-1980s.” (Stuart, 2) While grade inflation is rising each year, people are trying to make solutions for it. There are many other solutions to lower the A+ grade and 4.0 GPA that people already tried to do or the solutions that are just

Alfie Kohn discussed multiple fabulous points in his article, “Degrading to De-Grading”. The author suggests more effective ways to assess students’ progress other than numerical or letter grades. Kohn goes into detail about why our current grading system is flawed. Grades can cause students to lose interest in learning which causes them to stop taking challenges. If students are not engaged and interested than they are not retaining the information they are being taught. The grading system can also cause students to develop unhealthy competition with one another for instance, “I got a better grade than you!”. Indeed, grades are a wonderful concept, but they tend to be more hurtful than helpful. In some cases, grades can have positive effects on students. For example, setting goals for various assignments, or receiving help where they are struggling. Though, there are alternatives that could make positive changes in the system.

Pragmaticism, indeed, will dictate that schools, assessments, and organizations long-established will not be altered for light and short-lived causes. Hence, a gradual shift in culture and method must occur which reforms the quantitative nature of grading systems. However, let the negative effects of the current grading system be known in a direct way:

In the essay “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s” the author Brent Staples states that for the past years many colleges have changed their grading policies in order to make them less strict and more permissive. The author explains that there are several reasons behind this change. According to Staples, this trend is happening due to the need to make less appealing classes more attractive to students. Also, he adds that the demand from parents and students have led to more lenient grading policies to avoid hassle. Lastly, the author expresses that when professors do not give students high grades, they possibly will be given negative comments and evaluations from students that could affect their salary and tenure. Grade inflation devalues college diplomas and put society at risk.

This sort of situation can be defined as ‘Grade Deflation’ which means that higher grades are harder or more difficult to receive because a very small amount can be given out or to protect an institution. Grade deflation should be reduced or even eliminated because it can improve education and positively affect a student’s future. Elizabeth Wissner-Gross tells us about grade deflation and why and how it should be terminated in her article “Invitation to a Dialogue: Stop deflating Grades” published on the New York Times. The Author argues against high schools and colleges that are manipulating numbers in order to protect their institutions from being accused of grade inflation. Some administrators believe that too many A’s can, in some ways, affect their institution’s image negatively. The author, while

In the first section, Erickson considered the need for a more consistent and clear grading system. When Minnetonka High School decided a new and improved grading system was essential, Erickson pondered what factors should determine a student’s grade. For a considerable amount of time, grades could be affected by presence, manners, determination, extra credit, and contribution. These grades, however, were meant to represent and embody only what a student has learned and the knowledge he or she acquired.

This type of grading system has been shown to have several advantages. Body I. The Pros of Pass Fail Grading System. A. Takes pressure off students at certain levels. B. Give students a clear cut idea of their weaknesses

Throughout my education I have experienced many different grading systems. The one that worked the best, in my opinion, was grade shading (pluses and minuses like B+, B, B- etc.). However many schools and colleges still use traditional grades (such as A, B, C and so on). Having been to five different schools and two different colleges I have seen both systems first hand. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, however I prefer grade shading because it is more fair and makes you a more competitive student.

This is bad as it teaches students the wrong idea because GPA should not be considered the most important component of them. For example in the real world, many job interviews do not ask for their GPA, and they are mostly interested in somebody’s internships, experience, and participation in extra circulars. This exhibits the point that GPA is not the most important thing about you. This is important because NHS should be promoting the idea that it is important to improve on other aspects instead of only improving on grades. In reality, NHS is discouraging the importance of extra circulars and encouraging the importance of GPA, which can spell trouble for them later in life. Therefore, it is important that NHS does not raise the GPA minimum in order to prevent sending the wrong message to

    It's June, and another graduating class is hoping, among other things, to achieve high grades. Of course, "high" is a subjective target. Originally a "C" meant average; today however, the expectations and pressures to give and receive "A's" and "B's" takes its toll on teachers and students alike. This nullifies the value of the traditional grading scale and creates a host of entirely new problems. The widespread occurrence of grade inflation seriously affects the credibility of secondary and post-secondary education in America.

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

Teachers have always used grades to measure the amount a student has learned. This practice is becoming ineffective. Many students have a wide range of grades, which show that grades may not show what a student really knows. Therefore, the standard grading system should be replaced. Some reasons why grades should be replaced are bad grades can hinder a child’s performance, grades define who a student is in the classroom, and grades are not an effective way to see if students have learned the material. The current grading system should be upgraded and every school should incorporate the plus/minus system in their method of grading.

In sports, analysts examine a players skills and abilities through the use of personal records and game statistics. Similarly, grades reflect a student's strength and weakness in the classroom. In Paul Goodman’s excerpt entitled “A Proposal to Abolish Grading,” he argues that Ivy League Universities should abolish grades. His reasons are that students focus on passing a test more than they do on expanding their education. Eliminating grading standards will allow students to learn new material without being stressed. Goodman's main focus is on prestigious schools, but it is an issue that concerns every school. For it begs the question if grades are necessary to measure a student's inclination to learn. Goodman believes that today’s students

If they are not graded on that, then will not be able to see how those aspects of their education are necessary in the “real world”. This can also negatively affect their grades. Students that are good at regular assignments, but not good when it comes to tests, it could be a serious issue for them, as it will be harder to get their grades back up. Several teachers told parents that they wouldn’t award the highest number on the scale, or that extra work must be completed to earn 4s, leaving children confused on how to reach the advanced level of proficiency (See “Parents give standards-based grading scale F” ¶ ). Since students aren’t being graded on their classroom participation or homework completion, their grades can take a major downfall if they do make a big mistake, such as bomb a test, and they might not be able to make up for it by earning bonus points from extra credit either. If they do, then it would be a lot more work than it should be. Students who are “standards-based” graded will see their overall grade drop due to the system’s inability to evaluate all aspects of their education, as well as not being able to fully understand its methods.