Why Do We Need A Pass Or Fail Grading System

The function of the education system is to improve students education and prepare them for the real world. Students within that system should receive an “A” when they have mastered the information they are being taught. However, grades no longer accurately reflect how much students have learned. Since 1998 teachers have handed out more A-grades while the average SAT scores have actually fallen. In fact, as Greg Toppo states, an author for USA Today, the amount of A’s handed out actually went up close to ten percent (4). Students can manipulate their courses so that they can get good grades without actually learning much of anything. With grades not accurately representing what students have learned and charter schools failing to solve problehms, teachers need to change how they structure their class or grade assignments.

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.

In the article, “From Degrading to De-Grading”, by Alfie Kohn he discusses the harmful effects grades have on students. Kohn argues that there are better ways to assess students’ progress other than letter or numerical grades. Grades are a great concept but they tend to be more hurtful than helpful. Cheating can become a problem, students won’t take challenges, and they develop unhealthy competition between one another. There have been many studies conducted over the years that support Kohn’s argument.

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.

It did not help me in the end because I never got to know the material and learn from it. If all schools were to lessen the grading system to just pass or fail classes, more students would most likely be able to become better learners and be able to focus more on their studies than trying to keep up a good grade.

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 “A Proposal to Abolish Grading” Paul Goodman suggests grading students is only setting them up for failure. He states, “a student will retain nothing of what he has “passed” in.” Goodman believes that students shouldn’t be tested for a grade, “but for his own advantage” so the student isn 't just “trying to get by” he will actually be encouraged to learn the material. Grades and testing have been around for over a century. Every American has had some kind of schooling in their life. As a student, I’ve always entered a new class with the mindset that I need to pass that class, hardly ever have I thought, “I need to learn as much as I can in this class.” So why should the system that educators believe works and have used for so long change? The American education system values grades and test scores more than students value learning.

School is slave labor. Rather than enjoying or learning from their classes, students are forced to do useless work that will often be forgotten immediately. Grades are meant to show much a student understands a class, but instead are used as a scale of how well a student can regurgitate answers onto a test. Students only work for good grades because of the threat of being punished for failure, and the promise of reward for passing. The punishments in this case are detention or trouble from teachers, and the rewards are making the honor roll or getting bragging rights. The real reward for learning should be having new knowledge, but this is not taken into consideration. Jerry Farber, a professor at U.S.D, made the strong claim that grades are useless and harmful in his essay, “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System.” I wholeheartedly agree with Farber’s objection to our current grading system.

I just watched a video on youtube titled "Blowing Up the Gradebook" by Chris Haskell and it left me with a lot of thoughts about the way grading works today. During the video, Haskell talks about the current problems with grading and teaching today. He says that instead of trying to find things worth knowing, students find what they need to pass the class and put in the minimal effort to do so. He says that education is a game we put students through and instead of trying to set them up for success, we give them tests and grades that set them up for failure. He says that instead of playing this game that is impossible to pass, we need to change it and help them succeed. He talks about how we need to eliminate homework and due dates, we

Students who fail should not be passed to the next grade because they are not earning it. If students are able to pass through school with unacceptable grades, they are being shown that their grades do not matter. Grades should be something that is

Education is without a doubt one of the most significant factors in our society. We spend twelve years of our lives in the schooling system, and our system has been the most accurate technique for assessing students for decades now. Lately, there has been controversy over the traditional grading system that we currently use in our classrooms across the United States. There is a multitude of individuals who believe we should alter our grading system, and begin using a recently developed system which involves working on a long-term assignment throughout the semester to show what students have learned during the length of the course. There are many benefits to our traditional system that people often seem to overlook. We should be

Pass or fail grading systems is just not accurate enough to determine a students performance on his or her work. It is almost just not fair especially for students in college that have classes with a pass or fail grading system. Its not fair because students pay so much money to go

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.