Marks, grades, and their effects in schooling

From a “teacher bird” perspective, grades can be seen as an indicator of a student’s ability to demonstrate they meet learning objectives. Assigning percentages are usually a measure of “how well” a student performs in achieving learning objectives. Traditionally in mathematics, this percentage refers to “how correct” their solutions/problem solving ability is. Teachers use these percentages as a measurement to determine how students will progress throughout their learning career. There is a double-edged sword to giving grades; grades motivate students to complete assignments and study for tests, but students are not learning effectively when performing these tasks. From a “student bird” perspective, grades are a “reward or punishment they receive for an assignment or test” (Sarte & Hughes, 2010). Students use grades as a motivator to perform well, but motivation to learn decreases. This is because students have plenty of stressors to perform well: comparing grades with peers can cause students to compete against each other; receive bribes from parents in the form of gifts or money; or meeting post-secondary admission requirements. Sarte and Hughes demonstrated in their study that by removing grades to learning, students are able to value the task and gain satisfaction by demonstrating competence in completing an activity because it gives them autonomy and freedom to learn about topics they find interesting. When students hear teachers discuss grading and tests, they feel stressed and anxious.

An unintended side effect of grading is that it creates a mentality in students where they become very pressured to perform well that they do not actually learn anything. It becomes more of a process of memorization rather than learning; students memorize material for the test and forget everything when they finish. This unintended side effect is seen across all subject areas in school across many schools and school districts; it is uniform to students everywhere. Another unintended side effect of grading is the competition it fosters among students. Sometimes this means avoiding helping peers or lying to each other about grades, so they can have an advantage. If students perform very well, they may brag about their grades and others may feel resentment, disappointment, or embarrassment about their grades creating an unwelcoming learning environment.

I can see any subject not giving grades, but because how dependent grades are on the education system as of right now, it would be impossible to avoid giving out grades entirely. Teachers can encourage learning without emphasizing grading by creating “individualized pathways based on student abilities and interests” (Sarte & Hughes, 2010). Teachers can use students’ personalized interest to support learning and allow them to choose topics of interest to learn and share with others. This makes them intrinsically motivated, which refers to completing an activity for the enjoyment of the activity itself.

 

Reading:

Sarte, J. and Hughes, S. 2010. Refocusing our efforts: a shift from grading to an emphasis on learning. Educational Insights, 14(1).