There is much debate over whether grades help or hinder students within the education system. Many educators believe that grades inhibit student learning and growth as students become hyper-fixated on them rather than focusing their attention on the subject matter. Many educators feel that grades have become the focus of much of their students' focus and that rather than actually trying to understand and appreciate the classroom material, all students are focused on doing well on a test and getting a good grade.
In addition, grades can become a major source of stress for students. When students start to view grades as a means of going to a respected college, getting a good job, and being successful, students can create a negative relationship with school and develop anxiety around grades. Receiving a bad grade, or the fear of getting a bad grade, can discourage students and hinder their desire to learn. Furthermore, many educators believe that without grades, students would not feel a desire to cheat or plagiarize and would take more charge of their learning experience.
SOURCE: Learning Liftoff
Within recent years there has been a push by many educators and parents to move away from letter grades within schools and to find better ways to access students. The no-more-grades movement has gained steam within academia as many private and public schools move away from traditional letter grades and find other ways to evaluate students.
On the other hand, many educators believe that grades are an important aspect of a student’s education. Many educators believe that grades hold students accountable for their learning and classroom participation. In addition, many educators believe that grades represent an accurate depiction of a student’s standing in the classroom and that grades are a useful tool for students to use to decipher their understanding of a material.
SOURCE: Education Week
But what would school be without grades? Many schools have moved to incorporate competency-based transcripts or teacher assessments rather than traditional grading scales. In addition, many educators are adopting performance and project based reports, portfolios, projects, and observation records as ways to assess their students.
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