These are the four ways in which I would continue the assigned essay.
"...students,"
…fail to see grades as the means to an end and not the end.
…fail to realize that learning itself is the reward not the punishment.
… fail to experience the genuine happiness and self-discovery that come with learning.
…fail to discover the true meaning of learning and the joy it brings.
As I pondered on these statements, I began to think about all the readings, materials and exercises I have come across in this course and started to see how naïve my own beliefs and opinions about grades and assessment in general have been.
The Finnish Education Model: Excellence v. Equity
There is a buzz among educators about the Finnish education system which focuses on equity versus excellence. In the Finnish education model, narrative feedback instead of alphabetical or numeric grades are given by teachers to each individual student. Finnish students take only one standardized test given at age 16. Their focus is on learning, not ranking in terms of comparing grades or results of standardized tests to those of other students thereby eliminating open competition among them. This promotes individuality and at the same time equality in terms of learning opportunities which in turn inspires creativity, risk-taking, collaboration and cooperation among students. Contrary to what many scholars on the subject posit, the Finnish education model is beginning to gain ground not because it proposes to abolish the handing out of grades. It merely asks educators to present grades in an innovative way. By training teachers in our schools to learn about the different types of assessment, how and when to use them, we might be able to shift our focus from excellence to equity in learning.
Grades and What They Mean
I came across this statement in my readings which I think sums up my current thoughts on grades. In an article in The Chronicle of Higher Learning, Ahmad Afzal (2012) writes,
“Grades do not represent an objective measure of students’ intelligence, capabilities, talents, or potential, nor do they capture the essence of their character, soul or worth as human beings.”
Having three children of my own, I can see how the above statement is so true. My eldest, a junior in High School, has always been the high flyer, the straight A student, the “perfect child” who never gets in trouble, never fails to turn in her work, never forgets an assignment, always participates in class and so on and so forth. Reading her report card makes me feel proud that I have brought someone into this world whom teachers describe as “a pleasure to teach”, “a model student”, “brilliant”, “most likely to succeed”. Then I have an 8th grader, a laid-back young fellow who barely speaks but when he does, his uttered statements are like sudden flashes of light in their brilliance, depth and meaning. He is an average student whose report card has a sprinkling of B’s and C’s and occasional A’s. (maybe even a D+ at some point). Teachers describe him as “sweet”, “well-behaved”, “calm”, “everybody’s friend”. Although he turns his work in on time, never misses an assignment, behaves in class, his teachers think he has not reached his full potential, would benefit more from speaking up and participating in oral discussions to earn “better grades”. Then there’s my youngest. She is the life of the party, the dancer, the sociable one, the charming one, the one who seems to think the world revolves around her, yet being the youngest, she has had to find her place in the family. She has the loudest voice and the biggest presence. Her grades are A’s and B’s yet at ten years old, she has seen the impact of grades on popularity, on the pecking order among peers, on the acceptance of family members and friends and most importantly for her, on the praise or lack of praise that her teachers give her.
As both a parent and an educator, I sometimes tend to see my own children as mere students through the eyes of their teachers. I am guilty of praising and rewarding them (yes, financially or materially) for getting “good” grades and talking down to them (even grounding them) when they earn “bad” grades. Just like their teachers, I tend to lose track of their learning and focus solely on their grades. I forget that my “model student” is not just wonderful academically but is a gifted performer and dreams of becoming a thespian, a stage actress someday, or that my “laid-back” young man is passionate about soccer and has the critical-thinking skills to analyze the results of soccer matches and can even tell me how he could have scored a “hat trick” if he were one of the players on his favorite team, and let’s not forget my charming dancer who has failed to realize that friends are drawn to her not because of her “good” grades but because of her effervescent charm, her endless but amusing stories and her knack for making everyone around her feel special.
Purposes of Assessment
Then I asked myself, how do we as educators see our students? Do we promote unhealthy competition among them? Do we enhance their learning by giving assignments that help them develop not just academic skills but also critical thinking skills? At the beginning of each course, do we clearly identify and explain what the learning outcomes are? Do we provide our students with rubrics that provide specific areas or content that we intend to assess in a performance, project or presentation? Most importantly, what is the impact of giving grades on student motivation and learning? By learning about the different purposes of assessment, educators might now practice assessment with intention. Students must be given the opportunity to ask not “How can I earn a better grade?” but rather “How can I improve my academic performance.” This shifts students’ focus from grades as the end to grades as an indicator of their learning progress.
Conclusion
While some members of the academe are leaning towards the abolition of grades, others are finding out ways to use them with purpose and intention. As long as grades continue to be required by schools, parents, administrators and students themselves, educators must learn how to use grades synergistically with other forms of assessment. Use grades as a tool purposefully to enhance learning by allowing students to self-reflect and self-assess. Students must see grades as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. Students must realize that learning is their reward, not their punishment. Students must experience the self-discovery and self-fulfillment that come with learning. Finally, students must be able to discover the true meaning of learning and the joy it brings.
References
Afzal, A. (July 11, 2012) Grading and its discontents. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved March 6, 2013 from
http://chronicle.com/article/GradingIts-Discontents/132789/
Ellis, J. (2012) Do grades do any good? Retrieved March 7, 2013 from http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Grades_Any_Good/
Kohn, A. (March 1999) From degrading to de-Grading. High School Magazine.
Retrieved March 7, 2013 from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/fdtd-g.htm
Maes, B. (February 24, 2010) What makes education in Finland that good? 10 reform principles behind the success (wordpress.com) Retrieved March 7, 2013 from http://bertmaes.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/why-is-education-in-finland-that-good-10-reform-principles-behind-the-success/
Quinn, T. (December 2011) A crash course on giving grades: Grades tell students how well they did in comparison to each other, but almost nothing of what they need to work on to get better. Phi Delta Kappan. Retrieved March 7, 2013 from http://myportal.upou.edu.ph/course/view.php?id=312
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