Persuasive Essay On Letter Grades

First and foremost, letter grades have been used since the 19th century without any complications. “The traditional grading scale is universally recognized. Virtually everyone knows that earning an A is good while earning an F is associated with failure. The traditional grading scale is easy to interpret and understand. The simplistic nature of the system makes it user-friendly for teachers, students, and parents. It also allows for a direct comparison from one student to another within a specific class” (Meador). Ultimately, parents remember and understand the letter grading system. It's easy to be happy that their child earned an

As a student in university, grades are very important to me because high grade or passing grade shows that I am passing my courses. Grades are very essential to me because passing my courses with passing guarantee my success in college. In the reading, “Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Dispute” by Max Roosevelt, this reading talks about the different views of earning students grade in courses/classes. According in reading, Mr. Greenwood state that the professors/teachers should grade the students based on their efforts to accomplish assignment. In the same reading, Dean Hogge argued that professor shouldn’t be blame of students low grade in their courses/classes. Students work hard to earn the grade, some professor gives syllabi to

The class reflection/review discussion this week is regarding what benefits might letter grades offer over pass/fail grading systems? A grading system performs many functions and has many purposes for instance it supplies information regarding a student’s academic progress, reports which contain a student’s overall progress can provide motivation for students, and they can also be used as a guidance tool to evaluate weakness and strengths regarding a student’s performance.

First of all, letter grades give specific feedback on how well students are doing on their assignments. Pass or fail systems only offers two options, while letter grades provide 5 levels of achievements “to pinpoint a student's work ethic and comprehension”(Morgan). With 5 levels, grading is more accurate and it also shows the areas of weaknesses and areas that have improved better. In a letter grading system, an A or C grade can differentiate an excellent student from an average one. With a pass or fail grade students are only put into two categories, average or better and below average. When students are given specific feedback with letter grades students know if they’re on the

Basically, if a student with an 55 for the year and a student with a 75 for the year, both pass, what do those twenty points mean? Sure, one student had a better understanding of the course, but both are going to have the same result of passing the class. Some students may strive for the lowest passing grade. While, that isn't the mindset they should have, it’s much better than not striving for a grade at all. Moreover, if a student doesn’t have to fear failing, they won't try at all. They won't attempt to secure mediocre grades. They won't even attempt to pass. Ultimately, grades should be the deciding factor of a student's

Soon they are off to school. School comes along with lots of new experiences, some good, others bad. Among those things there are a few that are arguably unneeded. Grades are slowly making their way to the top of the list. The way we currently measure success in school is through a letter grading system. A is great, B not so much, C and D unacceptable, and F? Forget about it! (Ellis) This is the way we have been grading middle and elementary schools since the late nineteenth century after it had been tested throughout colleges and high schools beginning in the year 1756. A standardized grading option was needed to keep the growing number of schools on track with each other. (Lassahn) Just because this is the only way we have found to measure the growth of children for the past two hundred or so years. That by no means proves it is the best way. The stress and burden it puts on the children outweighs the purpose of grading.

Today, millions of students describe school as too hard, too stressful, and too much. While that may be true, school is benefiting these kids more than they realize. Kids who desire to succeed in life strive for exceptional grades, while others who do not have much say about their future are subtle with failing a class. Getting an A in a class does not define someone's ability to learn, their intuition, or their ingenuity, but it shows their determination. That is the determination that will get them somewhere far in life. But if everyone received an A in a class, does that mean they will all go somewhere far too? If we used a pass-or-fail grading system within our school, we would never know, as it would not show students full potential and their ability to try. Instead, it would result in a lack of competitiveness and it would not provide an accurate representation of performance level and knowledge, therefore I believe we should stick to our regular A, B, C, D, or F letter grades.

Today’s focus in education is on high expectations and accountability. All students are required to meet or exceed grade level standards, if a student does not exhibit the requirements then the school, teachers and parents are faced with a dilemma. The student could be promoted to the next grade, with the hope that the student with catch up. This is called social promotion, which is a practice of promoting a student to the next grade regardless of skill mastery in the belief that it will promote self-esteem. An alternative is to hold back the student in that grade. Because of our current educational environment, grade retention has been making a comeback. Grade retention, grade repetition, or flunking is the process of having a student repeat

Some students might not try as hard as they could for grades because they know they will get a good grade.

Summary of Source E: The pressure of grades has enormous negative effects on the students motivation to learn and challenge themselves.

Several factors play a role when it comes to students’ success or failure in schools. Academic performance can be attributed to socio-economic status, parents’ involvement, the role educators play in students’ life and the school culture into which students are integrated to. A factor that has been the source of much debate is the role grades play in benefiting or hindering students’ success. Does obtaining a fail mark cause a chain reaction that leads to further failure or does it play a crucial role in motivating students to excel and perform better? Should we, as educators, advocate for

It’s 2A.M, everyone around you is asleep, sitting within hands reach lays a 16-ounce can of Monster, and a heaping tower of homework still to be tackled. You know it will be a long night and hope that you will be able to finish all the work. Some students end up in this position because of procrastination, others out of determination, and the few extremists who piled on a full course load looking for a challenge. Regardless of the student, all of them have a common goal…success in their academic endeavors. Every time a grade gets posted online students hesitantly click on the little red notification bell, half full of excitement and the other half worry. But why is academic success so important to students? For many students, they fear that their grades will determine their fate; from the job they will land, to the car they drive and everything in between. They think that their entire future is predetermined based off of their academic performance and unfortunately due to the structure of the education system they are often correct. Grades affect a students’ motivation, intelligence, and how they shape their identity.

Schools nationwide are contemplating whether or not they should stick to letter grades or switch to an alternative grading system. Many say that letter grades discourage learning and “crush creativity.” Instead of using traditional A’s, B’s, and C’s, they would use a grading system using numbers 1-4. 1’s are equivalent to saying that the student has no general idea on how to carry out the skill, and 4 means that the student has mastered the skill. Many students are “obsessed” with getting the A+; however, are they really learning the skill? This new grading technique motivates the students to become proficient at the skill. Changing the grading system may impact the demeanor of the students positively while pushing them. The rest of this essay will demonstrate how schools across the country might be able to benefit from switching to an alternative grading system by making students more relaxed and focused on mastering the skill.

The practice of using grades to measure academic achievement has been used by educators for years, but there is still no consensus about the effectiveness or benefits of using grades on student learning and achievement. Do grades help students to learn or hinder them? Even though grades have been accepted a standard practice in most schools, there is little research to support their continued use. Grades can cause students to lose interest in learning, preference for challenge, and quality thinking.

A student might love working with electronics, but the reality is the student may not be good enough to follow that career path. Parents today use grading as a means to gage and access the child’s progress. Laura Owen wrote an article for teachingmonster.com that wrote, “According to leaders in the field, the true purpose of assessment is to evaluate a student’s level of understanding, and should be used to provide appropriate feedback and guidance in planning future instruction” (Owen 1). Good or bad, needed or not needed, grades play a role. Robert Marzano