What Our Education System Needs Is More F's Summary

In his article “College Students Need to Toughen Up, Quit Their Grade Whining”, Robert Schlesingner addresses the emerging issue of grade inflation, and more specifically, the greater sense of entitlement that seems to prevail in the modern scholastic realm. Mr. Schlesingner begins his address by presenting his background and what standards and expectations were common during his time through both lower-level education and college. During his time [time in what?], a grade of C represented “adequate” or average work, B correlated with “an above average job”, and obtaining an A required “spectacular” performance by the student. [more concise] However, as cited by Mr. Schlesingner, an investigation by the University of California-Irvine seems to indicate that the values of each letter grade has changed, at least in the mind of the modern student with more students now believing that A’s and B’s should be more easily obtained and that the amount of effort put into a task should be considered when grading. Next, Mr. Schlesingner presents his opinions on this topic of grade inflation and the proper influence of student effort on grade. To conclude,

Singleton carefully arranges his article in a way to further his argument. Singleton first shocks his reader by claiming what we need is more F's. Then with several short paragraphs he tries to prove his argument. He explains to the reader about the evolution and decline of the American educational system. How F's became D's then D's to C's and finally B's as an average grade. Then he hammers home his point by explaining how wide spread F's would reform our system. Parents would take an active roll in their kids education, teachers would have to excel if they themselves were not to become failures, the voters, politicians, and school boards would finally become aware of our problem when kids by the millions were held back. Then to sum up his argument Singleton states, "The single most important requirement for solving the problems of education in America today is a big fat F, written decisively in red ink millions of times in

Carl Singleton writes in “What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s” that our education system is failing. Because our education system is failing, students are graduating from high school and college without being able to read or do simple math. “The immediate need for our educational system from prekindergarten through post-Ph.D. is not more money or better teaching but simply a widespread giving of F’s.” Singleton says. Singleton goes on to say that the F’s that should be given would only be given to students that failed to learn the required material. Students are, and continue to be passed rather than held back or failed. Singleton blames low-quality teaching on “…low-quality teachers who never should have been certified in the first place.” Once parents start to see that their child has in fact earned an F, they may become more of an active parent in the sense of setting boundaries and rules when it comes to grades and entertainment (taking away phone or TV privileges). Along with Singleton I believe that there should be a lot more stern F’s given to students that earn them. More F’s in the educational system would result in providing the world with literate graduates, quality teachers and active parents.

The article “Gimme an A (I Insist!) by Abigail Sullivan Moore is a commentary on grade inflation in high schools. The author discusses how high school averages are on the rise while SAT scores are staying the same. Moore goes into detail about how teachers are giving students better grades in an attempt to spare their feelings. She then covers how this negatively affects our students. The major points that will be covered in this paper are how relevant this article is and how the problem discussed is affecting our students.

While many believe that the grading system has a concrete standing in the success of education, other’s believe that it actually can inhibit or at least lessen the effectiveness of learning. In “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System,” Jerry Farber states that for the longest time, many have dismissed the fact that grades could be harmful to the learning process. He argues that grades lack the ability to bring about self-discipline within the students learning the content. While the educational system has rendered changes throughout the years, the grading system maintains its virginity and has been fairly untouched. He insists that many educators are in strong belief that grades are the only way to ensure that learning is to take place within the classroom. Most of society would dictate that the system has been fairly effective in getting individuals through their schooling. But as Farber points out, students tend to focus more upon the grades they are receiving and less upon the content itself. Throughout his writing, Faber uses many forms of rhetoric to persuade the reader to believe the fact that the grading system is corrupted and should be changed, and offers a solution which is referred to as the Credit System. With this being said, it can be stated that Farber effectively conveys his argument through his appeal to a younger

Kurt Wiesenfeld's article, "Making the Grade," presents the social issue of grades. The author explores the extent of this problem by examining the social environment in which these students were raised. Wiesenfeld also addresses the changing attitude towards what a grade represents and the true value of a grade. The author effectively uses several writing strategies to engage the reader, influence the audience and illustrate how much thought he has given this issue. The essay is organized by a logical progression from thesis to individual claims and the author provides real-world examples for the issues. With those real-world examples, Wiesenfeld explains how serious the problem can become and demonstrates why the issue should be addressed.

Grades: Unneccessary for Learning 30 years ago, the United States of America was ranked the leader in quality of education. However, today it is now reported to be the 36th highest in the world. The learning experience has altered drastically in the recent years. In his essay, “A Young Person's Guide to the Grading System,” Jerry Farber claims that students have become addicted to grades. He further explains that due to the negative impact grades have, people believe they need to be graded in order to keep them in line.

“Grade Inflation Gone Wild” by Stuart Rojstaczer discusses how the grading system has changed over the years. Rojstaczer overall purpose it to call to action by first persuading his readers why it is necessary to stop grade inflation. He argues that “changes in grading have had a profound influence on college life and learning.” He utilizes tools such as rhetorical situations and appeals to persuade his audience. For instance, Rojstaczer implements data to prove how the grading system has changed. Overall, Rojstaczer is effective in utilizing rhetorical situations and appeals to persuade his audience on why grade inflation is wrong and is need of change.

In Singleton’s article “What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s”, Singleton suggests that failing more students is the key in improving our educational system. He believes that there is too much credit given by the soft hand of teachers to students who do not deserve to move on to the next grade level. In a social

    It's June, and another graduating class is hoping, among other things, to achieve high grades. Of course, "high" is a subjective target. Originally a "C" meant average; today however, the expectations and pressures to give and receive "A's" and "B's" takes its toll on teachers and students alike. This nullifies the value of the traditional grading scale and creates a host of entirely new problems. The widespread occurrence of grade inflation seriously affects the credibility of secondary and post-secondary education in America.

People who are against the pass fail system object to students with letter grades lower than an A receiving the same recognition since they do not work as hard. Protestors of the pass fail grading system like the letter grading system because it creates competition between students which is needed to show the better and brighter students. Groups against the pass fail system, additionally, believe that grades are necessary for college admittance. If passing were on every student’s report cards colleges would be taking a “shot in the dark” and would not have an accurate appraisal of the students they are considering. Supporters of the letter grading system would argue that implementing the pass-fail system would only hurt students and imply to them that there is not room to excel, only to pass.

Some schools in Billerica, Ma tried to get rid of letter grades but after many parents complained how it was too hard to understand they changed their report cards yet again. The district?s solution was the hybrid grading system. ?Under the traditional grading system, a child who aces tests but fails to do homework might receive the same grade as a child who struggles on exams but diligently turns in homework assignments, Piwowar? (Buote). This quote, from Superintendent Timothy Piwowar, shows us the total unfairness of the letters; Not only to the student who doesn?t do their homework and will definitely struggle later on, but to the struggling student that won?t get the help they

The pass-or-fail system eliminates the amount of competitiveness and does not provide an accurate representation of performance level and knowledge. Although students may say that it is less stressful and easier, they would not learn anything if we put this system to use. A pass-or-fail grading system would harm students futures and would not prepare them for ‘real-world situations.’ “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” but if our students received all A’s without trying, are they really getting educated

The schooling system is broken when it comes to whether students think learning the content or receiving a grade is more important. I was talking to my father about this article, and he brought up an advanced English class at the college he attended. The students who were eligible to take this class were the most talented and the highest in their class. The professor was presented with a problem. He did not feel settled grading these talented students in his class according to the bell curve college classes commonly use. He did not feel right handing out Cs and Bs to these A students. Instead of grading the students on the curve, the professor gave every kid in the class an A, and turned in their final grades on the first day. He expected all of the students to show interest, give maximal effort, and contribute to the class. He understood that they were all talented enough to receive an A. The professor eliminated any stress a grade would bring to these students, and he allowed them to fully focus on learning. I understand that a teacher cannot do that in a high school biology class, but there are ways to prevent cheating and engage learning. This biology teacher may not feel right in allowing these twenty eight kids to pass, but I believe that she should feel obligated in her heart to stay and prevent this from happening again. School is about learning about oneself and growing as a person; school is not about earning a grade and learning biology. This teacher needs to help kids learn about what is the right thing to do before twenty eight of them

We’ve all been pleasantly surprised by receiving a higher grade than expected on a school assignment or exam. Unfortunately, the average grade being given to today’s college student does not reflect the quality of the work submitted, and it is having a negative effect on students. Students end up using valuable grant and loan money taking developmental classes, because they received passing grades in core subjects when they should have failed. Teachers have adapted their grading system to reflect the under-developed skills of the students. This practice handicaps students during their academic years, as well as their post-graduation and entry into the workforce. Through a more rigid grading system, today’s students would improve their work ethic and become more prepared to face post-graduation challenges.