AP English Language: The Inequitable Grading System
Eunice Lee
Mrs. Hexter
AP English Language - 7
5 February 2016
The Inequitable Grading System Consider a sixth grade student. He has been studying for three weeks for his final exam and hopes to receive a high grade. He gets his grade back and sees a “D” on his paper. This single letter changes, not only the attitude of the student, but also the setting of the classroom. Students begin to further segregate themselves into “smart” and “dumb” groups. These letters have defined the “intelligence” of students; students remain demoralized at school, for often times, hard work and ethics are simply not considered good enough for a high grade. Our current grading system acts as an inequitable way to evaluate students’ performance, for this method disregards other potential, affecting factors, such as hard work, additional help, or personal matters. …show more content…
Although teachers try to develop grading policies that are honest and fair, their subjective evalutions vary widely, even among those who teach at the same grade level within the same school, thus making it difficult to know what a GPA really measures. According to the National Education Association, Virginia’s Fairfax County Public School District acknowledged this issue and adopted standards-based grading to dilute the detriments of numerical grading; parents and students claim that this form of individualized learning demonstrates greater mastery by separating out grades for “student effort and achievement.” This ought to also provide an incentive to actually learn, rather than simply memorize facts for a grade, and discourage
Mrs. Hexter
AP English Language - 7
5 February 2016
The Inequitable Grading System Consider a sixth grade student. He has been studying for three weeks for his final exam and hopes to receive a high grade. He gets his grade back and sees a “D” on his paper. This single letter changes, not only the attitude of the student, but also the setting of the classroom. Students begin to further segregate themselves into “smart” and “dumb” groups. These letters have defined the “intelligence” of students; students remain demoralized at school, for often times, hard work and ethics are simply not considered good enough for a high grade. Our current grading system acts as an inequitable way to evaluate students’ performance, for this method disregards other potential, affecting factors, such as hard work, additional help, or personal matters. …show more content…
Although teachers try to develop grading policies that are honest and fair, their subjective evalutions vary widely, even among those who teach at the same grade level within the same school, thus making it difficult to know what a GPA really measures. According to the National Education Association, Virginia’s Fairfax County Public School District acknowledged this issue and adopted standards-based grading to dilute the detriments of numerical grading; parents and students claim that this form of individualized learning demonstrates greater mastery by separating out grades for “student effort and achievement.” This ought to also provide an incentive to actually learn, rather than simply memorize facts for a grade, and discourage