Alfie Kohn The Case Against Grades Summary

In the article, The Case against Grades, Alfie Kohn talks about how the grading system is deflecting the actual purpose of why students are interested in classes. He speaks on how grades tend to diminish students and create a preference for what a student has to aim for in his or hers course. I myself have experienced this in my academic life.
A student shouldn’t be categorized and put into groups when looking at a grade.
When a student enrolls himself into a course, let’s say in high school, he or she is doing it because they’re interested in the course and the material that will be offered in it. One of the first things you’re given in classes when it’s time to do an assignment is a rubric of how different type of techniques will get you either a level 1, which is the lowest of grades(50% or D) you can get a level 2, which is a C or 60-70%. You can get a level 3 which is encouraged, that is a B or 80% and lastly a level 4 which is looked up as the
Graders and educators seem to emphasize assignments and grading for performance and understanding. The grading system basically labels a student’s image either being a smart/average/”dumb”. Knowing this will run very deep in how a child careers their self around school or when they have to do an assignment. The grading system makes the student more focused on what they can do to get the grade that is Above Standard than actually care about what they’re researching or learning about, this is assessing students and categorizing them basically in groups based on their knowledge and skill in the course. Teachers do try to motivate their students but it doesn’t always work and students begin to chase their grade and become disinterested in the course material. I saw a post the other day on why students cheat on exams to pass and the top reply was this “When students cheat on exams it’s because of our school system values grades more than students