Grades do not Reflect Intelligence
Grades do not Reflect Intelligence
As young adults we have been tested many times over the years, whether it be by a parent, friend or life itself however, the most common of tests we receive are from school. Growing up we were taught to believe that A meant smart and F meant dumb. Time and time again this caused distress in students who were very smart but declared dumb by the education system. Contrary, students who were receiving higher marks are not necessarily the most intelligent. Eventually, people came to the realization that the marks received on tests in fact were not an accurate representation of ones intelligence but merely a showcase of their ability to memorize information. Firstly, the education system does not properly reflect ones intelligence due to common inflation of marks. Secondly, while we are all different, the education system provides us with the same learning and thirdly, grades are the result of effort not intelligence.
As the years pass the entry level for most elite university programs rise and are currently well over 90 percent, as a high school student this can be very discouraging. Students are under an immense amount of pressure to do well and this rubs off on the teachers. More often then not teachers are faced with the pressure from students and parents asking or even demanding higher grades, many times they often ascribe any lack of high marks as the teachers fault. Coincidently, as of 2007 more than 60 percent of Ontario high school graduates had an A average, and 10 percent had an A+ average. According to Western University professor James Côté that’s up from 40 percent in 1980. (Authority) In todays society many are obsessed with the best, resulting in many parents wanting to send their children to the best schools. This ultimately leads to schools feeling pressure to maintain their supreme standing. Many schools use the success of their past students to enhance their title. For both these reasons listed, inflation
As young adults we have been tested many times over the years, whether it be by a parent, friend or life itself however, the most common of tests we receive are from school. Growing up we were taught to believe that A meant smart and F meant dumb. Time and time again this caused distress in students who were very smart but declared dumb by the education system. Contrary, students who were receiving higher marks are not necessarily the most intelligent. Eventually, people came to the realization that the marks received on tests in fact were not an accurate representation of ones intelligence but merely a showcase of their ability to memorize information. Firstly, the education system does not properly reflect ones intelligence due to common inflation of marks. Secondly, while we are all different, the education system provides us with the same learning and thirdly, grades are the result of effort not intelligence.
As the years pass the entry level for most elite university programs rise and are currently well over 90 percent, as a high school student this can be very discouraging. Students are under an immense amount of pressure to do well and this rubs off on the teachers. More often then not teachers are faced with the pressure from students and parents asking or even demanding higher grades, many times they often ascribe any lack of high marks as the teachers fault. Coincidently, as of 2007 more than 60 percent of Ontario high school graduates had an A average, and 10 percent had an A+ average. According to Western University professor James Côté that’s up from 40 percent in 1980. (Authority) In todays society many are obsessed with the best, resulting in many parents wanting to send their children to the best schools. This ultimately leads to schools feeling pressure to maintain their supreme standing. Many schools use the success of their past students to enhance their title. For both these reasons listed, inflation