As I was going through the resources on the history of grading, some of my thoughts about grading were confirmed. This includes thoughts about grades not predicting success and grades having negative effects on self-esteem. As I was watching the Why Do We Get Grades in School? video, I learned that grades were originally introduced at the college level; therefore, intended for older students. I think that traditional grades aren’t appropriate for younger students, especially at the elementary level. Instead, we should do what Alfie Khon suggested, which is replace grades with narrative reports and student and parent conferences.
Not only do grades affect children's’ self esteem, they get some students to develop a mindset in which they feel they can’t be successful. When students get C’s or E’s/F’s at a young age, they see themselves as “stupid” or “bad students”, and they often maintain that mindset through middle and high school. The girl in the video stated, “We’re told grades are the strongest predictors of success, but this is not necessarily true because it gives you the average not the full picture.'' Yes, people with high GPAs do tend to do well in the workforce; however, there are also people who didn’t finish college or even high school who have been successful, such as Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey. She also pointed out that students with high GPAs are strong occupational thinkers, but not visionaries because they are rewarded for conformity and following the rules rather than creative thinking or specialization. When she said this, it made me think of all the times I’ve thought, That kid is going to go on to do great things in the future, about a kid who was considered “average” because of his/her grades. This also made me reflect on my “A” students. Typically, these students are well behaved and attentive students. Over the past few years, though, I feel like my grading practices have started to change in order to put more value into creative and critical thinking. As much as I wish that I could get rid of traditional grades, I know that’s not possible at this time. As an alternative, I think I can move toward doing more conferencing with students and including them in parent/teacher conferences.
I also watched the video on Japanese schools. In the video, they listed 10 Brilliant Features to the Japanese Education System. The features are:
Manners before knowledge
Academic year starts on April 1st
Students clean the schools themselves
School lunch is provided on a standardized menu
After-school workshops are very popular
Students learn Japanese calligraphy and poetry
Students have to wear uniforms
School attendance rate is 99.99%
A single test decides their futures
College years are the best “holidays” in life
Some of the features I thought were great, such as manners before knowledge, students cleaning the school, and students learning calligraphy and poetry. The manners before knowledge stuck out to me the most. Students do not have exams until grade until they’re in fourth grade. In the first years of school, they focus on establishing good manners and developing their character. They are taught how to be generous, compassionate, and empathetic and are also taught grit, self-control, and justice. I love this idea because it focuses on the whole child rather than just academics. I think if we focus on teaching students how to develop their character first, they will be more successful in their academics.
Hi Buka,
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the things you said. I love so many things about being a teacher except giving grades. I really feel like they are outdated and can be misinterpreted by both students, parents, and other teachers as well. I hate it when the next year's teachers comment on grades that I gave a previous year. This just goes to show how they can be subjective and not at all the best tool for communicating student achievement or learning. I also think about my own daughter. She is super creative and sometimes I feel like school just frustrates her because it doesn't allow her to let her creativity shine. What she produces has to fit in the box of reading, writing, and math when she clearly has talents in other things too. It is interesting that Japan puts character first. Maybe if we did that here in the States, students would do better overall because they would have better collaborative skills and ethics. Someday we might figure it out.
I agree that when I reflect back on my grading practices, the students who earn "A's" are often the ones who are most obedient, well-behaved, and attentive. This is not to say that those students didn't earn their grades. Often, they showed grit and discipline when completing homework and studying for tests. I believe the evidence would reflect that they did know the material. What I question, like you, is how many students were missed with our traditional system. How many students could have explained maybe (in an oral argument) about the difference between physical vs. chemical changes in matter but were unable to do so on the exam we gave? This discussion of grades also makes me re-examine the notion of retakes and our district's current policy on doing so. Currently, we allow retakes for students in math, but the middle school policy will only grant students an 80% (at most) the second time around, regardless if he/she does better than that. I feel this policy is punitive and designed to deter students from retakes rather than encourage them. If students want to demonstrate a higher level of understanding a couple weeks later, I think we should give them the grade they earned. Our focus should be on students demonstrating mastery, not the grade they earn or the time it takes them to do so.
ReplyDeleteI also found the video about Japanese schools compelling. While I didn't love the pressure placed on students later in their education journeys, I appreciated the focus on responsibility, manners, and creativity when they were young. All of these aspects of education seem to get lost when teachers feel pressure to hit aggressive academic targets and standards. In the end, what kind of humans are we fostering?