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Old 05-5-2007, 12:40 AM   #21
archbishopjabber
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Default Re: Grades

I'm not sure if this is completely on the topic but... public education systems seem to have this idea that if they give people good grades by lowering the standards it means they are educating the students. I have seen with NYS Regents Exams that they have curved the tests to the point where someone of diminished mental capacity has no problem passing them. I think the grade system is valid but I think grades should be much more difficult to achieve. Students should not be worried about whether they are getting 98's or 99's but instead see it as an accomplishment if they are able to pass. This would simply mean much more difficult tests and rigorous grading standards. America is falling behind in terms of education big time, and we have some major catching up to do. If it means failing a large number of students then so be it, better to cut them loose then let them drag those who are motivated and talented down...
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Old 05-5-2007, 03:30 AM   #22
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Default Re: Grades

Ugh, don't get me started on curving.

If everyone in the class scores high, you have either a bright class, or a test that is too easy. Adjust next time. If you determine that the problem was your test was too easy, look at assigning a more difficult additional assignment.

If they score too low, same deal. Either your class isn't very bright, or you made your test way too hard. Adjust for next time, and if you determine that it was your test that was too hard, look at assigning a make-up to balance it out.

Just arbitrarily going "Aaaand, I'm changing all your marks so you fit onto this chart" is incredibly academically dishonest if you ask me.
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Old 05-5-2007, 10:24 AM   #23
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Default Re: Grades

Talk about academic dishonesty...they changed the questions on the provincial english exam here to make the exam SIGNIFICANTLY easier, and thus boosted the provincial average from like 48 to 64. And then they claim that their 'new programs' and stuff have 'significantly increased literacy levels' without mentioning to parents that they made the exam much easier. As we see, yet another case of the number being more important than what the students are actually learning.

This is one of my primary concerns, and it just keeps appearing time and time again (around here at least). I completely disagree with the current grading system because it puts a meaningless number above education and learning...which is what education is supposed to be about.

But uh yea, I don't like bellcurving the marks. And yes, when every student is getting 90's you know you're marking them far too easily. Most of my classes had averages in the 60's...where they should be. But i've been in and heard of a lot of classes where noone fails, and the averages are incredibly high. I remember talking to a guy that had like 98 in his grade 12 math class, where as I was working my butt off to get a 90. Then, around came the standardized provincial exam and he got a 40 and I got a 90. Someones tests and material were slightly too easy >___>

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If they score too low, same deal. Either your class isn't very bright, or you made your test way too hard. Adjust for next time, and if you determine that it was your test that was too hard, look at assigning a make-up to balance it out.

One time I had a physics prof and his test was so hard the class average was like 20%. He was like laughing while we took the test >__>

Anyway, I don't even think I passed but ended up with an A or something because of the curve XD
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Old 05-5-2007, 12:22 PM   #24
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Default Re: Grades

To me, grades are useful to a certain point. It's already been brought up that they are subjective teacher to teacher, school to school, and that your personality/temperament has as much effect on their grades as your actual knowledge on the subject. Overall, however, I feel that grades give people a scope of the students overall performance.

I, being a junior in high school, have to worry about my grades because I want to go to a good college. By knowing the difficulty of the class and teacher, I can see how much effort I need to put into the class to maintain a good grade, and so the whole system helps me to make sure I don't fall behind. However, for the same reason that the grades are not set to a standard (other than the A-F system), that means nothing to other people who didn't take the class. All they see is the letter and percent. If I got a 98% in my latin class for the quarter, but a 84% in AP Physics, then my grades say I did better in Latin then Physics, which, technicaly, I did. However, I hate latin, and I got an A in it because the teacher litteraly can't read my writting and assumes I did the work. Hurray for a free A. But my physics teacher, being 50 years younger and a ton smarter, picks up on when I BS the work and when I really understand it. So, because I had an easier time in Latin then Physics, my grades say I'm better at Lating, which is complete bull crap.

Grades also become to important for some people. I know that if I get B's in highschool and do well on my ACT (I got a 30, and I'll be retaking it next year too, because the highest score counts), then most colleges will realise that I can just be lazy at times even if I understand the material. If I were a person who made sure to get all the homework and extra credit done (a grade point whore >.>), then I wouldn't necessarily understand the subject matter. Whats more important overall, an ok grade and an understanding of the knowledge, or an A but not fully understanding the subject. Or maybe I should just stop playing Gears of War and do my homework sometime....nah
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Old 05-5-2007, 06:44 PM   #25
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Default Re: Grades

Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but grades are pretty useless in my school. If you actually give a crap, you will get an A in any class, easily. If you don't, you will fail.

In my school, grades are a measure of how much you CARE, not how much you know. I have not seen a SINGLE person in my school who actually cares about a class, who got a C or below in that class. Things can come up to reduce your grade to a B or so, but I have yet to see anyone get a C or less in a class they care about.

Grades as a concept are great, but the problem is that grades are becoming more of a measurement of whether or not someone could give a crap about it. My school's curriculum is very easy if you care, and if you don't care, you're going to fail from all the zeroes anyway.
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Old 05-5-2007, 07:15 PM   #26
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Default Re: Grades

My main problem with grades are the huge fluctuations between individual teachers and the curriculum taught in schools, which has been brought up.

I believe that the best way you could teach students would be to assign papers, essays, worksheets, etc. as any teacher normally would, but make every single assignment optional. Then, administrate a test every 1 or 2 weeks, to keep the information fresh in the student's minds, then give a quarterly final over everything.

In this way you're not only measuring the student's intelligence but also their ability to complete tasks given to them without having their hand held the entire way, which is something easily applied in the work force.

Another huge issue with grades is extra credit. Extra credit is given weekly by some of my school's teachers, while others have never given extra credit assignments to anyone. Extra credit, as I see it, usually takes the form of two things:

1. Your teacher assigned "Extra Credit" questions on tests. These are either very miniscule points, discussed briefly in class that don't really matter to the curriculum forcing you to rely on memorization of past discussions, or completely off-topic questions that pertain to absolutely nothing worthwhile (i.e., something memorable in sports, pop culture, etc. This happens a LOT with some of my teachers).

2. Your teacher assigns extra credit assignments in the form of an essay or project that goes in depth on a subject that really doesn't matter much in the overall curriculum. For instance, you need to make a poster about a certain concentration camp during the Holocaust, and go in detail about that. This is something not applied to the curriculum, or taught to any of the other students.

Either way it's something that's not appliable to the overall curriculum, and adds points to certain kid's overall grades that are supposed to measure their knowledge of said curriculum.
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Old 05-6-2007, 09:54 PM   #27
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Default Re: Grades

Relam, that's how my schools were, pretty much. The thing is that I'm smart, but the problem is that I just don't care to do the work at all. I mean, I survived by doing the tests and stuff, but the homework killed me at the same time. I'm probably biased, but I don't think it should be like that. Even a lot of the teachers don't think it should be like that, but they know that there's nothing they can do. Some of them literally went to meetings JUST to try and stop some of the nonsense, but it didn't change a thing.
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