Flaws In Research Paper

Have you ever had a bad experience with grades? Do grades create a preference for the easiest task? In " The Case Against Grades" Alfie Kohn argues why grades should be completely erased out of the system. I agree with him, when he says that "grades create a preference for the easiest possible task" and " grades tend to reduce the quality of students' thinking". I disagree with him, when he says that " Grades tend to diminish students interest in whatever they're learning".

Furthermore, the author points out that grades are not improving because students and education are improving but rather because parents and students are demanding grades to be adjusted according to what they think it is needed not what it is deserved. “Students and parents are demanding -- and getting -- what they think of as their money's worth” (Staples, 216). Students are not receiving the grade they truly deserve based on their work but what the parents and the students themselves

Alfie Kohn discussed multiple fabulous points in his article, “Degrading to De-Grading”. The author suggests more effective ways to assess students’ progress other than numerical or letter grades. Kohn goes into detail about why our current grading system is flawed. Grades can cause students to lose interest in learning which causes them to stop taking challenges. If students are not engaged and interested than they are not retaining the information they are being taught. The grading system can also cause students to develop unhealthy competition with one another for instance, “I got a better grade than you!”. Indeed, grades are a wonderful concept, but they tend to be more hurtful than helpful. In some cases, grades can have positive effects on students. For example, setting goals for various assignments, or receiving help where they are struggling. Though, there are alternatives that could make positive changes in the system.

While many believe that the grading system has a concrete standing in the success of education, other’s believe that it actually can inhibit or at least lessen the effectiveness of learning. In “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System,” Jerry Farber states that for the longest time, many have dismissed the fact that grades could be harmful to the learning process. He argues that grades lack the ability to bring about self-discipline within the students learning the content. While the educational system has rendered changes throughout the years, the grading system maintains its virginity and has been fairly untouched. He insists that many educators are in strong belief that grades are the only way to ensure that learning is to take place within the classroom. Most of society would dictate that the system has been fairly effective in getting individuals through their schooling. But as Farber points out, students tend to focus more upon the grades they are receiving and less upon the content itself. Throughout his writing, Faber uses many forms of rhetoric to persuade the reader to believe the fact that the grading system is corrupted and should be changed, and offers a solution which is referred to as the Credit System. With this being said, it can be stated that Farber effectively conveys his argument through his appeal to a younger

Kurt Wiesenfeld's article, "Making the Grade," presents the social issue of grades. The author explores the extent of this problem by examining the social environment in which these students were raised. Wiesenfeld also addresses the changing attitude towards what a grade represents and the true value of a grade. The author effectively uses several writing strategies to engage the reader, influence the audience and illustrate how much thought he has given this issue. The essay is organized by a logical progression from thesis to individual claims and the author provides real-world examples for the issues. With those real-world examples, Wiesenfeld explains how serious the problem can become and demonstrates why the issue should be addressed.

Schools and college professors, who give you a good grade for excellent productivity on assignments, allow students to perform poorly, but still benefit relative to a person with an A. Two articles that observe grade inflation, find the rising problems of grade inflation, and finding solutions for grade inflation. Stuart Rojstaczer, an author from Grade Inflation Gone Wild, is a professor of geophysics at Duke university, and created gradeinflation.com in regards for his concern about grade inflation. On the other hand, Phil Primack is a journalist and teacher at Tufts University, and published in the “Boston Globe” Doesn’t Anybody Get a C Anymore? While college students, who work with little effort and still attain easy A’s by working poorly on assignments and exams, Primack and Rojstaczer, develop a firm connection towards grade inflation and the solution that can regain control over real education.

Letter grades have been used for centuries. However, should we keep using them? Many people in our world today believe they are a nuiscance, while others argue that the system’s long life only proves it’s competence. Although many may argue against it, letter grades are a thing of the past and should be discarded in order to clear a path for the future.

Kathleen Cleveland compares each child to a mosaic “created from the many ‘pieces’ of how he is, how he learns, and what he need in order to succeed in [education].” (p. 17) The most effective grading practices, according to those in favor of no-zero policies, provide accurate, specific and timely feedback designed to improve student performance therefore an educator should do everything possible to ensure that all students learn the academic criteria of their curriculum. Selby and Murphy argue that “low grades prompt students to withdraw from learning. To protect their self-images, many students regard the low grade as irrelevant or meaningless.” (p. 92) and the more students are led to focus on how well they’re doing, the less engaged they

The class reflection/review discussion this week is regarding what benefits might letter grades offer over pass/fail grading systems? A grading system performs many functions and has many purposes for instance it supplies information regarding a student’s academic progress, reports which contain a student’s overall progress can provide motivation for students, and they can also be used as a guidance tool to evaluate weakness and strengths regarding a student’s performance.

    It's June, and another graduating class is hoping, among other things, to achieve high grades. Of course, "high" is a subjective target. Originally a "C" meant average; today however, the expectations and pressures to give and receive "A's" and "B's" takes its toll on teachers and students alike. This nullifies the value of the traditional grading scale and creates a host of entirely new problems. The widespread occurrence of grade inflation seriously affects the credibility of secondary and post-secondary education in America.

Alfie Kohn, author of “From Degrading to De-grading”, discussed the negative psychological effects that grades have on students. School should be used to educate people and strengthen their mind so that they can more easily learn to deal with specific challenges they will face throughout their life. There are two articles that agree with the views of Mr. Kohn, “Higher Education” by Howard R. Pollio and “Do Grades Do Any Good?” by Jessica Ellis. The articles that were chosen describe the importance of removing or replacing the grading system.

It is not uncommon to conceive a general view of someone before the option to truly understand them comes along. i The person I conceive myself to be and the person that family and friends conceive me as acquire similarities as well as few differences. If the difference between the way I conceive myself and how other people conceive me is a positive difference or a negative difference, I am not aware. However, the utmost important quality to consider is, whether or not you accept who you are, and are content with that person.

Historically, letter grades have served as a tool to rate educational intelligence. By looking at the progression of a student’s grades over time, people are able to determine whether or not the students are developing skills in certain areas. Using a one letter grade to determine progress has received many critiques as a common system used in America’s education. Critics claim letter grades cause students motivation and creativity to decrease because grades shift students focus from learning the material to obtaining a good grade.

Teachers have always used grades to measure the amount a student has learned. This practice is becoming ineffective. Many students have a wide range of grades, which show that grades may not show what a student really knows. Therefore, the standard grading system should be replaced. Some reasons why grades should be replaced are bad grades can hinder a child’s performance, grades define who a student is in the classroom, and grades are not an effective way to see if students have learned the material. The current grading system should be upgraded and every school should incorporate the plus/minus system in their method of grading.

Report cards show a student’s work, progress, and conduct. For some, it will be a cheerful occasion. For others, not so much. Report card might be just a piece of thin paper, but in many homes, report card determines whether a child will be allowed to play video games, drive a car, or even the enjoyable events in the future. However, a poor grade on the report card means a simple no to all the entertainments in kids’ leisure time.