Grades and Indicating Students Ability and Competence - Research Paper Example

This essay argues that grades should not be based on these additional elements since such a grading system will be unfair to the student.
In an article by James Hammons and Janice Barnsley (1992), the authors argue that one of the factors to consider when developing a grading plan is to measure a variety of behaviors. According to the authors grading students on a single dimension does not adequately assess learning. For them, a grading plan should include elements such as class attendance and effort. When such a grading system is used, it is unfair to the students based on several factors.

First, when behavior is used to grade students, it does not connect with students’ understanding of the course or subject. In every learning institution, there are different approaches used to monitor and punish unwanted behavior (Close, 380). For this reason, bad behavior should be punished by the relevant bodies as opposed to being included as part of the grade. If behavior is included as part of the grade, it generally becomes difficult to understand and interpret that grade in a meaningful way (Allen, 222). A grade should be a fair reflection of the student’s understanding and knowledge about a given subject, and this should not be combined with elements such as discipline as this will be misleading.

Secondly, the use of these additional elements in determining a grade is based on the teacher’s “merged judgment” of these elements. This means that the teacher evaluates the student’s performances in these elements – behavior, efforts, interest, etc- and assigns a collective score. For example, a student may be given a grade of B in a certain subject as opposed to a grade A due to his low scores in other elements such as behavior and effort. Unfortunately, these factors are based on the merged judgment of the teacher and are not evident or explained in the final grade. A person looking at the student’s grade will not know which of these factors contributed to the final grade and the method used by the teacher in assigning scores to these elements. This gives a false impression of the student’s knowledge of that subject.

Finally, including these elements in the final score hurts the student’s future to pursue certain courses or careers. When students score highly in certain subjects, they get admission into universities and colleges to pursue further studies. The reverse is true. Therefore, when a student’s grade is lowered due to the incorporation of these additional elements, it denies that student the opportunity to enhance his education in that subject in the future (Allen, 220). Such a student may be good and talented in that subject but may find it difficult to pursue it further in the future.

In conclusion, it is important that grades give a fair reflection of the student’s knowledge in a given subject or field in order to avoid misleading anyone who looks at these results. When these additional elements are factored into the final grade, the student may be negatively affected in the future when pursuing further studies or a career in that subject/field. Read More