Alfie Kohn's Proposal To Stop Grading By Alfie Kh Analysis

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Alfie Kohn’s proposal to stop grading students sounds great except that it oversimplifies problems in education and what really harms students. In his own article Kohn states the obvious objections towards grades, yet dismisses them and interjects that a gradual reduction in grading will eventually lead to more successful students. However, schools around the world have grading systems similar to the U.S. grading system yet their students continue to thrive. The problem is not grades, the problem is more complex and complicated. What harms students is inequality, unmotivated teachers, Common Core, lack of creative outlets, expensive tuition, and student mental health.
If Kohn is advocating on behalf of students for quality education he must …show more content…

Today, public schools follow a set of standards called Common Core. Despite its good intention, Common Core could potentially do more harm than good. Common Core standardized tests for example create stress and pressure for students and teachers. If students fail the tests they might have to retake the grade, and the teachers of those students are held responsible. Common Core is not necessary as other countries, like Finland for example, has successful students without the need for tests like the standardized …show more content…

Extracurricular classes have been shown to help students do better in school in general. If Kohn wants students to be creative then funding will help keep courses where creativity is nurtured open. Music and Art classes are usually the first class that are cut in order to save money. If anything is damaging creativity in students it’s a lack out outlets for that creativity.
What is causing harm to students more so than grades is the growing cost of higher education and the demand for colligate degrees. To pay for college students are offsetting the cost by taking out both private and government student loans. The answer of course would be to have student not take out loans and instead seek out scholarships. However, scholarships are becoming more competitive. Which again stresses out high school students because of the pressure to get these scholarships. If Kohn wants to help the mental state of students then advocating for cheaper tuition would make more

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