Analysis Of Criticizing The Grading System

Criticizing the Grading System and Learning

How does the grading system and learning go together? What makes learning something gradable? How can the grading system determines a child 's knowledge based on a test alone? These questions have popped up in educators ' minds for years. These are the thoughts that motivated people like Liz Mandrell, Jerry Farber and Steven Vogel rectify the grading system in their own views. These authors give valid reasons for understanding why students are affected by the grading system. In order to understand the whole idea of the grading system and learning people, need to think of the things they take for granted that slips everyday mind. Starting all the way back to when they were children, and as children

Students in high school and below worry about their grades and moving up another level because of their grades. In college, students worry about their study skills and common sense because in college the grading system and learning are completely different. Mandrell and Farber worked with the idea of high school student and that education system, but Vogel gives insight to the college education system. As a college student, there’s not a way to be able to do the same things as in high school and still expect to pass. As Vogel experiences different situations with his students, he learns that students are focused on their GPA (Vogle, 390). He questions one of his students about why they wanted a higher grade and creates this idea that everything we build on leads to money. Vogel states, “If Grades are money, then learning is a cost...” (Vogel, 391) which is true. From the time a person is born all they have to do is to get ahead in life, to be able to beat everyone around because life can become a competition. People go to school and “learn” to go further in life. However, Vogel makes a good point about learning: “...it’s the learning that 's the goal, we say, not the grade; we want our students to learn about history and philosophy...because doing so will make them better people, better citizens of a democracy.” (Vogel, 390). Somewhere along the line of our education system we have let grades overshadow the real meaning of