Persuasive Essay On The Grading Curve

Various colleges, universities, and high schools utilize a grading curve where grades are distributed along a bell curve. While the system is praised for distributing grades fairly, the system is extremely unfair as it limits the amount of students who can do well. The system also causes intense competition because “your success means my failure” (Grant). This hypercompetitive atmosphere changes the environment of learning from a cooperative, collaborative experience to a stressful, anxiety filled one. With the suicide risk increasing, the mental health of students is being neglected because of the combination of being burnt out and the absence of social supports. Professor Adam Grant sought to fight this system by designing his own system in hopes of changing not only his students’ grades but the idea of teaching and learning. Grant began by creating difficult tests where one’s grade never hurt another;

And at times, it can be true, as it was for me on my AP Chemistry final. But on the Chemistry regents, the negative curve unfairly lowered my score by two points. The purpose of curve on the Chemistry test is to favor of students who do poorly on the exam, ensuring they pass. While the system successfully passes students, it does it in an unfair manner where a limited. School shouldn’t be focused on passing tests and passing students. Rather the emphasis should be placed on actually understanding the material and what is to be gained from learning. When schools only focus on passing, students don’t retain the material as they begin to study to pass, something I am a victim of. Cramming becomes the norm as it ensures you’ll understand the material for the test and give you time to do all the other work you need to have done.However, when grading curves hurt you, all the work you do put into a class feels meaningless as every test you takes depends on your