Persuasive Essay On The Grading System

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The grading system has not always been a part of our education and schools. In fact, grades were “instituted just three centuries ago” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, pg. 1) when universities in Europe started fostering competitions among the students for rankings and prizes. As the years went by, the grading system have changed and now varies from different cultures. Although the topic of the grading system is controversial, in the end, students should be graded. This is because studies have shown that the removal of pressure for a grade acts as a depressant on the performance and effort given into studying and completing assignments and that feedback-related research in recent years has indicated that students view feedback as a useful learning tool. …show more content…

Although the grading system needs improvements, it works in the aspect of keeping students motivated. Currently, many schools use the traditional pass/fail system, because it has been shown to be effective. The pass/fail system is applicable onto assignments and tests, because when a student’s work is being marked, teachers are not assessing whether a student is intelligent or unintelligent, but whether the student’s work meets certain specifications, that is, “one or more requirements that we set for a piece of student work” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, p.56). This type of grading system sees whether the work “provides evidence of the student’s achieving one or more course learning outcomes” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, p.56). The pass/fail system allows for tests and assignments to have set specifications. If a student’s work “meets (or exceeds) all the specs, it earns a pass/full credit; if it doesn’t meet all the specs, it merits a fail/no credit” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, pg.56). To gain the credits, students must “read the directions and requirements carefully” (Nilson, Stanny, 2015, pg. 56). This task tests and allows the student to practice the abilities of following directions, which can help with fulfilling tasks in future jobs. Furthermore, another grading practice that both teachers and students can benefit from is letting students grade their own and their peer’s homework. A study by Simkin in 2015 studied to find if letting students grade their own homework had any benefits. It has been found that by implementing this practice in classrooms, students were able to receive feedback immediately, which “positively influence learning and increase retention” (Simkin, 2015, pg. 147) and were able to feel more included with the class as they experienced evaluating one another. It has also been found that when students grade themselves, it

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