Oct 19 Entrance Slip Reflection on marks, grades and their effects in schooling

I think grades and percentages are helpful for students in monitoring their progress to an extent. As a teacher it is very easy to assign percentage grades to assignments since it gives a ranking. Generally, grades can help indicate how well a student understands the course material. A high grade might suggest that a student has grasped core concepts, while a low grade might indicate confusion or gaps in knowledge. Sometimes, grades also factor in a student's participation, effort, or engagement with the material (though this might not directly reflect a student's mastery of the content). For my math classes back in grade school, every single summative assessment was a quiz/exam. This leads to little room for further improvement, if say, for mastering the concept or achieving a higher grade to apply for college/post-secondary. Indeed Kohn’s concern on the fact that the mainstream grading system needs revamping (since it raises negative effects on the desire to learn) is very evident in the classrooms I’ve been in. I think many of my classmates (myself included) were motivated to study/grind in order to get a higher grade, not necessarily to understand what was really happening. A lot of concepts were memorized or understood at an adequate level at the time, and then they disappeared after the exams. Going back to grades creating a ranking system or a social hierarchy, students labeled as "A" students are treated differently than those who typically earn lower grades. This labeling can affect self-esteem, peer relationships, and even teacher expectations. It also generates a lot of stress on students as they have to worry about their marks for tests. From the article, even high achieving students like Lucy are nervous about tests. Low achieving students may feel like they’re static and can’t improve, while high achieving ones will be pressured to remain at the top levels. All in all it creates bragging rights for the school so more parents can send their children there in order to get more funding. Grades are a conspicuous factor that students use to determine their success. But success for them need not to be expressed solely with a letter/percentage. The teacher may provide other projects/activities to evaluate a student, such as an creative math-art piece, a recorded mini lesson going over a problem, or presenting to the class. As long as they’re putting in effective effort in their learning with a positive attitude, the confidence levels should rise. I haven't experienced any course where a grade wasn’t present. Having categories like emerging, developing, proficient, and extending with goals/guidelines will help students find out which areas they should improve on. Although some students want grades due to competition, that notion of competing against oneself to do better in the future is just as effective. So for example assessments without grades like portfolios, socratic discussions, and class presentations can reflect the learning process. In a system without grades, the emphasis shifts from performance to learning orientation. It's also important for both the teacher and student to commit to whatever alternative assessment method is chosen. Parents and administrators also need to understand/support these alternative methods for them to be effective.