I once heard an ad for an electronic
school which boasted about its ability to collect data from students. Since the
entire curriculum was carried out online, they could collect data from every
answer a student gave and how long it took them to give that answer. Sounds
great, but where is all of that data going? Are they actually using any of that
to structure their curriculum? Possibly, but more than likely the algorithm
just generates questions from a set representing the topic from which the
student had given incorrect responses. Data is great, but there are limitations
on what our resources will allow us to do with them. What is not great, is
wasting resources collecting data that are not being utilized, or are
unnecessary compared to a simple subjective evaluation.
Yeah we can have students complete a
100-question standardized exam, that was developed over years of research
costing thousands of dollars, and costing even more to implement annually, all
to determine the areas of math in which they are struggling. Alternatively, I
can ask their teacher, that spends every day with them observing their
abilities in math, in which areas they need additional help. Is it as accurate?
Maybe not. However, with the latter method, schools have lots of additional
time and money to devote to helping those students actually improve in those
areas of math with which they were struggling.
Data is great, it tells us where we need
improvement. What it doesn’t do is improve anything. That part is still on us.
So, while some data is necessary, we really only need enough to point us in the
right direction. Anything more than that is a waste of resources. That brings
us to the title of this week’s discussion. Remember all of that work you did in
elementary school? Here’s a secret. A quarter of it was probably thrown away
without even being looked at. I know, it’s an outrage. But somehow, you still
learned to read, write, and ‘rithmetic, even without that data. The fact is,
you weren’t doing those assignments for your teacher, you were doing them for
yourself. Grades are really only good for showing areas in which students need
improvement. As such, they really don’t need to be taken very often. For the
most part, assignments are meant for students to practice the concepts they
just learned, and to see for themselves the areas where they need more practice
or to have questions answered.
Why on earth, then, are we giving letter
grades to kindergarteners? Not every school does this, but even for older
students the practice doesn’t make much sense. Within schools, there has a been
a shift in focus from learning to achieving. It’s not about how well you know
the material; it’s about how well you play the game. It is very possible for a
C student to have a better grasp on a concept than an A student. Outside of
school, though, grades don’t really matter. Employers don’t care how smart you
are if you can’t communicate with clients, it doesn’t matter what your GPA was
if your business can’t turn a profit, and despite having memorized every bone
in the human body, if you can’t work under pressure, you might very well kill
someone working in a hospital.
When it comes to grades, I think the
kindergarteners had the right idea. You either did satisfactory or
unsatisfactory and need more practice. If you happen to have done really well,
you might even get an outstanding, but that is about all of the feedback you
really need. This way we can shift the focus back to actually learning,
internalizing, and putting concepts to practice, because those are the skills
that actually matter.
Okay, maybe we don’t need grades for
primary or even secondary school, but surely college students are a different
story? Nope. Forget for a moment, that professors are notoriously poor at
creating accurate assessments (I could write a whole essay on this alone).
Satisfactory or unsatisfactory is still all you need. The standard for
receiving a satisfactory grade would, of course, be higher in order to
differentiate the students, but letter grades are unnecessary. But then how
will we select students for exclusive programs and dole out scholarships? This is
where that putting concepts to practice thing comes in. Rather than focusing on
what grades a student gets, look at what that student does. Can they construct
a sound scientific experiment, can they write a compelling essay, can they give
a heartfelt speech in front of a large crowd? Those are the things we should be
recognizing; those are the skills we should be fostering. There are students in
graduate programs that still can’t give a decent presentation to save their
life, but they can get an A with some rote memorization and strategic test
taking.
To sum up this two week look at the
American education system, the main take away is that we desperately need to
reallocate our resources. Do I foresee all schools restructuring their entire
curriculum and throwing out grades entirely? Not anytime soon. What we can do,
and do right now, though, is better fund our education system. Provide schools
and teachers with more resources, smaller class sizes, and better compensation,
and I am confident that we would see a positive change in our students’ outcomes.
That being said, let me just reiterate, the greatest thing you can invest in is
education.
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