Argumentative Essay System Vs. Standard Based Grading System

Argumentative/ Persuasive Essay Molly Killen March 29, 2018 “The starting point of all achievement is desire.” – Napoleon Hill. All states have a course standard to follow to set goals for teaching and learning (West, 2018). Teachers use these standards as a guide within their classroom to provide the best learning for their students.

This is done now through the process of having a two assessment category- formative and summative. Both of these categories are used to determine the student’s quarter and semester grade. The summative category would be based on four common assessments, and one of these must be a performance task. As for formative assessments, this would show students the progress that they have made in mastering the material that would appear during the summative exam. He continues by saying that the school has realized that they can no longer control student’s grades based on behavioral infractions.

Classroom assessment and grading practices have the potential not only to measure and report learning but also to promote it. Indeed, recent research has documented the benefits of regular use of diagnostic and formative assessments as feedback for learning (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall, & Wiliam,

Ahmed. khafagy Mrs. Brazeau LA 8 22 February 2023 Argumentative essay “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind”-Mahayana Ghandi. In the novel Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Wills brother Shawn gets shot, Will follows the rules that his brother told him and tries to get revenge. Will enters an elevator where he meets six people that talk to him about revenge.

The effort needs to focus on every child and their needs. In his work as an education guru, Robert Marzano offers guidance that could lead us toward curriculum and instruction that celebrate student learning and achievement, but more importantly, growth. Formal assessments are good if they reflect points in the students journey, not as a one and done grade (Marzano, 2013). Formal assessments for students should only represent points on a performance scale. Marzano noted that "characteristics of sound feedback" include that it should be frequent, give students a clear picture of their progress and how they might improve, and provide encouragement.

As students start their senior year of high school there are many changes in their life. This is the time of a student’s life when they decide what they want to do after they graduate high school. Students can decide to join the military, work, or continue their education at a college or university. For the students who continue their education they have many things to do before they finally get accepted. A common step they take is taking the The American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).

Machines grading seems like a good idea but lots of things can go wrong. Standardized tests are bringing down the education system in America. America’s ranking for education in the world down by about 15 notches. Big tests like these don’t leave a lot of room for learning about other subjects that are just as important as the ones on the test. Standardized tests are not able to measure all the aspects of what is being taught at school across the nation.

Farber believes that the grades create phony motivation and students only want to please the teachers. According to Farber, students only retain the material until they are graded on it. No longer having a grading system would leave students having no drive in school. Schools would no longer have a basic form of ranking the students and see how well they are doing. Students would no longer want to see the point in striving to be the best when everyone is ranked the same.

Going Against the Standard According to Tim Walker, “Only 14% of parents say standardized testing is important in measuring school effectiveness” (Walker). A standardized test is a test that is given in a consistent or “standard” manner. Standardized tests are designed to have consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring procedures. When a standardized test is administered, it is done so according to certain rules and specifications so that testing conditions are the same for all test takers. They often provide some type of “standard score” which can help interpret how far a child score ranges from the average student (Johnson).

Unfortunately, despite knowing nine reasons to rid schools of grading, teachers opt to keep the grading system. “They want to know why you’re making trouble” (p. 257). As an excuse teachers claim students prefer grading and grading

Kohn believes grading is a harmful thing for students because it is more of a game with competition. He views grading as something that does not lead to improvements in performance but holds students back from doing their best. He states, “A school’s ultimate mission, apparently, is not to help everyone learn but to rig the game so that there will always be losers” (Kohn 2). Kohn relates school and grading to a game. A game where students begin to try to outdo one another rather than focusing on their academics.

School’s are using standardized testing for the wrong reason. “A standardized test is any examination that’s administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests” (Popham, 1999). The most common examples of aptitude tests are the SAT and the

Although the common belief is that certain aspects of school are important for an ideal education for all students, the main problems that need to be rectified as soon as possible include the lettered grading system and test scores as the main measure of achievement as well as a lack of disciplined and motivated in teachers who do their jobs correctly in order for their students to reach their full potential and excel in life. Out of all the issues with American education today, one of the most overvalued yet problematic for students is the grades and scores that represent their classroom proficiency and content knowledge. It is true that today, in the United States, the easiest and seemingly most reliable way to track student performance and rank schools by quality of education is by simply marking students based on their scores on assignments and assessments done in school or on standardized exams designed to measure mastery of content, and by comparing and analyzing the

(Source B). It seems as if this statement is now more relevant than ever. The school system spends so much time and energy grading each student the same way, without stopping to take into account the various types of

Albert Einstein once said, "Everybody is a genius... But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid". Unfortunately, most school systems depict this quote. They judge a significant amount of the population by their ability to answer a few questions. They rate them with letters and numbers, and force students to be represented by these letters and numbers for the rest of their lives.