|
|
|
|
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 8:30:58 AM | One of the celebrity news reporters on canadian television was in my highschool class.
She often didn't attend class and had many incompletes yet she still got passing grades as she proudly admitted because her mother was involved with the school and the teachers "knew what she was capable of". She was very proud to brag after the prom of how many guys she ****ed that night. She also had a threesome with double penetration that night which was the talk of the school for months. She used to tell girls "Don't hate me because your boyfriend likes my BJ's better than yours".
I'm not judging her because of her sexual talents but I know what talent it was that got her her job. It wasn't academic. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 8:59:31 AM | I don't think this is really so much about grades, it's about passing or failing. If there is no failing, how will they learn what is right?
Yes there are some colleges that use the pass/fail system, but these are also schools that require you be ACCEPTED to them. That acceptance is usually based on whether or not you PASS or FAIL their entrance criteria. To set up a "no one fails" system in a public school means that there is no measure of ability or comprehension. It's just marking that the child set a set amount of time in a building. There are no entrance exams for public schools, just registration.
I went to a number of schools as a child due to my parent moving alot for family and job reasons. All the schools had the same grading guidelines, it was the quality of the educators that helped determine what was actually learned. In most cases a quality teacher could tell if a kid comprehended their lessons and help them to pass the class. Also having involved parents can make a difference. If careless parents and a lack-luster teacher are involved it increases a child's chance of failing. Therein may lie the real problem.
Just passing any child who shows up on time and spends the day in the building is passing the buck of the parent's and society's responsibility in raising a child. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 1:42:44 PM |
I don't think this is really so much about grades, it's about passing or failing. If there is no failing, how will they learn what is right?
The way the OP presented the issue looks like it was taken direct from the opinion of some headline-grabbing sensationalist journalist. She admitted she didn't google the news to find out more, so it may well be the case that a lot of what we're reading is opinion rather than fact.
The way the story was presented deliberately made it look bad. Japan doesn't fail kids. And their society does pretty well. So I'm not sure that not failing kids implies that they also aren't teaching the kids. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 2:33:12 PM | ^^^^
I also did say I googled later and provided the name of the school so if the reader wanted to explore further, they could google the info themselves. It does sound as though the writer of the column didn't provide "all" info in his commentary with respect to the school, but when you look it up, it does appear to be based more on a self-esteem "don't wanna hurt feelings" sort of system.
My question would be, if you don't receive a grade if you receive under 50% (but you do receive a grade if your mark is 50% or greater), how many times are you allowed to keep taking said exam or grade or whatever? What is the alternative to simply continuing to not fail/not pass or whatever term you want to use? It would seem it would have the potential to keep someone in the school system for a very long time without moving forward, especially if you can't accurately assess the areas in which they're having the most difficulty. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 2:40:19 PM | I don't think this is really so much about grades, it's about passing or failing. If there is no failing, how will they learn what is right?
Lolli -- I couldn't agree with you more. You are SO right about that.
I've been thinkin' about this topic a lot since I saw it and first posted to it. It's been a perpetual burr in my side since then, and one I can't just ignore. I mean seriously, how in any way is this going to benefit our kids by NOT failing them? Let's take this well beyond just grades per se, let's address the pass/fail paradigm.
Without some measure of allowable criteria to determine functionality, the pass/fail paradigm in this case, how is one expected to understand what it means to really accomplish something or not? If schools are now going to be reduced to mere institutions that house your person for the next several years (K-12), what is the value then of sending a kid to school at all? You send a kid to school to LEARN. If schools now are just mere vehicles of attendance, what value or benefit is that going to provide the future leaders of industry and our planet? We're gonna be breeding a generation of f*cking mouth-breathers and little else.
I don't have to look very far to see the impact of a shitty education. Christ, I see it HERE every gawd damn day! BASIC LITERACY people...look it up. Some of these people on here have the literacy skills of a house plant or a partially trained chimp. This isn't reserved for just POF though, I see it everyhere. But just using POF as an example, I often wonder what these people would do if there was no such thing as "spell check"? What then? POF doesn't have a built in spell checker, so this amounts to literary massacres of the English language on a daily basis. Go ahead, test it out - go take a road trip through some of the forums and the posts therein and you'll see for yourself the brutalization of the language. People that can't spell, and have no concept of grammar use or punctuation. It's everywhere in spades. If you want to get "through" something, get "through" it not "threw" it. The are/our bungles...the their/there/they're and your/you're gaffes. Just a few of the MANY outstanding examples of what it means to have inadequate competencies.
But this ain't just about the English language. Nope. This is about everything. One fine example of that was when I went to a grocery store to make a purchase. This was a few years back. I was standin' in line waitin' to pay, and the tills went offline. Still able to make transactions, but no way to enter fancifully the amount owing and the amount due in return. Yea that's right, their reliance on the tills to do all that for them. I am NO way a mathematical genius by any stretch of the imagination...however, the lady in front of me was clearly one herself. She totalled the purchases HERSELF and made sure to allow for the GST (tax), and provided the cashier the amount owing. The cashier looked stunned and said "I'm sorry, the till is down, we have no way to process your purchases. I can't enter the numbers." The lady calmly pointed to the list she scribbled off and said "Here you go. This is what my purchases amount to, and this includes tax. I'll pay you with $200 cash and you provide me with (x amount) of change. This is not that hard. Can't you do the math yourself?"
Reply from the cashier, "I don't have a calculator".
I personally wanted to die at that very moment.
But again, this ain't just about English or math, it's about ALL of it. That cashier was proof positive that she was a semi functional retard at best. I'm no math wiz, but even *I* broke off a piece of paper and wrote down my purchases and GST for my own groceries as the lady in front of me had done. I don't need a f*ckin' calculator 'cause I was TAUGHT IN SCHOOL how to perform mathematical equations on (OH MY GOD) paper!! By the way, the cashier was 20 if she was a day. I was in my 30's. The lady before me was likely in her 50's or better.
And yes for those that may be curious, she paged a Manager to bring her a calculator...then stepped aside for a "break" while the Manager worked the till with calculator in hand.
So I ask again, how is the concept of a "no one fails" mentality gonna benefit ANYONE?!
Think of it as a job. You walk into a job and fill out the application. You're told when you get hired that the job is there as long as you want it, 'cause they have a policy too..."No one gets fired". If you happen to show up to work, FANTASTIC! If you don't, well gee, we'll just have to find a way to get by without you til you return. What's that...you thought you "deserved" a 2 hour lunch? Yea, you're probably right, so welcome back and don't worry, "No one gets fired" around here. You jigged the books and forgot to carry the 5? Now we're being audited? No worries, everyone makes mistakes right? Besides, "No one gets fired".
That shit wouldn't fly at ANY job or workplace, but yet they want to see it fly at schools? What an absolute joke. You remove their personal accountability when you adopt a "no one fails" line of thought. They're no longer aware of what it means to be personally accountable or personally responsible for their actions or inactions.
I thought about like this...there is gonna be NO WAY IN HELL that I will EVER allow my child(ren) to be enrolled in ANY school system that doesn't endorse failure as a consequence to poor performance and ability. In fact, if Alberta is dumb enough to adopt this policy, when my kids are ready to enter the school system, I plan fully and completely to make a Charter Challenge to the highest Court in the land, denouncing this practice and saying that they have NO RIGHT to deny my kid(s) the opportunity to fail. My kid(s) have every right to fail, and learn from their mistakes or lack of personal responsibility, and there's no way I'll have anyone take that away from them. I can't teach them the benefits or consequences of pass/fail...only the school system can do that. I don't want my kids to graduate high school only to fall flat on their face because after the K-12 years they have the educational functionality of a dandelion.
If I'm expected to pay into a school system, it will be to TEACH kids, not coddle them and have them believe that their "feelings" are more important than life lessons. In order to understand your own fail points, you need to...that's right, FAIL. In order to learn from your mistakes you need to...that's right, FAIL. Stripping that right away from my kids is something I'll never allow. EVER. If they pass, it's because they knew what it meant to LEARN. If they fail, they will understand WHY they failed, and that maybe their choice to skip school and slack off on homework assignments to play X Box or hang with friends perhaps wasn't the smartest thing they've ever done. You think they'd do it again if they had to repeat a Grade? F*ck no. And we ALL know that.
Mark my words...it'll be a cold and frosty day in Hell before I EVER allow some namby-pamby "feely" types to override my kid(s) right to fail or pass on their own merit.
UNACCEPTABLE.
 | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 4:18:59 PM | ^^^Thank you BigDaddyJinx. Glad to see I am not the only one that feels this way.
 | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 4:35:48 PM | | You're definitely not the only one who feels that way. The school system sucks bad enough as it is. It may work well in Japan and some other countries, however, their own family work ethics (including education) are generally much different than ours and a no fail system there couldn't possibly be equated with one that could possibly work well here, given the lazy society we have. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 5:16:46 PM | So, let's take away the grading system so that no one fails and everyone feels good about themselves. That means we must take away the assessment tests which are given (here, at least) at specific grade levels throughout the educational process through high school.
By the time all 3 of my girls took the assessment tests in 8th grade, they were all doing college-level work. My oldest was doing post-graduate-level work in 8th grade. But all 3 of them were forced to work at a slower rate so those students not so advanced wouldn't have to work so hard and wouldn't feel bad. I was told that my girls were very advanced (according to their assessment tests), but were not advanced enough for more challenging classes. So my girls were dumbed down throughout their education. This gave them a bad taste for learning and excelling at anything.
I live near a college town. A large percentage of the students appear to be spoiled rich kids whose parents are basically paying tuition for babysitters to try to keep their kids out of trouble. It doesn't work. If my girls behaved the way I've seen some of those college students behave, they'd be dealing with my wrath and some "private tutoring" in manners. Unfortunately, this particular college is well-known for handing out sheepskins to students who can't even read well enough to fill out a job application.
Our entire education system has been on a downward spiral for many long years. If our teachers had to take an assessment test each year, there would be scores of teachers out of work. I've witnessed some teaching atrocities. Like an elementary school teacher who hates children so badly that one day she threw scissors at a student, and didn't lost her job. The most important education children seem to get these days is that our government and society will do its best to make sure they feel good about themselves, no matter what. And the worse they do, the harder someone will try to make them feel better.
That's not the real world. If you can't do the job, you won't have the job to do! So we're raising generations of kids who don't want to work because "it's too hard" or "it's not fair". And because no one will be making an effort to make sure they always feel good about themselves in the workplace. How sad! | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 5:32:28 PM | OK, I took a second look, googled the topic, read one of the articles about the proposed system. I thought maybe it was different from what I had experienced in college. It wasn't.
Much to do is being made about the supposed message that failure is not an option. That's not the case at all. There would be no doubt in a student's mind that they did not pass the course, did not get credit for something they couldn't pass muster in, etc... They simply wouldn't have a low number or "F" on their transcript for the rest of their lives.
I fail to see how this concept will lead to the end of civilization as we know it, as some seem to imply. In all the examples given of people who couldn't calculate correct change and such, I'll bet they went to schools that gave out "F"s. We can all see how well that worked.
I'm a former teacher. A math teacher, no less. You'd think I'd be all about numbers and grades. But I learned a lot about teaching and how people learn during my time as a teacher, and I can promise you, handing out F's is NOT an effective motivation to learn. It IS an effective way to turn a child off forever on the topic at hand, to demotivate them from bothering to try, and maybe to give them such low self esteem that they decide they aren't good at learning anything at all, not just the topic they failed the class in.
Don't get me wrong. I handed out at least my share of F's. I was determined that no child would get a passing grade in my class who didn't have at least a rudimentary grasp of the subject matter. This proposed system would NOT change that. If you don't earn a passing grade, you don't get one. But I also structured my classes so there were many days where everyone in the class had a chance to excel THAT DAY, regardless of their past history, and reap some sort of reward that would make them go home feeling like they did something well today, and just maybe that math could be fun. I tried my utmost to demonstrate the practical application of whatever I was teaching.
I also spent many years as a whitewater kayak instructor. The first time a student gets in a kayak they make a lot of mistakes. They fall over. They take a lot of swims. Learning to roll a kayak up involves a lot of failures before ever getting it right. But if I spent two hours working with someone to teach them how to roll a kayak and the result was thirty failures culminating in a couple of successes, you bet I did everything I could to make them feel like they had a successful day, rather than emphasize that they had failed 15 times for every success.
Thomas Edison supposedly had hundreds of failed attempts before he ever got a light bulb to work. But do we remember all those failures or point to his ultimate success?
That's the way classrooms should work, in my opinion. When a student fails, they'll know it. Rather than brand them a FAILURE as a person, why not tell them they now have a blank slate and encourage them to try again? And again? However many times it takes to get it right. Emphasize the progress, help them identify and surmount whatever roadblocks they face. Most of all, WORK with them to help them succeed.
That last is worth emphasizing. The biggest problem with schools today is NOT the grading system. It's NOT whatever standards we arbitrarily set or don't set. It's a simple numbers game. Too many students per teacher in every classroom. Without the opportunity for individual attention when needed, only average students reach their potential. Those well above average don't get challenged. Those well below average don't get help. There's just not enough teacher to go around. Fix THAT problem and just maybe your cashier will know how to calculate your change in their head next time.
Dave | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/23/2009 6:02:11 PM | The government schools have been getting this way for a while. When standardized testing (pushed by the teacher's union officials) showed the awful performance of public schools against private, charter, and even home schooled students, the NEA changed their tack, requiring B or C grades to pass, then curving scores up to get almost all students to pass. They now seem to want all of the students to just be pushed through the bureaucracy at $11,000 per year per student.
The teacher's unions and school administrators have been pushing gun control, environmental scare videos, feminism, socialism, and all sorts of leftist advocacy in the public schools while pouring billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of votes into the Democratic Party. I've known just a few Democrats who wouldn't vote the way they were told, and the party turned against them, running another candidate in the primary and running negative ads against them to try to cost them their seats. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/24/2009 12:07:30 AM | Couldn't agree more with wvwaterfall.
That's the way classrooms should work, in my opinion. When a student fails, they'll know it. Rather than brand them a FAILURE as a person, why not tell them they now have a blank slate and encourage them to try again? And again? However many times it takes to get it right. Emphasize the progress, help them identify and surmount whatever roadblocks they face. Most of all, WORK with them to help them succeed. This is how I try to teach.
What people are missing is that when a teacher cares, their feedback is going to be much more than a grade: it's a carefully tailored combination of positive feedback and identified opportunities for improvement that make progress of some kind an option to all students. If this detailed feedback is combined with a grade, the student focuses on the grade and ignores the detailed feedback.
The emotional impact of the grade is a red herring in terms of learning -- if we want to encourage children to become lifelong learners who still have a joy and curiosity regarding learning when they are adults, then we don't need them focusing on grades and certificates as being the reward for learning. Learning is the reward for learning. A grade assesses your performance against a standard at a fixed point in time, but people use it to evaluate themselves and the connection between current and past ability/understanding and self-image is one that deters most from bettering themselves.
People posting against the idea of less grading or only pass/fail grading, seem to be expecting that without a grade there will be no feedback. Feedback IS vital, but a grade is very poor quality feedback and there is the option to do so much better than this.
Would you rather that your child received an A or a D for each assignment or that their teacher went through their work with them and identified how their work had improved from last time: the skills they had recently mastered and the skills they next needed to work on. It's not good enough to say "this was right and this was wrong" -- the role of a teacher, in my opinion, is to say to each student "this is what you are doing well and your next step is in this direction" -- otherwise weak students become overwhelmed and cannot progress and strong ones get bored and start disrupting the classes.
For example, on Thursday, I was teaching a group of around thirty 16-19yr olds of low ability. The weakest one was trying to draw a diagram to scale, by halving all the actual measurements. He had the block of wood he was trying to draw next to his paper and he was getting constant feedback and encouragement as he learned what it meant to make a scale diagram and how to get the radius of the compasses right etc. Within the same class, some students were calculating quite complex statistics and interpreting them -- and everything in between was also going on. Every student was working at their own level, using the detailed feedback I'd written into each of their portfolios after the previous session. Some were explaining things to each other, consolidating their own learning and making up for the fact that I couldn't be everywhere at once. This is how a non-grade class can work: every single student is put in the position where they can make the next step for them. Every single one is challenged and no-one is out of their depth.
Was that your experience, in your school where you were awarded grades? It wasn't mine. I remember half the class being bored stupid and the other half being lost. How productive was that? Awarding grades or assessing against grades makes it much harder to give each individual the opportunity to take the next right step for them. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/24/2009 11:46:40 PM | Maybe it was the schools I went to (yes SCHOOLS) or the teachers I had, but a letter or percentage grade always included feedback. I.e. "good point but more elaboration needed", "right equation, but your addition/division/etc. was off", et cetera. It showed me where I needed improvement and how much improvement was needed to pass. Even when I got an "F"(you almost totally missed the oint see me after class for how to improve). Almost every school I went to also offered free tutoring/extra after school time to improve grades. If this has changed, then there may be more wrong w/ educational systems than we realize.
My area has someting similar to a "no fail" system, thought they call it "no child left behind". In this system a child has multiple oppurtunies to pass a test for well over a yr. Yes, thats right, a YEAR to pass one test. Though the bottom line of the "no child left behind" program in my area has translated to "attendance equals funding". Schools will not flunk out a kid no matter how bad the grades or performance as long as they show up everyday for the tax rolls. By not failing or having a threat of failure, the schools accommodate the children to keep them in the building and keep the tax dollars. Yes, there are competency tests for "no child left behind", but few have age limits/acedemic age levels for these tests.
Maybe things have changed since I was in school but I remember things being taught in a certain order. Learn concept "A" to move onto concept "B" before you could accomplish concept "C". If a child has no grasp of concept "A", but is told they can work on it til they get it while still being taught concepts "B"&"C", I think it muddies the water so to speak. By not giving the students feedback on why or where they failed at the first concept, you are setting them up to fail in the following concepts.
As for the Japanese schools having a pass/fail system. Their system for entering any school is vastly different from ours. Almost all of their schools from k-12 as we know it here have entrance exams. As well as programs to assist children that pass those exams to still succeed in a school regardless of income. Its not just the parents showing up and saying "I want to register Bobby/Suzie to go here" and its done. In Japan a child's ability to pass these entrance exams reflects how they could do in an academic career and their ability to succeed in a particular schools academia. Also the state has programs to help parents help their children to succeed(funding for computers, food prgrams, etc).
Also it is not up to the government entirely to decide how a child learns or passes a class. Its up to the parents as well. If one side or the other drops the ball, it can lead to the same result. Lack of learning and growth for the child.
Maybe instead of instituting "feel good" policies for an education, the government should look at how to better involve both parents and teachers in a child's education and how to level the economic differences in advantages for education.
And yes I now there is/was the PTA, but how many are truly active and invlolved nowadays? | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/25/2009 10:07:48 AM |
I haven't googled to find if this is in fact the case
With Google, what do we need schools for anyway? | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/25/2009 2:39:54 PM | "Don't want other students feelings to be hurt." "We'd like to keep them with their own age group." "We could put him/her into an advanced class, but he/she seems to enjoy helping the other students..."
HELLO!!!!
That child is in need of a more challenging work group, if it is ahead of others of that age, so what?
"Teacher" doesn't need an aid to help with the slower group in her class...if she did the school would supply it!
The "no child held back" program proved itself to be one of the dumbest moves ever made.
Many companies and government services hold "job fairs" in schools...they don't want some slacker that got through because of a "no fail" policy. Many companies don't even bother going to those type of schools. Schools with the pass/fail poicy and a grading system usually have students that get these carreer jobs. I saw some from my high school graduation start at 40 grand a year in an entry position. Plus a lot of benefits.
Cities don't even trust you with a garbage truck worth a quarter of a million unless you have a degree in todays society. No wonder...would you trust some tool that couldn't even stay in school and pass a few simple grades?
Sure, we'll have the odd person who "doesn't learn that way" or "has a mental problem" or whatever...meaning that society has to lower itself to their level in order to be "fair". Let them compete within their OWN "handicapped" group for the 20% (or whatever it is) jobs allocated by the gov't as a standard for people with these conditions, and leave the rest for those willing to work for them. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/25/2009 5:36:36 PM | Instead of schools worrying that a failing grade might hurt little Johnny or Janie's feelings, I think PARENTS should spend more time teaching their children HOW TO COPE with those hurt feelings and want to strive to improve, and that that's just part of life.....instead of parents teaching their children to make excuses for why they don't do well in school...that they're just "victims" of the process.
Yes, the grading system is subjective, as it should be. If totally objective, then only traditional, book-smart good-test-taking students would do well. Subjectivity allows for the teacher to interpret how well a student has mastered a subject despite that. It allows for those who score lower on tests to make a higher letter grade based on other factors....it benefits them, not hurts them.
The public school system, while far from perfect, is based on how our society functions. I think it's up to "different learners" to adapt to that, rather than having schools (and our entire society) to adapt to them. Just because a small percentage....yes SMALL percentage....of children don't do well in it is no reason to change it for everyone, imo. It's up to the parents, not the teachers, to take up the slack and take responsibility for their child's education. And if the parents don't like the way public schools educate, then they have the full right to homeschool and "not fail" their child themselves. (Which would backfire, since they still have to pass standard exams in order to receive a diploma. And from personal experience I know that home-schooled children score, in general, significantly higher than public-school-educated children on those exams.)
While I truly believe what I just wrote, I also believe there are exceptions. Here is a good one:
"You're aware the boy failed my grade school math class, I take it? And not that many years later he's teaching college. Now I ask you: Is that the sorriest indictment of the American educational system you ever heard? No aptitude at all for long division, but never mind. It's him they ask to split the atom. How he talked his way into the Nobel prize is beyond me." -Karl Arbeiter: former teacher of Albert Einstein
But instead of bending the system to accommodate HIM, I think it's important to teach children that people like Einstein went on to academic success in spite of failing in the system....that failure is a reason to do BETTER, not give up. Einstein failed grade school math. And the world (neither his nor ours) didn't stop because of his "hurt feelings."
While I clearly see both sides of the issue, I have to agree with the poster who said that everyone should be entitled to the right to fail.
~~Bunny | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/25/2009 6:01:16 PM | i went to a top university for my masters and half the class cheated all the time. they had different contingencies, often cheating in different languages. they finally caught a token two. friendly with the dean, i said: "who are you kidding?" he was truly shocked (old school), but i rather doubt the monitors of the exams were that stupid. it was political. even now it's hard to get a true reading on what is deserving of an applicant's success. how much depends on your parents "contributions" ?!*
i failed my iq test (it bored me, so i did eeny meeny minee mo answers), but had a college reading score in 3rd grade. i could not pay attention in class. my grades went up and down depending upon when i was ovulating! i was fortunate, that two brilliant men mentored me and supported me in an all male environment. the guy who admitted me, thought i was a riot. he just wanted to shake the place up. we did just that.
the old mainframe computer classes made me nuts, so i later hired one of my professors to consult with one of my data management employees when i started my company. he had given me a "no credit". the dean thought i would do great things and overruled the requirement. the dean proved to be correct, according to others.
i think grades are a farce. but, i don't think people should auto pass either. i agree with rune (as usual). getting into a university should be based upon extensive interviews, projects, experiences, et al. you would be surprised how many stupid kids get smart real quick, when their minds are engaged and their assumptions are challenged. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/28/2009 9:18:36 AM | Being from Saskatoon I read this article with amazement. They quoted some moron from the board of education who stated roughly, "Even if a student got 22% on his test who's to say he doesn't know the material." Well if your only getting 22% on a mulitplechoice test you obviously don't know the material.  | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 1/28/2009 10:37:09 AM | | this doesn't surprise me one bit. The way our school system has been constantly trying to protect our kids from everything, things like this will happen even more. The nanny state has them, they are doomed. Zero tolerance, no tag at recess, no picking up snow off the ground because someone might throw a snow ball, no hugging, no nothing and now no hurt feelings. Give me a break. The future will be full of wimps who won't be prepared for criticism. | |
|
| |
| |
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 2/7/2009 1:07:51 PM |
No grades, no pressure, no custom research papers. Sounds like your kind of school, doesn’t it? Well, it’s no longer just the laidback student’s dream. Many colleges have now ditched the grade-point system in favor of narrative or non-graded evaluation. The concept behind non-grading is that students should be evaluated based on actual competence and performance, not on questions answered or hours completed. Ivy Research lists 10 of the best non-graded colleges in the country today.
Alverno College – one of the pioneers of American narrative evaluation. The assessment systems are famously long and tedious, but probably still better than finals!
Antioch College – a consistent member of the “Colleges that Could Change Lives” guidebook. It’s also part of the Eco League of green universities, and the 300+ student population creates a nice small-school feel.
Bennington College – one of America’s top-ranked liberal arts colleges. Students draw their own curriculum, and can major in one subject or minor in two or more.
Brown University – an Ivy League university, known for its very competitive admission and comprehensive financial aid for the underprivileged. It’s a major landmark in Providence, Rhode Island.
The Evergreen State College – offers one of the most challenging academics for freshmen and sophomores, and one of the most comprehensive narrative grading systems in the country. In other words, difficult but rewarding!
Reed College – another pioneer of the narrative evaluation, located in a culturally rich campus in Portland, Oregon.
Sarah Lawrence College – best known for its high creative standards and academic excellence. Located in busy New York, but boasts a nice, sprawling peaceful campus.
Soka University of America – sister university of a prominent university in Tokyo. Located in a beautiful campus in Aliso
Viejo, California and holds a staunch global pacifist stance.
St John’s College, US – famous for its four-year Great Books Program (“The Program”) featuring works by Aristotle, Descartes, Einstein and Shakespeare. Talk about learning from the masters!
University of California, Santa Cruz – a large modern university with ten residential colleges and a beautiful sprawling campus. It’s a bit high-class, though, with the student’s median family income at over $80,000.
So should you consider a gradeless college? It all depends on what suits your learning pattern. One thing you might expect is lots of comprehensive custom essays in place of exams—definitely not the best setup for master bluffers! But it’s a very promising concept, and if you’re thinking of taking this path, it’s sure to be an interesting college experience.
http://blog.ivyresearch.com/index.php
I've learned more out of school than in it. I seize under stress. However, I'm a stubborn cuss, and got as far as my MA before quitting the system. Have never regretted doing so.
As Theodore Roethke said in The Waking, "I learn by going where I have to go." I learned to teach by teaching, I learned to edit by being an editor, I learned to write by writing, I learned to sculpt by just doing it, I learned spelling from endlessly checking dictionaries, and the spell checker teaches me endlessly. And finally, I've learned to love by loving.
 | |
|
| |
| |
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 2/10/2009 8:39:18 AM | I first read of this no grade system in an English newspaper some time ago when they instituted it in England.
The school in question is called "Nutana Collegiate."
http://schools.spsd.sk.ca/nutana/
It is not a regular highschool.
You should also understand the school board in Saskatoon instituted polices in which for years the end resulted in a lot Grade 12's graduating who can't add, subtract, multiply or divide without the use of a calculator or cash register. Those policies are still in effect. | |
|
| No Grades in School!!??
Posted: 2/10/2009 9:07:36 AM | | Which only goes to show that Boards of Education and government departments that oversee them don't make the best educated decisions for our kids. By the sounds of it, there should be more input from the people who pay school taxes instead of leaving things up to people who churn kids through a system that is inadequate. How do we get around that? | |
|
|
|
Home
login 
