{"id":1504,"date":"2014-11-06T23:00:32","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T04:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=1504"},"modified":"2014-11-06T23:00:32","modified_gmt":"2014-11-07T04:00:32","slug":"the-centre-mindset-or-how-grades-run-our-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2014\/11\/06\/the-centre-mindset-or-how-grades-run-our-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"The Centre Mindset, or: How grades run our lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

By CHAD CARTER –\u00a0STAFF WRITER<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As the end of the semester draws closer, the school will begin its bi-annual epidemic of students studying for finals. Ask any of these students why they are spending large blocks of time reviewing their class materials, and the answer will almost certainly be, \u201cSo I can get a good grade on the final.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a commonly accepted fact: students study much harder for the final exams than they ever have for the class. And it\u2019s all so they can come out of the semester not with a better understanding of the subject, but with a better grade. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How is it that the complex process of learning has been distilled down to a few numbers and a letter? Perhaps it\u2019s time to take a closer look at the shortcomings of the grading system.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are numerous problems with the grade system, but they come down to three main issues. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

First, grades are often external motivators. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is clear in the example of students studying for finals. Sure, these students might be motivated internally to strive for good grades, but that\u2019s as far as that motivation goes, and it leads to grades sometimes defeating their own motivating purpose. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all probably taken an \u201ceasy A\u201d class at some point during our academic career. For those of you who haven\u2019t, imagine being able to do very little work and still receive a good grade. Imagine never doing the reading, never studying for tests, and never being stressed whatsoever about the class. It can be a truly wonderful experience. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you know that you could put in more effort, you know what would be satisfactory to the professor and you can just do what will get you the grade instead of what will get you the better comprehension,\u201d junior Elle Enander said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, those of you who have taken one of these classes, how much do you remember from the class? I would guess very little, just like the amount of work you put in. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn my experience, the classes that have been the hardest, I\u2019ve also learned the most. The classes where it\u2019s very difficult to get good grades, I retain better,\u201d sophomore Sam Morrow said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What was the purpose of that easy class, then, except as a \u201cGPA booster\u201d? People have taken an entire semester of a class for the sole purpose of increasing a number they could feel defines them or their experience at Centre. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is the second problem with grades. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think grades represent who they are as a person,\u201d junior Nick Montejos said. \u201cIt puts people in a bad mood.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We can take grades personally, especially when the grades are in subjects that directly affect future plans. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome people are not getting the grades that they want, and they are changing their life paths because they don\u2019t think that med schools and grad schools will accept them,\u201d Enander said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

These people are considering changing what was possibly their personal calling simply because of a number assigned to them by someone else, which flows into the third problem with grades: the \u201csomeone else\u201d is not always impartial.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We do our best work for it to be evaluated by a professor, who often has no idea what we put into it. Grades, although they purport to be objective, can be highly subjective depending on the professor. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cProfessors don\u2019t always tell you how they\u2019re grading. You have to go see them to find that out,\u201d Montejos said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Montejos recalled a time he asked a professor about why his grade on a paper was low, and the professor answered, \u201cI just didn\u2019t agree with what you were saying.\u201d While that professor was more direct than most, professors\u2019 personal philosophies indubitably have an effect on the way they grade.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCertain professors expect so much of you, which is great except when they give out grades. Some professors ideologically refuse to give A\u2019s,\u201d Morrow said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t bad on its own, except that there are other professors who give out A\u2019s like candy. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The issue here is inconsistency. Across different professors, people in the same class can know the same things and put in the same effort, but have very different grades. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDifferent philosophies about grading cause this difference between what your grades are and what you actually deserve,\u201d Morrow said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What, then, can be done to fix the problems with the grade system? Unfortunately, this is and has been the status quo in American education for a very long time. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the current framework of education, it\u2019s probably as close as we can get,\u201d Enander said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our education is built around the grade system. It would be near impossible to throw it out and start over with a better system. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is possible, however, to make changes to the current system while still staying within the framework. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Montejos suggested a more integrated implementation of professor feedback, with some form of grade coupled with an evaluation by the professor of how well the student understands the subject. Morrow had a similar idea. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we lived in a perfect society, perhaps a professor would write an essay of recommendation on a student with an in depth evaluation of that student\u2019s performance, work ethic, and grasp of the material,\u201d Morrow said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This evaluation could be used in applying for graduate school and jobs, and could possibly carry more weight than a GPA in these circumstances. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Is it possible for the grade system to be completely flawless and fair? Of course not, every system is flawed. In the long run, however, it is worth it to consider the problems with the current system and try to find possible solutions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By CHAD CARTER –\u00a0STAFF WRITER As the end of the semester draws closer, the school will begin its bi-annual epidemic of students studying for finals. Ask any of these students why they are spending large blocks of time reviewing their class materials, and the answer will almost certainly be, \u201cSo I can get a good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}