Some Colleges are Eliminating Grades
Hey, I was anything but a straight A student, and although I would have loved to take the easy way out, still I do not agree with the latest thing that some colleges are talking about doing. NPR says some colleges are eliminating freshman grades to help students make the transition from high school to college. If no grades were handed out what would be the the point of administering tests? What would be the point of staying up all night studying if it does not matter what grade you get? The practice is called ”un-grading”. I am thinking that this un-grading system is a college-level version of participation trophies!
University of California-Santa Cruz advisor Jody Green says, “Grades are not a representation of student learning, as hard as it is for us to break the mindset that if the student got an A it means they learned. If a student already knew the material before taking the class and got that A, they didn’t learn anything’. And if the student came in and struggled to get a C-plus, they may have learned a lot.”
Universities taking part in un-grading include Texas Christian University, Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, Florida Gulf Coast University, Grand Valley State; the universities of New Hampshire and South Alabama; Knox College in Illinois and Colorado College; Prince George’s Community College and Howard Community College in Maryland; and Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania.
