Oct 19th Entrance Slip - Option 2

In our society, marks have become a form of currency where students will get rewarded and punished with by giving or taking them away. So what do grades mean and what are they for? Grades should indicate the students' comprehension of a subject material. If a student receives an A, it means they are exceeding in their understanding of the material. A B would mean that the student is profficient in the material, a C meaning satisfactory/developing, and an F/D would mean that students have little understanding of the material and are still emerging.  That being said, giving a student a 0 on a test for getting caught cheating or helping someone cheat would mean that they have absolutely no understanding of the subject material. Is that really true though? And if not, how would we fairly deal with issues like cheating? Although that would be a discussion for another time (my inquiry project), I would like to mention that grades can have benefits as well. Grades can serve as a motivator for some students and allows for feedback, accountability, standardization, and preparation for the real world. It allows students to see their strengths and weaknesses and from there, choose a career path.

Personally, I would teach math and science outside of the context of school without giving grades. Learning should be fun. Students learn best when they are interested and should not be solely motivated by grades. There is nothing better than a student wanting to learn math out of pure interest. That students would learn a lot more than a student studying just to maintain their A. As Bill Gates put it, "curiosity is the best teacher." However, post-secondary institutions and parents both need a method of checking in on how students are doing, and grades are a standardized way to do so. It allows for a better juedgement of where students are in terms of the class content.