Dropping the Letter Grade System

IVAN HOE STAFF WRITTER

Currently, the most widely used rating system is letter grades, which judge students’ academic success based on a letter and if they do not meet the school’s expectations, they essentially failed. The letter grade system is the cause of many misconceptions in students and parents’ view on education as a whole, which is detrimental to the student’s well being and should be eliminated.
When colleges look at a student’s transcripts, the admission officers judge students by the letters printed on the piece of paper rather than the development of a student and their achievements. One letter could determine a student’s chance of getting into the college they want and may have an indirect impact on their future.
The letter grade system also comes with a multitude of misconceptions. When parents see certain grades on their child’s report card, they might believe that their child is not doing well in the class because the grade is not up to their expectations. In turn, they will worry about their kid’s intelligence and abilities, not recognizing that the grade does not define their child and potentially causing pressure on the students. They could also set expectations in the student’s minds, leading students to believe that the grades they receive in school determine who they are in the world. As a result, students may cheat their own education to get better-looking grades, which only hurts them since they will not learn anything from the class. These misconceptions would harm the students as well as the education system by planting the mindset that grades define their success.
On top of misconceptions, letter grades have caused considerable stress and negative thoughts in students due to the their obsessions with grades. According to US Represented, 16 years old kids who are at the bottom of their class in terms of grades are more likely to commit suicide than students with the highest grades. Also, students might break into panic attacks for not completing one or two tasks that impact their grades, causing them to go as far as questioning their life choices and even having suicidal thoughts.
Although the letter grade system allows parents and students see the overall performance in the class, it does not represent all the assignment the students have done in the class nor does it allow them to see mastery in certain task or skills. In order to resolve these issues, high schools can implement analytical systems instead. Teachers can provide a report and a thorough analysis of students’ academic success throughout the school year and show improvement in specific tasks. This illustrates a clear picture for colleges on how well students actually did in their classes without pressuring students to focus on getting top scores. This allow students to enjoy the learning process that prepare them for their future.