Report Cards Revised Post

No Letter Grades?

      Recently in Surrey schools, the school system has gotten rid of the letter grade system meaning that instead of giving A's or B 's, they offer more detailed information on how the student did in projects and other tasks. With this new method, students can discuss with parents where they can show improvement. There have been many mixed reactions; some parents like the new format while others strongly dislike it.

   First, people didn't like the new idea because they thought the grade system was something that actually "inspired" kids to get better grades. Some felt that when they saw a low letter grade on their report card, it pushed them to improve their mark. Others argue that there was nothing wrong with the letter grade system in the first place. With a F or D in a certain subject, parents can easily see their child isn't doing too well in that subject already without the need of extra explanations.

   The people who like the new system argue back that in elementary school, we got "Needs work" or "Outstanding" instead of an A or C+ so why can't we continue that into high school. They felt that although the letter system had nothing wrong with it, adding extra comments stating where the child needs improvement also isn't a bad thing. It shows students constructive criticism to let them improve for the best.

    In my opinion, there should just be both grading systems and feedback system. Without getting graded on our performance in school, it's just like getting a medal for participating instead of winning first or second place. Seeing a bad grade on my report card does make people want to get better marks, yet the feedback system can help peers improve on weak points to get better grades. The feedback system  is good because instead of focusing on just grades, students can get criticism to improve my work. Overall, both of the systems are good and we should have both on our report cards.

Click here to see the original article on this issue. All my references were the comments inside that article.