“P” For Pass
Every student has had to deal with the traditional grading system, in high school, and then later on in college. Although the Pass/Fail would help students be less stressed in school, but it is not the proper way to grade. The traditional grading keeps healthy competition in the classroom; rewards the student for being so focused on the subject, and may help them to get the career they want later in life.
Healthy competition is an excellent way for students to stay on tract in the classroom. It keeps them focused and also encourages him or her to strive to do better. For example, there are two students that sit next to one another in a biology class. They always compare grades after each test, to see which one made the higher score. The student with the lower grade is more likely to spend a little extra time on the homework that week, just so when the next test comes around he or she will make the better grade. Both students may have passed, but it’s the inner competitiveness that makes a student strive to make those few points higher. The confidence and the feeling of self-accomplishment the student receives after achieving their goal is priceless. This is truly the best kind of competition, and only traditional letter grading can keep this in the classrooms.
The most effective kind of reward for a student is a hard earned A on a test. After a student spends long hours of their free time on studying, nothing feels better then an A on an assignment or test. It also helps a student know where they stand in the classroom. For instances, there is a group of students and all of them pass, under the pass/fail grading method. But out of five of the students, only two actually took the time out of their personal lives to and devoted it to studying. Where is the fairness in that? The two students that spent more time on the subject then the other three should be rewarded for their dedication. But instead they are equally labeled under the “Pass”...