An editorialfram the Altoona
paper written by Jonny Wahl expresses
a desire to have the grading system
abolished:
From kindergarden through college
a person's academie achievements are
recorded by grades. These grades are
designed to signify the amount of
knowledge that a person has absorbed
in a set span of time. But do they?
Throughout one's school career, there
is constant pressure on a person to
get good grades. Throughout the sec—
ondary school and college levels, a
person's goal is to get high grades;
not to absorb knowledge. Throughout
a person's school career, he is tempt
ed to cheat, to "butter up" or to
cram in order to raise his grade.
The first evil of the grading
system: is false interest. A student
who dislikes a course or the teacher's
opinions may become hypocritical and
put on an air of enthusiP.sm to im
press the teacher with hopes for a
good grade. This student stops think
ing for himself and tries to mold his
thoughts into the ideas of the teacher
Cramming would be eliminated if
marks' were ayolished.. Astudent.could
pick his own interests and specialize
in them, Without grading there would
be a better student=teacher relation
ship. Students would be able to offer
opinions freely without worrying
about affecting their grades. Papers
could be written without fear of go-
ing against the teacher's ideas.
Ideas mentioned in class that the
teacher has not the time to cover in
full would be covered by the student
to enrich the scope of his field. If
the class is grade-conscious, these
ideas would be considered unimportant
and not worthy of valuable time.
Cheating would be unnecessary if
- rading were abolished. A student
cheats for fear of failing a course
or for lack of interest. A grade
achieved by cheating is not worth
the price.
It must be said, however, in
defense of grades, that they serve
as a guide to senior college accept
ance. Under a new systel9, though,
the student-teacher relations would
be such that a teacher could write
a very thorough and revealing report
on his students. This, added to a
person's College Board scores
(college boards would not be elimin
ated under the new systen, for they
do not produce any of the evils of
the "grade system"), would present
an adequate guide for senior college
acceptance.
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