Those days after the report cards were being shared with students on the day we closed school for the term, some students, upon seeing their grades, would be very scared of going home due to pressure and comparison they anticipated from their parents. Some usually feel so inferior looking at letter D, or E, or even C, lined up in their report card while others are having A levels in all subjects.
I was there, and even when I was a bright student, I usually felt for those students feeling so inferior to themselves over their grades. It is common to see students measuring their worth over whatever grades were written in their report cards.
So recently, the idea of replacing grades with a pass/fail system sounds good to me because maybe the comparison from one student over another will be a thing of the past. Maybe the pressure to acquire good grades rather than absorbing the needed knowledge will be reduced, and maybe it will feel less stressful and less judgmental to learners, just maybe, and by so doing, the learners who are already affected mentally and emotionally will feel better.
As a mom, I have experienced the effect of grades in the lives of children in terms of their confidence. If you agree with me, these kids are gifted differently; some are creative, some can draw very well, some are good in sports, some can speak fluently, and the list goes on, and yet the grade will end up making some who are not sound academically feel inferior, whereas they are good in other areas.
Recently, my kids' school stopped giving awards to the best students but gives them all learners just to encourage them. Maybe it's something nice for their emotions, though. Education sectors will keep adjusting until we get it right, but in all, we are all striving to nurture excellence in each child depending on their area of interest in life.
There was a time my son struggled to write his test and exam due to illness, and his grade that term was not great at all. He looked at me and said, "Mommy, I know you are disappointed," but I assured him that I wasn't even though I didn't see grade As and Bs, and that's where the pass and fail system may help student morale.
No doubt, this system will eliminate unhealthy competition among learners; it will reduce pressure and comparison among learners too, and some students will stop looking down on themselves, building their confidence alongside and even breathing better.
On the other hand, grade can help teachers understand the performance of each child and maybe assist where necessary. So I feel instead of turning grades into a measure of intelligence, schools might look at focusing on balancing academic assessment with encouragement and emotional support to learners. At the end of the day, the most successful ones in life are not even the A toppers in school, and let children also be made to understand that a failure in a course is not a failure in life. It's about being intentional with acquiring knowledge.
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