By Rajvee Patel
Since the beginning of the pandemic, students’ educational experiences have changed dramatically. Students are not receiving the same quality of instruction as they normally would during in-person school. This situation has required students and staff to adapt to the many changes brought by the pandemic.
Teachers have changed the way they teach their classes, and students had to get used to attending school virtually. Many students struggle with online school because it is much easier to get distracted by your phone or video games during class or while working. For some, remote learning is difficult because they do not have a strong Internet connection or access to efficient technology.
One of the most significant changes students had to deal with was seeing their grades turn into either “Credit” or “No-Credit” for the Spring 2020 semester. When I first learned about this shift, I was disappointed because it became harder for me to find the motivation to do my work, knowing I could get credit just by doing the bare minimum. I was also frustrated because I felt that all of my efforts to maintain As in my classes during the beginning of second semester had gone to waste.
This school year, however, the district decided to return to the traditional letter grading and GPA system. At first, I was glad to hear about the change but soon realized the “Credit/No-Credit” system was better because it more accurately reflected students’ efforts in distance learning.
First, some teachers are still trying to figure out how to effectively teach their students through an online platform, and this process has led to many teachers to assign more work because they are less trusting of test grades. Giving students more homework is understandable because teachers want to keep their students caught up with the curriculum even if they only meet twice a week due to the block schedule. However, some students do not have the time or means to keep up with all the deadlines due to distracting environments at home or technology issues. This can result in missed deadlines and missing work in the gradebook, which can take a toll on students’ grades, which means that current grades are an inaccurate reflection of their efforts.
Another problem with letter grades this semester concerns grade weighting. In many classes, tests and assessments count for a higher percentage of one’s overall grade. However, due to distance learning, there are not as many tests in many classes as there would be if school was normally taking place. As a result, each test has a greater impact on a student’s overall grade in the class and this means that students don’t have as many chances to raise their grades if they perform poorly on a test. Therefore, the grades students currently have are not accurate, and it would be better to switch to a “Credit/No Credit” system because this method accounts for whether students are keeping up with their work. Switching to the spring semester’s grading system would force students to become more independent and study for personal development and knowledge – not for a grade. This mindset will be beneficial and prepare students for college, where much of the information you get comes from independent study and not direct instruction.
One of the most significant issues with having letter grades this year is the uncertainty around academic dishonesty. For students who have classes where teachers are administering tests, there will always be the concern of cheating. No matter how strictly teachers set up their testing systems, there will always be a handful of students who find ways to cheat. Academic dishonesty can affect scores on tests, boosting grades and therefore providing an inaccurate reflection of students’ understanding and development in that class throughout the school year. On the other hand, some teachers are making their tests exceedingly difficult and are giving less time for students to take the tests in an effort to prevent cheating. Stricter time limits and harder tests can result in lower scores, which leads to lower grades in the class. Again, this goes to show how illogical it is to keep letter grades since they do not reflect a student’s understanding of the material in that class.
Overall, I strongly believe MHS should go back to a “Credit/No-Credit” system until school reopens or in-person instruction resumes. Although this option does not sound appealing at first, a system like this is beneficial because instead of just focusing on doing the bare minimum to pass the class and get the credits they need, students would be training themselves to become better learners and would be preparing themselves to face similar situations in the future.