Academic grades; the ultimate indicators of success and capabilities
Grades measure one’s ability to answer questions of a well defined course and regurgitate the information. But Douglas Reeves says it beautifully: 'In the best classrooms, grades are one of the many types of feedbacks provided to students.’
Almost every year we students face the burden of examinations with an urge to score As in our report card. ‘Your attitude not your aptitude determines your altitude’, says Zig Ziglar, explaining that life success and capabilities go beyond our academic grades.
Academic grades are simply a comparison of one’s performance with others at school. Academic grades crush creativity, foster short term thinking and promote unethical behaviour. If marks and grades were everything why would universities include interviews and group discussions in the admission process?
When our education system itself is in dilemma why do we rely solely on grades? Though assessments are a vital part of our education system, they fail to explain the complete story.
Do marks help you maintain your dignity when others are tearing it apart?
Do marks teach you table manners, ethics or culture?
What does your GPA tell others of the kind of course you pursued, the institution you studied in or your leadership ability?
How far will these numbers take you in the business of life?
Is there something more that needs to be assessed?
Dr.Howard Gardener, co-director of Project Zero at the Harvard University developed the theory of Multiple Intelligences. According to him, schools evaluate one’s verbal or linguistic ability when six more make a fuller human. Some of them include intrapersonal ability (the intelligence to understand your own emotions, actions, intentions) and interpersonal ability (intelligence to work with others collaboratively). When our abilities have such a wide range isn’t it unfair when a few should determine who we are?
‘Education isn’t preparation of life, education is life itself’, says John Dowey. How much do grades help you at work place? Pearson Education and Skills Survey suggests 66% of the firms were not satisfied with basic skills such as numeracy their employers possessed. Building a correlation between grades and employment?
For a student scoring B after getting a C that’s success. For the rest that B is still inferior compared to an A. According to Strayer University survey, 97%of the people believe success is about happiness and not power, possession or property (terms we would normally associate with valedictorians).
Isn’t success supposed to be subjective?
Can we design a report card that measures success that is different for different individuals?
Our report cards state statistics and stastics without a story make little sense, my teacher rightly says.
‘Mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled’ quotes Plutarch. Our grades simply ask –‘what you know’ than ‘what you can do?’ They fail to assess our qualities as wholesome and are the least yardsticks to measure us. If success for one of my classmates, Santosh Rathod means getting into Bharatiya Football club and playing for Pune FC, there is no one size fits for all definition of success.
