One of the ways my friends and I felt motivated academically was because of the letter grading method used in schools. It made academic competition more interesting. Grading with letters like A, B, C, D and F shows excellent performance, average effort and also the poor performances. Not just help students to sit up, but also help teachers to grade and understand students capacity.
In semesters that we made more C's in our courses, we strive to achieve excellence and obtain A or B grades. Letter grading is indeed a motivating grading system and built the best students .
I don't encourage or support scrapping a grading system that encourages students to work hard, rewards excellence amongst students, encourages growth and success.
The pass/fail grading method will only encourage laziness and make academics less competitive. The average student won't strive to be the best, but settle and not compete to be better. And competition is very necessary in school. Just imagine a school without academic competition.
If the maximum to a pass grade is 50%, then students will only strive for 50%, but with the letters grading system, students study to attain 70% and even above to get an A grade. What makes it annoying is that in the letter grading, a D grade is 50% and that's before an F (fail), which is very poor.
Let us ,imagine a system that students who studied for an A will be given the same reward as those who studied for a D.
I believe the pass/fail system will only encourage laziness amongst students and reduce competition in schools. This will reduce morale and make students settle for less and stay relaxed.
Without a letter grading system, how would parents keep track and record of their kids performance academically? Without a letter grading, it's impossible to tell a child's performance in different courses.
The school also needs to keep records of every child's performance and, with a pass /fail grading system, they won't know a child's full capacity, because the system isn't competitive enough and it's limiting the child.
Letter grading is the best and I believe it shouldn't be replaced by a pass/fail method.
The pass/fail method is also going to discourage students who put in more effort, because it's not rewarding. Just imagine a student who has been studying since school resumption to make better grades, obtaining the same remarks as a student that did little or applied less effort to studying.
Pass/fail method isn't going to reward excellent students, there should be levels to success. That's why I encourage the letter grading system, where a hardworking student will be regarded as an A student and earn respect.
I just remembered a friend of mine who achieved her dream of graduating with a first class and, for every semester, she attained an A, she was an alpha student and her dream was actualized by her dedication to reading and consistency. Just imagine it was a pass / fail method. There would be no difference between her and the average student who doesn't put in much effort. No reward, just a pass. That's really a discouragement to hardworking students.
As a future mom, the fact is I wouldn't want my kids to study effortlessly and not feel rewarded after much hardwork and dedication. I will also want to know their strengths and weaknesses. The letter grading enables parents, kids and even the school to identify the child's weaknesses and strengths.
Letter grading has alot of benefits , it creates certainty and a clear picture of a child's performance. The pass/fail will only limit the ability of students, create relaxation and take away competition from the educational system.
I encourage and believe we should still embrace the letter grading system, because it encourages hardwork, healthy competition, excellence and rewards success in education.
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