2013-10-0148 Bilal Shahid SS100: Writing & Communication Section 8 15.09.

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Are grades an effective means of motivating students to do their best work?

Grades definitely help students in understanding their potential. If students are not aware of the kind of work they do and how they should improve themselves, the whole idea of testing and teaching would turn into a mere fruitless activity. If homework is done by a student and the teacher wants to assess the quality of work, a grade would be true representation of the candidates performance and will also help the student realize where he stands.

For some students grades are a sure morale booster and no less than an energy drink and they look forward to a reward for their hard work in terms of desired grades. Why would anyone work hard if they come to know all their pains are going to end up without any credit or acknowledgement?

When comparing students in a class, relative marking in the form of grades would show the level of competition and would encourage students to do their best. Consider two students, John and Mike, one of whom gets a B grade and the other gets an A on the same assignment. The one who gets the better grade would set an example for his mates and the others would try to excel each other. Mike would try to beat John and hence there would be a healthy competition set between the two and the rest of the class. The result would be an inevitable excellent class performance.

Similarly, an un-graded assignment would hold no importance for the students and they would tend to take it non-seriously and so the performance is likely to drop as some

would do it reluctantly and others may not attempt it at all. The students would know that it would not affect their final marks and so the may become careless and carefree.

However, fear of getting a final poor grade may motivate them to put in all their efforts and work even harder if they miss out on something during the lectures. This would make the purpose of graded assignments even more meaningful.

On the contrary, grades may have adverse effects on some students who may be demotivated and an unexpected poor grade or getting undesired marks may hinder their progress. We might have heard of students, like Luke, who could not pass an examination because failure in earlier tests had already cast their shadows on the upcoming grand test, which could have been much better. Luke fails because he has the constant nervewrecking previous grade results that always blind his eyes. In such a situation, can grades be an effective means of motivating students or do they hamper their progress?

It can also be said that instead of creating a healthy competition, the incongruity between grades may promote rivalry and grades may set a bridge between the bright students and the mediocre ones. The discrepancy between grades may create a psychological effect on some students who may think that they do not have the ability to achieve the best grades and be targeted by an inferiority complex and consider the intelligent students as toadies, tale-bearers and teachers pets. They may eventually lose interest in studies and harbour prejudice against the sharp students. This would eventually detract them from doing their best work and it may even disrupt the harmony of the class.

Grades may seem to be an effective means of motivating students in doing their best work, but what other alternative can be set to test a students skills and his knowledge and to weigh his potential and measure his abilities? Obviously, there should be a solution to this problem. (599 words)