Current Events -

     Recently, 39 Surrey schools have decided to try out a new program that changes the way we see how we are doing in each subject. They are doing this, contemplating if they should get rid of the letter grade indefinitely. 

     The School District is doing this instead of the tradition letter grading such as A, B, and C. They think that doing in-depth feedback is better for giving more information about projects and essays,and how you are doing in class. The District is doing this so that the parents and students know more of what the teachers are thinking, helping them see their strengths and weaknesses in the subject or project. They believe that if you get an A, you know you're doing well, however, you don't know what you may be struggling in or what you're excelling at. 

     While some people like this idea of getting rid of the letter grade, other think that if you get rid of it, teachers will have a harder time figuring out if that particular student is passing or failing. Based on the comments of this article, some parents, students and apparently teachers do not like the new program because it leads to hiding the students failure in some cases. A lot of kids like coming home to an A, and if they get, say, a C- in a subject, in most cases they try harder to get a better grade. Without the letter grade system, they won't know exactly how well they are doing, leading them to believe that they don't have to work as hard to get a good grade, which allows them to pass.

     In my opinion, I am not on either side of this. On one hand, I think that it may be good to have detailed feedback on your work, so that you and your parents know your strengths and your weaknesses, and being on the same page as your teacher. However, I also believe that if they take away the grading system, students will start to slack off and not do their work to the best of their abilities, because instead of getting a C, for example, they would just get a description of what they might be doing wrong. Like I said earlier, it may be harder for teacher to figure out if the student is passing or failing. I am falling more toward the side of keeping the letter grade program, however, I still am not too sure about it.

Link:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/surrey-school-district-extends-its-no-letter-grades-program-1.2485832