UNDERSTANDING GRADES In many respects, grades are an unfortunate part of the learning process. Many students, especially those new to colle...
UNDERSTANDING GRADES In many respects, grades are an unfortunate part of the learning process. Many students, especially those new to college, do not have a clear understanding of what it takes to be successful in the college environment. For other students, the focus is too easily shifted from learning to grades. For the college teacher, assigning grades at the end of the semester can be simultaneously rewarding and frustrating.
When a student has worked hard, challenged himself or herself, and shown evidence of deep learning, it is very gratifying to assign a high mark. In contrast, it is very trying to assign a low mark to a student who has great potential, but who has demonstrated surface learning or has made little effort to improve. Although a single letter grade does not adequately represent the sum total of a person’s potential or abilities, it is a widely accepted method for summarizing a student’s performance in a particular course. Overall performance in a course is undoubtedly a function of many things, but can be distilled down to a student’s native ability and motivation (as indicated by attendance, preparation, attitude, curiosity, effort, and retention). Although greater effort (working hard) in a course can result in improved results (learning), this is not necessarily always the case. It is important not to confuse these two very important, but different, dimensions of performance. Effort alone does not guarantee success. Conversely, the most outstanding student in a classroom is not necessarily the individual with the greatest native ability. Look over the following table (Table 6)
, modified from well-known papers in The Teaching Professor by J.H. Williams (1993) and Solomon and Nellen (1996) to evaluate your own behavior in the classroom. In which aspects do you excel? Which ones need improvement? Remember, time-on-task is the single variable most highly correlated with learning. If learning is not your highest priority, then you should not expect to Wirth & Perkins - Learning to Learn 23 receive an “A” and you should work toward a more attainable grade. Lastly, remember that not every professor has the same standards for grading and that it is your responsibility to know which standards are in effect. Finally, it may not be obvious to you why there is so much emphasis on writing in college.
Writing provides an opportunity to explore old ideas and find new ones. Simply stated, what you write, and how you write it, is evidence of your ability to think critically (Paul 2004). When you write vague sentences, or fail to provide detailed examples to make a point, it indicates that your understanding of a topic lacks clarity or detail. When you fail to provide a detailed logical analysis in your writing, it suggests that your conceptual understanding may be weak. “A” level work requires a clear demonstration of the elements of critical thinking, including evidence of a mind that has “taken charge of its own ideas, assumptions, inferences, and intellectual processes” (Paul 2004). To the extent that a student needs assessment by another individual, they are not thinking critically or engaging their metacognitive skills. As a student you should strive to be an independent, self-directing learner. Remember, the choices that you make in college may result in habits that affect the rest of your life. Skip Downing, author of On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life (2005) has provided a list of characteristics of successful and struggling students (Table 7). Look over this list. How do you measure up? Are you where you want to be, or would you like to make some changes? The choice is yours and we’re here to help
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