Grades must be earned, not given

I AM responding to a recent report in StarEducate about the over emphasis on grades which is becoming a worrying trend.

We should be concerned. Good grades should only be given to deserving students.

They must set a goal for themselves and should be motivated to work harder.

Many educators award good grades to those who do well.

It is an acknowledgement of a student’s hard work and effort.

No teacher wants to award marks or pass students who do not meet the requirements in quizzes, homework assignments and examinations.

Changing marks and grades for the benefit of a student or at the instruction of a higher authority is simply not right.

Doing so, merely makes it seem that the teaching and information that a teacher has imparted to a student has no value and is simply worthless.

It must NOT be done.

Teachers, don’t let others tell you how to mark and grade an exam paper.

No one knows the subject and your students better than you do.

We shouldn’t hype up our students’ successes when we know their grades are bad – this is just so wrong and counterproductive to their development and growth.

If this practice doesn’t end soon, it will be to our detriment

There are also administrators who think teachers need to have their teaching skills reviewed over and over again, when it is the students who need to buck up.

There have been many instances when candidates who fail to answer major exam questions correctly, claim the questions were confusing and poorly phrased.

While the quick remedy is to alter the marks of students for their benefit, it is not the solution.

“Passing” the student by lowering the standards may be a “quick fix” but that will not fix the underlying problems in the system.

AZIZI AHMAD

Kuala Lumpur