Every student can succeed

Author: William Glasser (USA)
Introduction
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The Potential Problems of the Current ABCDF Grading System
I believe that the ABCDF grading system we currently use is one of the reasons why many students refuse to study diligently in school. In this chapter, I will explain the flaws of this system and suggest its abolition. Later, when describing the "Competency-Based Class" in detail, I will explain how Glasser Quality Schools avoid the shortcomings of the current grading system. As long as we use scores for grading, it is difficult to improve underperforming schools where C, D, and F grades are common. Tragically, disadvantaged students urgently need high school transcripts to prove their level of competence in the new century, yet this system only works for about 20% of them, while the rest are left disappointed. For many students, as long as they graduate, even with C or D grades, they are accepted by society. I also acknowledge that a diploma is an advantage when looking for a job, but if their education is not sufficient to meet job requirements, they will not be able to keep the job. In the short term, this system still has some benefits, but in the long term, as society moves increasingly toward a new high-tech information age, we will be forced to face a serious problem: only students with A and B grades have the ability to handle work or college life. Despite teachers' efforts to help disadvantaged students prepare, this grading system still makes them taste failure. In the new society, giving low grades to students who lack the ability does not make sense. Because almost every student, whether with a diploma or not, needs an education that equips them with sufficient competence to survive in society. In schools where most students are disadvantaged, graduation is almost completely unrelated to competence. While we encourage disadvantaged students to receive education, we give them diplomas that do not reflect the level of competence required by modern society. Separating graduation from competence reinforces two wrong and highly destructive educational ideologies. What is even worse is that high school education is not as valuable as it should be. In some affluent areas, high school students who receive only an A+ (A Plus) grade have the ability represented by the rest of their grades below the required level. With the A+ system in place, the situation in disadvantaged schools is even worse because they have very few A+ courses. Now we indeed have a dual system: only students with A+ and A grades—or perhaps even B grades—have the necessary competence, while the rest lack sufficient ability. The wealth gap in the United States is already large enough; we do not need education to widen the gap further. We need more schools like the one in Aken, where the gap has been completely bridged. The second common belief is also highly destructive: that a large number of students lack the ability to handle work above the average level, such as students who receive B grades in all subjects. When teachers see students about to graduate who have never received a B grade in school, they find it hard to believe that these students have the ability to do more. What is even worse is that many students who have never performed above average themselves also believe they cannot do better. About ten to fifteen years ago, people in some disadvantaged communities began to question the common belief that "most students lack the ability." They said, "The problem is not that students do not study enough, but that schools allow students with limited reading ability, poor writing and calculation skills, to graduate." However, as far as I know, no one has pointed the finger at the main "culprit": the ABCDF grading system.