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Disclaimer

Let me begin by saying that as a teacher that I really believe that positive encouragement and the communication of wondrous discovery is completely essential to the development of a student and the successful communication of ideas from teacher to pupil. So, in this post I’m definitely not advocating any return back to the days of the cane and the constant driving of students to achieve high marks at all costs.
However, like many things, I really believe there is a balance for all things. In education, the avoidance of failure is as bad as the idea of success at all costs. I wonder if I have finally come across a school that has really crossed the line of too much positivity!

My background

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I am a musician in my day job, however, I still hold an avid interest in Mathematics and Sciences (in addition to pretty much every topic that crosses my path, hence my blog description). My father was a professor in Pure Mathematics and my first university degree was in Physics and Theoretical Physics, so these topics hold a special interest for me. So, it is with this in mind, that I find it still interesting and endlessly rewarding to teach Mathematics and Science privately as my side job.

A different grading system

It is with these things in mind, that I came across a student recently (who is quite advanced, several years beyond their school study) who goes to a school which relentlessly advocates positivity. The school is by no means a bad school, but it was just described to me how they do the grading system there. In an effort to get away from the “ranking” and the perceived success/failure of the A-F system or a points/marks based system, they have adopted the following system:

From top to bottom (numbering is mine, and not part of the grading system):

1. Excelling
2. Master
3. Developing
4. Beginning
5. Insufficient Evidence

Firstly, I would like to posit the question, why was there a need to rename the various grade boundaries? If you look at it without rose-tinted glasses, it is essentially the same system of grading, just without letters, and avoiding the use of the word “fail”.

Perhaps it is my old school nature, but I fail to see why it is necessary to place a positive spin on the “average” mark of “Developing”. In my eyes, that is the same as being able to be conversant in a subject at the level being expected. There is no “developing”, it is “adequate”. Likewise, for the fourth grade of “beginning”. I would interpret that as NOT understanding and needs work to begin to understand. There is no “beginning to understand”, it is you will only “begin” to understand with further help or work, it is a falling behind grading that doesn’t deserve a positive spin.
The last one is the one that I have most problem with, “Insufficient Evidence” is at best a passive aggressive way of stating that there is “insufficient evidence for understanding”. I think it might more subtly aiming at avoiding the idea that anyone can or should “fail”.

As I’ve written in another post, there is nothing wrong with failure. Not all of us can be good at everything, and I can rattle off the top of my head any number of things that I’m terrible at! Admitting that you have failed doesn’t need a positive spin, it is a statement of fact, and also an important one if you ever wish to learn!

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Of course, there is every chance that I’ve misinterpreted the intentions of this system, I’m always willing to admit fault, especially when my information is incomplete. Please let me know if I’m being too harsh or I’ve completely missed the point!