During the COVID-19 pandemic, Upper School students weigh in on how they want to be graded
By Aarushi Phalke ‘20
Photo by Aarushi Phalke
Today ends the second week of remote learning and the third week since Catlin Gabel School (CGS) students have been on campus. Similar to how other events are playing out around the world, there are many uncertainties for the future as Upper School (US) students struggle to picture how their education will look during this period of remote learning.
Among many college campuses and schools across the country, the evaluation of the traditional grading system is going through scrutiny as these atypical times modify teaching methods as well as students’ ability to learn.
The Head of US, Aline Garcia-Rubio, will make a decision today for how classes will be graded during this period of remote learning, and so students weighed in on how they believed grades should be determined.
A survey was sent out to the US student body on Wednesday, April 1, and 55 students responded by selecting as many systems of grading they wanted from a list.
23 students wanted for their grades to be frozen, where their grades could only go up but not down.
20 students wanted to be on a pass/fail system.
19 students wanted to be graded as usual.
14 students wanted an optional verbal equivalent system (you can choose to take any classes and be graded as usual but otherwise will be on a pass/fail or credit/no credit system).
12 students wanted a universal pass system (everyone passes their classes regardless of performance without receiving verbal equivalents or letter grades). See former CGSA president Juma Sei’s article to learn about his perspective on a universal pass system.
11 students wanted an optional pass/fail system (you can choose to take any class as pass/fail but otherwise will be graded as usual).
Eight students wanted a credit/no credit system.
Five students wanted an optional credit/no credit system (you can choose to take any class as credit/no credit but otherwise will be graded as usual).
Concerns of equity, motivation, and how college admissions would handle such changes were themes among students.
Students are facing new pressures not only as schools close, but as businesses shut down, hospitals reach capacity and run out of supplies, the coronavirus spreads, and people struggle to make ends meet and stay healthy.
“It is unreasonable to ask students to be performing at the highest level during this time period due to the mental, emotional and physical changes we are all facing due to this pandemic,” wrote senior Defne Alpay. “For this reason, classes should be pass/fail so that students are credited for trying their very best with their work under these difficult circumstances.”
Along with these stresses comes the varying access to resources such as Wi-Fi, a space to work, and an ability to separate school and home responsibilities.
“At-home working conditions look different for everyone whereas at school, everyone is a space that is designed for learning and work,” wrote senior Alyssa Zhang. “Grades are supposed to reflect how well the student performs with the same resources as others but at home, not everyone has access to the same things.”
Some students fear that their grades will drop, not because of how hard they are working, but rather due to their inability to shift to the school’s system of online learning. However, other students fear that moving to a system of pass/fail or credit/no credit would also be detrimental to their learning.
“A pass can have a wide range of meanings, and to me feels like I have only done the bare minimum needed to not fail a class, which I don't feel is representative of the work I have put into my classes,” wrote ninth grader Chloe Jahncke.
A potential downfall is that students could take advantage of a pass/fail system, which not only affects them but the people around them as the school emphasizes collaboration.
“If a class involves any kind of group work, any student who wants to take advantage of the incredible opportunity they have at Catlin Gabel will be hampered by the fact that their groupmates or peer reviewers may simply not participate in the learning environment. This robs students of their own learning opportunity. I know there are equity disparities with ability to successfully complete online learning. Then again, there are equity disparities that affect normal school time as well,” wrote senior Avery Pritchard.
However, one of the largest concerns in changing the school’s grading system would be the effect such action would have on college admissions.
“I think that it's important for us to get grades because of their use in college admissions. Having a transcript of passes or credits is much less meaningful than a transcript of As or a transcript of Bs, and I think that denying students that opportunity would be detrimental to their college admissions,” wrote sophomore Jackson George.
In response to fears about grading, the CGS College Counseling Office wrote the statement below:
“All the colleges making statements about this have made it clear that they will be flexible and understanding as they receive school records for this spring. Many have explicitly stated that they will respect the decisions of schools to grade in the way that is best for them and their students, including Pass/Fail and Credit/No Credit. This means many colleges that typically require letter grades for eligibility (University of California system, for example) may waive that requirement this year. Many have also made statements about flexibility in testing requirements and extracurricular activity expectations as well.
Since we are still in the midst of the situation, the colleges can't yet comment on how this will play out for applicants in selective applicant pools other than to be clear that they will be understanding of this extraordinary situation. This is a moment that illustrates the humanity of this process for us; the people who work in college admission offices will use whatever they receive to make decisions for their institutions and their applicants.”
The most popular system of grading, freezing grades from before remote learning started and only allowing grades to improve, tackles students fears of issues of equity and will give students grades on their transcripts for the college admissions process. However, all systems of grading have their pros and cons, yet it would be detrimental for us all if we refused to evaluate our current system.
These inequities in grading have always existed, and are simply being exacerbated due to the current crisis. As the school wrestles with how to adapt under our current situation, hopefully students will have a say in the decisions made. While department chairs, college counselors, and administrators are focused on the issue of grading in response to the pandemic, hopefully these discussions will prompt us to think about grading as a whole, and how we can do better in the years to come.