Do Grades Really Define One’s Individual Competency?
GRADES AND COMPETENCY – In this article, we are going to discuss if grades really do define one’s individual competency or if it’s just overall superficial.
A student’s individual competency is typically measured through GPAs, class ranking, and test scores which should not be the case and people should see beyond just numerical figures.
Getting an “A” grade and being in a prestigious school does not indicate intelligence. Likewise, it does not imply that a person is unintelligent when a remark of “D” was received (Sutherland, 2017). Grades do not define one’s individual competence due to some other factors that affect the performance of a student.
A student’s individual competency is typically measured through GPAs, class ranking, and test scores which should not be the case and people should see beyond just numerical figures. Tait (2015) states that many skillfully gifted and brilliant individuals have been overlooked due to the inadequacy of tests provided in determining one’s intellect.
Grades are not measurement of one’s competency for having high grades does not guarantee more learning, some brilliant students are pressured by the society, and thus being recognized as intelligent in school must not be a warranty of surviving the course of real life.
High grades are results of high scores from tests which are standardized for all students in an institution. “Because standardized tests are created to be unbiased and objective, they supposedly ensure that the scores a student receives is an accurate measurement of ability and progress” (Gawthrop, 2014, p. 6).
With that being said, tests do not encourage the pursuit of knowledge but of great grades. One indication is that in answering examinations, students are memorizing lessons which are covered by the exams.
Instead of gaining understanding to what is being taught in classes, students resort to memorization which are for short-term use only. Despite the knowledge they’re getting from school, getting high score still is the goal.
In conclusion, grades definitely does not and would not define one’s individual competency. Grades are the result of tests that do not encourage the pursuit of knowledge but of great grades. Not all can manage to work under pressure that can lead to lowering one’s self esteem and cause them to underperform
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