Grading

2 Pages 610 Words

In the essay, “A Proposal To Abolish Grading” author Paul Goodman states why he thinks schools should abolish grading. Goodman gives many reasons why today’s colleges and universities should abolish their standard grading philosophies. I agree with many of the ideas that Goodman presented in this essay. Goodman states that many times the grades that are earned in college do not matter once you have graduated. He believes that the only thing that matters is the diploma from the school that you have graduated from. Goodman states, “Indeed, I doubt that many employers bother to look at such grades; they are more likely to be interested merely in the fact of a Harvard diploma, whatever that connotes to them. (504)” Goodman basically says that, it is the quality of the school that you graduate from, not how well someone does in it. Did Goodman believe this when he was in school? How well did Goodman do in college? Not evaluating the grades, and just looking at diploma, basically defeats the purpose of trying to excel in school, because in the end all someone needs is the diploma.
Often students are under a great amount of pressure from their parents, teachers and their peers. Students will even get into competitions with each other, to earn the best grades. “It was certainly not to pit one young fellow against another in an ugly competition. (504)” Parents are often another significant pressure on students, because they are usually the ones paying for their children’s education, and they want their children to have the best opportunities.
Goodman also states that grading cause many students to look to unethical methods to succeed. Being under such pressure is not usually a positive situation. Many times students will have to resort to other methods such as plagiarizing, and cheating. Goodman states, “I think that the great majority of professors agree that grading hinders teaching and creates a bad spiri...