Doing Away with Grades and Getting a Degree

Written by Ridzuan Ashim

Wednesday, 06 June 2007

Reading the review “Pitch For Alternative Learning” on the Review section of The Straits Times(Pg 22) yesterday, I find it extremely interesting the way New College Florida provides education. Unlike the standard GPA system and credit-hour system that we’re used to, they employ a different criteria. A student will spend the start of each term developing a contract between himself and the teacher. The contract will outline what the student will student within specific disciplines. To graduate, he must complete 7 contracts, 3 independent study projects and 1 original thesis. Also, unlike the grade oriented system that we have, they abstain from letter grades and instead couple the usual “Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory” with a “narrative evaluation”. What this effectively means is that as a student, you actually know where your strengths and shortfalls lie. How many times have we mugged for a paper only to realize we have no idea why we bagged a C+? I personally find that system so much more relevant. Let me 2 reasons why… Firstly, it benefits the individual because while developing the contract, he controls the pace of learning. The individual also decides what area of the field of discipline he will specialize in. While in the first few semesters this will prove to be difficult simply because he’s still a greenhorn, that very lack of knowledge will be the driving force to make him research and chart his academic path. Next, the doing away of the letter grade is beneficial for 2 groups of people – the student and the potential employer. The student would clearly be able to gauge his own ability instead of deciphering some letter or number that’s pegged against a confidential yardstick for which all one can do is appeal if they’re not satisfied with their grade. The potential employer would also be able to assess the character and ability of the graduate instead of basing his entire judgment on the brand value of the certificate. That being said, a system like that would perhaps have several key problems… Firstly, the system would be heavily be dependant on the writing ability of the accessing professor. With all the talk about local professors being unable to communicate well due to language and cultural barriers, this could effectively mean that students end up being ‘dumbed down’ on the narrative evaluation. Second, students who lack the self-motivation for independent learning would end up struggling because they will inherently lack the drive to actually get into the dirt of the field. This might be rectified with a good mentor but usually mentors can only do so much. (My thoughts on this, however, is that if they don’t have the self-motivation and interest to pursue the degree, why give it to them in the first place? ) Will Singapore have a school that will actually look at giving credit for a student’s real abilities instead of judging the student against a fixed yardstick? Should we even have one? Links New College Florida

 

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