What does it mean when you get an A in a class?  I'm not asking, "What is it supposed to mean?"  I'm asking, "What does it actually mean?"  Does the "A" in Chemistry mean the same as the "A" in History?  Does the "A" in Physical Education mean the same as the "A" in English?  What does a "B" mean; what does a "D" mean?  Did you ever get an "A" in a class--middle school, high school, or college--and then brag to your friends that you didn't learn a thing?  Did you ever get an "A" or a "B" in a class and fail the final exam?  Did you know someone who consistently earned "A's" and "B's" in math classes and couldn't score over 500 on the math portion of the SATs?

       Howard Pitler list four major problems with our current system of using letter grades:

1. There is no consistency from teacher to teacher or from school to school.  Schools and school districts may have different policies about grading; and these policies aren't necessarily the same from school to school or from school district to school district.
2. Teachers decide the factors that go into a course grade and they decide the weighting for each of these factors.  So called "hard teachers" and "easy teachers" is actually a real thing when it comes to grading in the letter grading system.  Some teachers are more demanding than others; some teachers award "points" for non-academic behaviors such as showing up to class on time or not using all of your allotted bathroom passes. Merely completing homework can be part of the grade regardless of the quality or the "learning" that may have occurred while completing the homework.
3. Grades discourage students from learning.  Pitler quotes Alfie Kohn who says, 

 �Kids who are graded�and have been encouraged to try to improve their grades�tend to lose interest in the learning itself, avoid challenging tasks whenever possible (in order to maximize the chance of getting an A), and think less deeply than kids who aren�t graded.� The target becomes the grade rather than the learning. Students take less challenging classes because they want to �protect� their GPAs.

 4.  Lastly, true learning often requires multiple attempts in which ultimate success doesn't happen until the end of the process.  When students are more concerned about "getting grades", they tend to try less, they are less willing to go through the necessary struggle needed to achieve the ultimate level of true learning.

       There is another way to measure student learning and that is to compare their learning against standards (or proficiencies or competencies) that everyone can agree on.  Proficiency-based Learning is not new.  In fact it is growing in popularity among educators who want students and parents to have a better understanding of the actual learning that is taking place in our schools.  One of the hallmarks of proficiency-based learning is the idea that students need time to re-visit topics and ideas in their journey toward true learning and true understanding.  Hence, assessments are used to help students and parents to "see" the learning that occurred and to recognize the learning that still needs to happen.  When students are re-assessed, grades aren't averaged.  Instead, higher grades at a later time in the learning process are recognized as the actual level of learning that occurred.  Therefore, students are encouraged to try harder.

       Proficiency-based Learning should also allow students to work at their own pace.  Ideally, they should not move on to something new until they have a good understanding of the current lesson or idea or standard.  Also, students may have opportunities to demonstrate their understanding in multiple ways; not always via a summative test--however these tests can be still be used.

       Schools are for learning, not for "getting grades".  And we need to have a better system for identifying the learning that takes place.  Too many students are graduating from high school without the skills to hold a job or complete college or make good decisions for themselves.  We need to do better for our students so that they will have better options for their futures.

       When something goes wrong, is it your fault or is it someone else's fault?

       You're late to work, you fail a class, you break a shoelace, you gain weight, you run out of milk.  Small things and big things; they happen every day.  Are you the kind of person that says, "It's my fault." most of the time when things go wrong; or are you the kind of person who says (essentially), "It's someone else's fault." most of the time when things go wrong.


       Maybe this isn't a fair question.  Certainly there are times when it is my fault and times when it is someone else's fault.  You can't answer such an abstract question with a definitive answer one way or the other.  Well, OK.  Maybe so.  But surely you know someone who almost never takes responsibility for anything that happens in their life.  When they are late to work; it's because of slow drivers and red traffic lights.  When they gain weight; it's because other people are constantly offering them sweets.  When they lose a game of cards; it's because the cards weren't shuffled well.

       When middle and high school students struggle to learn in school; Who's fault is it?  Who is ultimately responsible for their learning?  Who bears the greatest ownership for whether or not they learn math and English and science?  There is no doubt that this is a controversial question.  This is a question in which any answer would have troublesome consequences.  Another way to ask this question is, "Do we blame the schools, or blame the students?"  Unfair you say?  Maybe.  Probably.  But this is a question that educators get often.  I am going to begin by looking at the extreme answers.

1) It's the student's fault

2) It's the teacher's fault

       So who's fault is it?  If we can't say it's the student's fault and we can't say it's the teachers fault (and we still have learning that isn't happening) then who's fault is it?

       We live in a world that loves to point fingers and loves to have clear, simple "right/wrong" answers.  We want to have a villain that we can point to; someone to blame; someone to yell at.  Everything is a soccer game with winners and losers.  We don't like complicated things, complex things.  These are too hard to understand and too hard to fight.

       Who's fault is it?  I think it depends on the person that you are.  If you are the type to take responsibility for your actions, then you probably lean toward the side that says students should be responsible for their own learning.  If you are the type to blame others and nothing is ever your fault, then you probably lean toward the side that says the teachers and the schools are to blame.  As for me--and as an educator--I take a middle-of-the-road view.  Sure we want students to be responsible, but teachers should do everything that they can to help students to learn.  It's not enough to just "teach".  If students aren't learning, teachers and schools should ask why.  They should take a hard look at these students and provide whatever help they can.

       I believe that our public schools are constantly concerned about students who struggle to learn.  Most of time, these students get the help that they need.  But sometimes they don't.  In the end, as with so many things in life, I believe that we have to work together to help our most vulnerable students to get the help that they need.  Learning requires a little struggling for everyone.  For those who can't meet this struggle, we should all be there to help them.