Entrance Slip: What's the point of grades?

From my “student bird” perspective, I actually liked percentage grades. I appreciated the precision, it felt objective and measurable. But looking back, I can see how meaningless that precision really was. The difference between a 90 and a 92 doesn’t reflect a meaningful difference in understanding, yet it can cause a lot of stress for students chasing university cutoffs. One of my professors once said that the difference of a few percentage points often just comes down to opinion, and that really stuck with me.

From my “teacher bird” perspective, I find myself agreeing with Sarte and Hughes’ point that grades often serve the system more than the student. In their article, they draw on Ryan and Deci’s idea that grades act as extrinsic motivators, which can actually take away from a student’s intrinsic motivation to learn. I’ve seen how easily students start focusing on “how many marks is this worth?” instead of what they’re actually learning.

That’s why I like BC’s new proficiency scale, Emerging, Developing, Proficient, Extending. It gives students a clearer picture of where they are in their learning journey without reducing everything to a number. It’s hard to attach a precise percentage to understanding. A 75% sounds fine on paper, but it doesn’t tell a student what to work on or how to grow.

Grades can give structure and accountability, but they can also create pressure and competition. The challenge, as Sarte and Hughes suggest, is to shift our focus from grading to learning, to use feedback as a tool for growth rather than a judgment of worth.