Weighted Grades - Math

Item
Math Tests
Work Sheets
Homework
In-Class
Exercises
Quizzes
Group Work
Attendance
Participation
Preparedness
Neatness of
Papers
Legibility
Bring Back
Signed Tests
and Quizzes
Behavior
Book Covers
Attending Math
Fair
Total Items: 15

Item
Math Tests
Work Sheets
Homework
In-Class
Exercises
Quizzes
Group Work
Total Items: 6

# of
Assignments
4
20
45
45

Points Per
Item
100
5
15
2

Total
400
100
675
90

380
75
575
88

5
2
45
45
45
121

25
150
5
5
10
5

125
300
225
225
450
605

100
100
220
195
400
405

121

605

500

10

90

45
45

5
5

225
225

30

60

70
200
225
60
Total Points
Earned:
3,593
Percent Grade: 82%

Total Assmts:
599

Total Points:
4,400

# of
Assignments
4
20
45
45

Points Per
Item
100
5
15
2

Total

5
2

25
150

125
300

Total Assmts:
121

Johnny

400
100
675
90

Johnny
380
75
575
88

100
100
Total Points
Total Points:
Earned:
1,690
1,318
Percent Grade 78%

I personally do not believe grades mean anything important to the

student or their parents unless they are competitive in nature and want to
compare themselves to other students. I mean, there is room for
assessments to see what a child knows and what sort of help they may need,
but other than that, grades are pointless. To me, grades are a way of
grouping students and comparing them to standards set by people who are
also biased (think: who wrote these standards, why did they write them,
what values did they place on them and why, how come they get to pick
them, etc.). It is nothing more than a social construct. We love to categorize
and group things. When we do thatwhen we make labelsthere is always a
huge risk of mislabeling a child or skewing results of a test.
When I assign grades, I feel unfair and wrong. I feel like I have no right
to grade my students because maybe Johnny really did spend 6 hours
working hard on an assignment even though did terribly on it. How am I
supposed to know he actually did that work unless I go home with him and
watch him? Should I grade effort over product even though the product was
really poor? His grades only measure what I think he did, how well I think
he did it, and whether or not I think he completed the objectives and met
the standards. The same goes for what these grades mean. His grades only
mean what I think he did, how well I think he did it, and whether or not I
think he completed the objectives and met the standards. It is my opinion,
not fact.

Students can get higher grades without doing homework by getting

more points in other categories. For example, getting 605 points each in
Neatness of Papers and Legibility would by far cancel out a zero in
homework, quizzes, and group work. Getting 100% of the points in all other
categories keeps a students grade from dropping severely because of not
doing any homework.
The extra categories that have nothing to do with academics (neatness
of papers, legibility, behavior, attending math fairs, book covers, etc.) give
students who fail the academic portions (tests, quizzes, group work,
homework, work sheets, in-class exercises, etc.) the ability to get around
learning the information. Does this mean we should throw out the nonacademic stuff and only count the academic stuff? Maybe. Should we give
kids the chance for extra credit? Not necessarily. How are we supposed to
expect kids to earn grades when we are really giving them? Yes, we are
giving grades. We assign grades based on a flawed point system we made.
Students earn what teachers think they earned. Students did not earn the
grade; it was given to them based on what the teacher said that student was
worth.
I am against grading because it is not universal, teachers can make up
whatever they want for grades, and the grading system is not a healthy way
of evaluating children. Based on my ability to change his grade by 4%, I think
our grading system is awful and needs thrown out. That is the difference
between a C and a B, the difference between passing and failing, the

difference between making honor roll and not, the difference between
getting into a good college and not. The difference in grades can crush a
student and their future. It can keep students from trying. It seems like
everyone places such a huge emphasis on grades that they are blown out of
proportion. Instead of students being blamed for bad grades, teachers are
now blamed for itand some justifiably so on the fact that grading is flawed.
However, if students are going to sit there and not do tests and homework
because everything else will carry them, then I get upset because that does
not foster learning at all.