POINTS PANIC. While the official policy on gradebooks is to keep them closed, some teachers choose to make students’ scores always available on Google Classroom. These inconsistencies have contributed to student support for completely open gradebooks, while others argue that constant access to grades would increase anxiety.
A common saying used at school is “learning is more important than grades.” This seems confusing, because better learning and better grades should be equivalent. In particular, if a student is able to improve their understanding of a specific subject, their grade in that class will also improve. It is for this reason that an open gradebook policy will help improve students’ learning and help them achieve higher grades.
Open gradebooks increase transparency. SPA has many resources for improving learning, but it is often hard to make the most of them. For instance, tutorial allows students to meet with teachers in classes they need help with. However, the limited tutorial time caps the number of teachers students can work with, forcing them to try and prioritize which classes they want the most help in. Without knowing grades, students are left to guess which classes these should be, and oftentimes, decide to meet with no teachers at all. The transparency that comes with open gradebooks would allow students to be more efficient and accurate with their tutorial time and studying.
It is also important to acknowledge the counterargument that adopting an open gradebook policy could increase academic competitiveness. In particular, since SPA is already quite academically rigorous, added competitiveness could hurt students’ mental health. However, students already receive their grades on tests and quizzes. Many students already compare their grades on these, which has contributed to the current competitive culture. While open gradebooks would allow students to compare amongst themselves more directly, the fact that tests and quiz grades are already being compared shows that open gradebooks would only minorly increase competition. Though added competitiveness is bad nonetheless, the benefits from improved learning greatly outweigh this downside.
SPA must adopt an open gradebook policy. The policy will increase transparency and allow for more efficient studying. This will improve students’ learning, leading to increased understanding and improved grades. If you want to support SPA in adopting this policy, the best way is to discuss the benefits with your teachers and class representatives.
With the end of the first semester quickly approaching, grades are at the forefront of many students’ minds. However, one question regarding how students interact with our grades on a daily basis remains: should SPA implement an open gradebook policy? In the minds of many students, the answer is yes.
The most important benefit of an open gradebook would be students’ ability to act on their education. The current system for checking one’s grades is finding a teacher or advisor and asking for a Veracross grade sheet is not only a hassle for students and teachers alike but is also not clearly communicated to the student body. Many students are unaware that they can ask their teachers for their grades, and as a result, remain uninformed of the status of their grades until mid-semester, when grade sheets are distributed. This is detrimental to a students’ ability to improve their grade. A student who does not know that their grades are either slipping or lower than desired will be unable to act and improve their academics to their desired level.
Consequently, they may be unable to act until it is too late. An open gradebook eliminates this issue by allowing students access to their grades at all times. Increasing education and students’ ability to change their academic success ought to be at the forefront of SPA’s policy, and there is little reason to suggest that an open grade book would be anything but positive for students’ learning.
Most of the arguments brought in opposition to an open gradebook policy are easily solvable. While some express concern with feasibility, some teachers have already implemented a pseudo-open gradebook through Google Classroom, which has the option to make grades visible in the “view your work” tab. There is no reason for this option not to be implemented in every class.
Finally, the student body seems to want it. Every year, students who promise to introduce an open gradebook policy are elected into the Upper School Council, clearly showing that the issue is one students deem important. For some, implementing the policy has become a serious voting issue.If the student body wants an open gradebook, the real question is: why not?
I think that open grade books are very beneficial to our learning. I am pro-open grade books because often I want to check how I am doing in a class, and if grades are visible online, it is much easier for me to access them versus if I visit each teacher individually.
I think that it becomes a less stressful school experience if we have access to how we are doing in each class. I also think that it is motivating for students to see their grades, so we can discover what we need to improve on and learn how to strive for our best results in each class. It encourages transparency and communication between teachers and students.
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