MAMAA—Make “A” Mean “A” Again

It had to happen. It was already happening. Grade inflation. It used to be standard at private schools, but when standardized tests were in retreat and grades became the only metric, it became the norm across the board in most all schools. That’s why we had standardized tests in the first place: to find out when an “A” is an “A” and when it isn’t.

But let’s forget about how grade inflation skews applications etc. Let’s focus on how it fails our students.

Positive reinforcement is great. When it’s earned. Getting an “A” because you got through an assignment passably well and then maybe did some corrections and then maybe whined a little or had your parents whine a little is not worthy of positive reinforcement. Not every student should be an “A” student just because they’re good kids or good at advocating for themselves.

Negative reinforcement has its place, but I won’t even call it negative reinforcement. I’ll call it honesty. If a student phoned it in, didn’t proofread or fact check their work, if they got a lot of wrong answers and didn’t show their work, etc., they have to pay the price for that and given clear instruction how to improve. Students with pride, high expectations of themselves, antsy parents, will respond and improve if teachers hold firm and don’t give them ways to negate their poor showings except by doing better going forward. 

Maybe then students wouldn’t come to me in middle school and high school not knowing their times tables or how to write a coherent essay. 

Alas, it’s not going to happen. No school is going to unilaterally surrender grade inflation. The stakes are too high for their students and their acceptance rates. The stakes are so high because, perversely and ironically, now most upper tier colleges barely look at even 
“A-“ students because, you guessed it, most everyone gets an “A.” Ugh. 

The world needs “B” students and even “C” students, and to be honest, if we’re grading NOT on a curve, most of the world is composed of “B” and “C” students. However, more students who could become true “A” students would if they were appropriately motivated with a few B’s and C’s along the way and had it made clear to them that mediocrity is not satisfactory.

studatuta