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Do we still need performance evaluation at universities? Pros and cons of grade debates

One of the main components of the university experience has consistently been performance evaluation. Good grades have been a demonstration of dedication and academic excellence for many years, but the process through which they are obtained has not always been met with excitement. And now, due to the current global pandemic, things are changing rapidly. Could this also mean a change in the standard grading system in higher education?

18.09.2021
Do we still need performance evaluation at universities? Pros and cons of grade debates

Student life is a difficult period in everyone’s life, having to balance between social life and academic success. One’s abilities and level of knowledge are most often measured by a grading system, with its main purpose to assess students’ performance. Over the years, there have been various opinions and surveys on the role of performance evaluation at higher education institutions and whether it is necessary at all. Furthermore, due to digital education becoming the new norm in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the process has been modified and grading has become even more controversial. In order to answer the question of whether performance evaluation is still needed at universities, this article will be discussing the pros and cons, and making an assessment about the future of grading.

 

Grading as a valuable tool in tracking academic progress

There are different types of grading systems to rank how good academic work is qualitatively or quantitatively. One of the most common ways to decide a student’s academic success is a pass-fail grading system that gives only two options, as the name suggests: pass or fail. However, there are more complicated grading systems that do not only give students an outcome of “pass” or “fail”, but also grade their academic performance on a numbered (or lettered) scale. In Germany, for example, universities (except for law schools) grade with a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest grade. A student’s grade can be decided by a single examination or thesis, or be an estimated average from a number of assignments and tests throughout the semester. Grading systems have many advantages, namely:

  • Indication of progress

In most cases, a strong academic record is clear evidence of progress in learning. It is easy for lecturers and students alike to gain perspective on how much of the taught information has been understood and where students stand through routine grading.

  • Feedback from lecturers

Grading serves as valuable feedback from lecturers. It enables students to identify their weaknesses and strengths and find out what they need to focus more on to improve their overall performance.

  • Easier process

The grading system has made studies easier in many ways. Those who only want to pass can simply make lesser efforts to achieve passing grade, while those who want to score higher can put in more effort into their tasks to achieve the overall targeted grade. It is in the students’ best interest to strive for higher grades, but those who wish to take the stress off, have the freedom to do so.

  • Clear evaluation of knowledge

Grading, above all, aims to provide an “objective” overview of the students’ knowledge through some type of an assessment process. This means that the grade is directly correlated to student's achievement of defined learning objectives.

  • Grades as proof of existing skills

Apart from the knowledge students obtain during their time at university, they also gain crucial skills that are required by future employers. Good grades show that a student has a certain set of skills that they have dedicated their time to developing and are ready to work hard.

All in all, it is undeniable that performance evaluation at higher education institutions has many advantages. It builds a sense of responsibility in the students’ minds and sets a high standard to strive towards. Most educators believe that summative assessments are specifically designed for assigning grades to certify student competence and report on their learning progress, and therefore grading is a necessary component of studying at university. That being said, there are opposing views which contradict the opinion that performance evaluation is a beneficial process.

 

The disadvantages of performance evaluation

Concerns have been expressed from both students and educators that the grading system in higher education does more harm than good. Universities are primarily intended to inspire students to reach a higher level of discourse, knowledge, and personal growth. With a grading system that is so stiff and uniform, the result can sometimes be the opposite – lack of motivation and a surge in stress. So, what exactly are the arguments against grading at universities?

  • High stress

One of the main concerns is the fact that grading is closely related to stress. The constant strive towards high grades induces stress for students that is difficult to manage. Instead of improved performance, the result is often inability to cope and falling even further behind. Grading can also lead to depression and demotivation in “weaker” students who do not perform as well as their peers academically.

  • Constant comparison

Having the pressure of maintaining a good academic performance leads to constant comparisons among students. This not only further heightens stress, but also leads to dissatisfaction and reduced competitiveness. When a student repetitively receives a certain grade, they become demotivated to achieve more.

  • Inaccurate performance representation

It can be argued that passing in an examination cannot be considered as plausible enough to declare that a student has gained an immense amount of knowledge by these exams. Often as a result of stress, students can underperform and thus suffer a decrease in grades.

  • Subjectivity in the scoring system

There are different scoring systems used in exams, and written and oral assignments, but it is often a concern that grading is subjective, because it is based on value judgements. An examination is often a singular event that determines the amount of knowledge accumulated over the course of the semester. It is near impossible for one exam to universally declare how much all students have learned.

It is clear that the grading system has its flaws. What is an even more pressing issue is the global pandemic that has resulted in an almost complete shift to digital education. Higher education institutions have had little to no time to adjust, which has led to dissatisfaction among students. The entirely online form of education has raised questions about the way performance is evaluated.

 

Grading during the pandemic: should it be adjusted?

Many changes in university grading systems have taken place over the years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked the most recent shifts. Plenty of exams have been replaced with alternative assignments or canceled altogether. At many institutions, students are able to choose how their work will be graded and recorded for the time being. Amid campus closures, some universities and professors gave students the option of ending their courses with pass/fail grades. But while such a system can reduce anxiety, it also has its downsides. For example, credits earned through a pass/fail system are not always accepted towards a new degree plan.

From another point of view, though, many universities have been hesitant to make changes to their grading system for the semester despite how drastically students' lives have changed in light of the pandemic. The emerging question is where that leaves performance evaluation at higher education institutions in the future.

 

Should grading be abolished altogether? The future of the established system

Grades can be a blessing and a curse. They provide one way for your learning to be assessed and your progress to be documented. But when grades become the priority, understanding of and interest in course concepts can get lost in the quest for a perfect score. One alternative to the traditional grading system is instead of numbered marks, for professors to evaluate the students’ performance by giving comments. Comments let students receive feedback and constructive criticism, enabling them to work on their weaknesses. This type of evaluation has been tried in some universities, but has not proven sustainable yet.

Even before the pandemic, people called for changes to traditional grading and academic transcripts. The argument that eliminating numbered grades can reduce stress and enhance learning has persisted for years, though not all students want to abandon this grading system just yet.

However, there are two sides to every situation: on the one hand, some students find the continuous pressure of striving for academic excellence too difficult to cope with, but on the other, grading is a vital component of the educational process. It seems highly unlikely that the grading system at universities will be completely abandoned in the future, but there could be some changes. Especially due to the pandemic and the effects of online education, there could potentially be further discussions about how students' work would be evaluated and documented. This ultimately could result in longer-term impact on higher education grading policies and practices in the future.