In the defense of the grading system

I am writing this viewpoint to express my disagreement with Sara Crowell's assessment of the teaching system here at Tufts



in her viewpoint entitled, "A School without Grades" (Oct. 22nd).

From my reading of of Ms. Crowell'sthe viewpoint, "A School Without Grades," (Oct. 22nd) it appears to me that herthe author's main problem with Tufts is in how students are assessed. Rather than receiving a simple letter grade, Ms. Crowell prefers a system where professors write "detailed evaluations of each student's strengths and weaknesses and how they can improve.". Although at first such a system may sound like a better alternative to letter grades, it is obviousseems that Ms. Crowellthis may be a misunderstanding of the does not understand the true meaning of a grade.



A grade is simply an assessment of how a student has is performed performing in a class relative to their peers. who have taken the same class. Although a letter grading system may at first seem impersonal, it is this standardization that gives it its strength. By simply looking at the grade a student has received in a class it is easy to determine how that studentsstudent's' abilities match up to those of their peers. If a student wishes to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are and how they can improve them, they have a multitude of opportunities to speak to their professors during designated office hours.



Ms. Crowell goes on to complain state that theIt is then argued that the letter grade system is also an unfair means of evaluation because "each student is different and has different strengths and weaknesses". While I applaud Ms. Crowell for noticing the diversity present in our student body, I must condemn her for disagree with her belief that all students should not be treated equally. (I am not sure if she is saying that all students should not be treated equally as much as she is saying that students should only be compared to their personal performance) Under the letter grading system all students are graded in the same way and no favorites are played. (Is she suggesting that favorites are played? I dunno) It is this impartiality of in the way grades are distributed that makes the system as strong as it is.



Furthermore, Ms. Crowell finda fault is found with the fact that a letter grading system creates competition between students. . Unfortunately, I thinkPerhaps theis feeling reflects a fault here lies in Ms. Crowell'sstudents' character rather than the character of the grading system. The grades assigned themselves do not make students more competitive, rather it is the personality of a student that evaluates themselveshim or herself by looking at others that creates competition. That is not to say that competition is a bad thing. Competition can provide motivation to work harder and achieve better grades, better than any inspirational speech can.



In addition to her gripes about the grading system, Ms. Crowell seems to also have a problemtakes issue with the control students have over their curriculum here Tufts. In her opinion, there should be very few requirements, in order to allow students to spend the maximum amount of time to pursueing their own interests. Once again Again, while this alternative system may sound better, it is apparent that Ms. Crowell does not understand the purpose of these requirements is lost. Although these requirementsthey may take away some time that could be devoted to personal interests, these requirementsy also help to foster new interests. Byfor in completing all the necessary foundation and distribution requirements, students are forced to take classes in a variety of subjects and departments.



It is this variety that has shaped the student I have become and the decisions I have made. When I first arrived at Tufts I imagined myself being a biology major and taking 4-5 bio classes per semester. Never did I dream that I would take two foreign languages , or study Japanese architecture , or take a psychology class (a class that lead to me changing my major and entire course load at Tufts). Thanks to these requirements I have become a better-rounded student who has a much greater understanding of the world around me.



A Although these requirements may be time consuming, Ms. Crowellit is wrong to state that Tufts does not allow students pursue their own interests. In factQuite the opposite, Tufts encourages students profusely to dig deeper into topics that interest them. At Ms. Crowell's schoolNew College in Florida, if a course is not offered a student may do a semester long project to study that topic. Here at Tufts we have the Ex-College where if a student sees something missing from the curriculum they can do one better than a project and can actually lead a class and teach others in topics that they feel are missing from the curriculum.

while in the process learn themselves. FurthermoreIn addition, students are encouraged to assist professors in research, and when they are upperclassmeneventually to pursue research of their own and present their findings in a senior honors thesis. If a students simply wishes to cover a topic in more depth than a normal class can offer, they have the opportunity to take one of the manya seminars offered wherewhich offers much smaller class sizes and are much smaller andmore discussion takes the place of lecturing. While Ms. Crowell might argue that these opportunities are most often only afforded to upperclassmen, this is the case simply because underclassmen simply often do not have the background necessary to withstand the rigors of such intense study. Perhaps if Ms. Crowell had spent more than two years at Tufts she would have been able to take advantage of such opportunities.

Overall, Ms. Crowellit is stateds that, "the purpose of education is to train tomorrow's leaders". While she Ms. Crowell may not believe that a Tufts education is able to provide such training, I seriously doubt the education she is receiving now does much more to prepare her for the real world. Once she graduatesUpon graduation from a school such as New College, Ms. Crowell, students will find that the personal attention she they now receives from professors and administrators will no longer be present. In the real world there is nobody there to hold your hand, and if you need help you must seek it out yourself. A truly valuable education is one that encourages students to be versatile and proactive in seeking ways to improve themselves. A Tufts education does exactly this.

Seth Groman is a senior majoring in Biopsychology.