APRIL 1988 News Features U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER APRIL 1988 * News Features U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER 9 IA-F grading system flunks student's evaluation By Steve Fifield of teachers to challenge students with learning. learning. The Minnesota Daily relevant material and to present it in While the A-F grading system is Learning is not eaE U. of Minnesota, Twin Cities creative and stimulating ways. It is the deeply entrenched in the education sys- attempts are often ina sy and first adequate. No For students, death and taxes are not the only certainties in life. Grades can be added to this pair to create an un- pleasant trio. The efficacy of the A-F rading system has been uncritically accepted by most educators, students and parents; it is tightly linked with our notion of education, while labeling stu- dents as "winners," "losers" or "just average" in the process. Why do schools give grades? The most cynical explanation-that students would not do any work without the sti- mulus a grading system provides- points to some very serious flaws in our Iormal education system. It is the task EDUCATION BRIEFS Pressing for education on federal agenda ... Seeking a greater role for higher education in this year's presidential campaignr a group of higher education leaders has issued a challenge to President Reagan's successor. In a recently released report, the 33-member Commis- sion on National Challenges in Higher Education, which includes college presidentsand faculty as well as representatives of organized labor and business called for a "new spirit of partnership between the federal government and higher education." The re- pot calls for the federal government to expand aid to colleges and students and to find new ways of supporting higher education. Declaring that "educa- tion must be seen as a vital investment in the country's future." the report urges the next president to adopt a policy that increases funding for student aid, teacher training, research and building. .P.A. Humphrey, The Shorthorn, U. of Texas, Arlington Geography: Where are we? ... In separate surveys of students' geographic knowledge at the U. of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, California State U. and Mankato State U., some students were unable to find the Soviet Union on a map, thought Nicaragua was an island off the coast of India, didn't know who was the United States' leading trade partner (Cana- da) and placed the Bering Straits off the coast of Maine. .Editorial Staff, Mirror, U. of Northern Colorado Heated over summer rule ... At times the heat is unbearable-not to mention the humid- ity-but if you're a U. of Florida student, more than likely yoult spend at least one summer semester in stuffy campus classrooms. That's because ofsa rule which requires state university students to sweat out nine credit hours during the summer. The Board of Regents' summer attendance rule went into effect 11 yearn ago. It was a safeguard, witen to make sre the universities wouldn't sit empty duringkthesum- mer. It also assured some sort of income-through tuition-during the summer. .Joe Newman, The Alligator, U. of Florida Phone-in classes? ... Washington State U. students may soon be able to call in their class schedules, rather than stand in long lines at the coliseum, through an on-line telephone registration system. According to Registrar C. James Quann, the principle behind telephone registration is to give the student the final decision over which courses and sections to take. .Julie Bailey, Daily Ever- green, Washington State U. Tempers flare overtest file ... The U. of Colorado Student Union test file has become an integral part of many students' final-exam strategy. And some professors aren't pleased. The test file houses hundreds of exams donated by studentsoand sometimes by professors themselves. .Kristen Black, Colorado Daily, U. of Colorado Will I or shall I? ... If you often find yourself confused about such grammatical ques- tions and other Standard American English rules, there is a new group at Eastern Kentucky U. that may help you better understand the English language. The new organization, Roberts Circle, which is named after the cel brated American grammarian r. Paul Roberts, is open to any major. .Lisa Bor- ders, The Eastern Progress, Eastern Kentucky U. task of students to leave the mind- numbing attractions of our video cul- ture behind and engage wholeheartedly in their own education-a worthwhile goal in its own right. Grades serve as verdicts rather than diagnostic aids. A "C" on an exam prob- ably indicates misconceptions a student should clear up before continuing on to new material. Given a chance to review the material in light of mistakes, that person could become a "B" student. Un- fortunately, some instructors believe this approach is too easy on students- an attitude arising from the mistaken notion that the purpose of teaching is to assign grades rather than promote tem, instructors can make their courses more positive experiences for students. The first obstacle many college instruc- tors must overcome is the tendency to teach as they were taught. Today's pro- fessors need to think about alternative teaching techniques. All instructors should consider pro- ducing a set of specific learning objec- tives for their courses and make these available to students on the first day of class. Professors should also clearly state and justify the competence level required to earn a certain grade. The best courses incorporate instruc- tional objectives, criterion-referenced grading and some form of mastery group of people should understand this better than professors who have strug- gled to complete articles, grant propos- als or books only to have them rejected and returned for revision. Grades stick with students for a long time, and stu- dents are entitled to give their best possible performance before receiving a final grade. Using the A-F grading system in a more equitable way will require the cooperation of professors, students and administrators. Innovative teaching must be valued as much as the research money pulled in by the faculty. Now is the time to be more open-minded and creative about teaching. ?f longfl" Vuarnet PX-2000s are the all- around sunglasses for perfor- mance, protection and quality no matter where your active outdoor lifestyle leads you- running, cycling, driving ... or just kicking back. 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