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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 1966)
Objections Seen in Eliminating Grades From Nation's Colleges, Universities i-.uiior n Note: This is the last in a series of three articles on ftratlliiK systems and grading experiments in the nation’s colleges. By KATHRYN SF.DKRBERG Collegiate Press Service If grades are generally acknowledged to be an inadequate measure of a student s achievement, especially in areas of creativity and initiative, if they lead to a distortion of the educational process, replacing Intellectual curiosity with memory cramming and luck, if their over-emphasis leads to psychological and sometimes actual illness—then why do not more colleges and universities eliminate or modify their grading systems in favor of a broader form of evalu ation? Two objections persist when discussing the possible elimination of grades: • A thorough verbal evaluation, such as that given at Bennington and Sarah Lawrence is time consuming and expensive. It is feasible at these two colleges because of the small enrollments and faculties which are willing to spend the necessary time. As the size of the college increases, this form of evaluation would become more and more impracticable. • Graduate schools tend to insist on the need for grades in deter mining admission, although some admit that they could reluctantly learn to do without them. Many of these same graduate schools no longer issue grades once the student is admitted Most graduate school have learned to compensate for the variations in computing grades among various colleges, but they quake in consternation at the thought of interpreting a multitude of vague evaluations. A college which changes to a verbal evaluation instead of the conventional grades ruas the very real risk that its students may be discriminated against in the competition for graduate school and other awards, whether such discrimination be intentional or un intentional. Lawrence W. Hanlon, M.D , director of admissions, Cornell Uni versity Medical College, has said: “In my experience with some of these unusual methods of reporting academic standing, there is frequently so much uncertainty about a student’s academic ability that he simply can’t be considered for admission.” The University of Minnesota’s Louis T. Safer, who conducted a | recent grading experiment in the university’s general college, reports | encountering a similar difficulty. General College has tried experi menting with many types of grading systems over the years, Safer said, but always it runs into the problem of interpreting the results within the university framework. How, for instance, are various unusual evaluations to be interpreted in determining whether a student has met the requirement for graduation or for transferring to another college? Regarding changes in the grading system, the Conference on College Grading systems noted: "Conversations are still going on; inquiries are still being received. Much detailed discussion is in order; research is sorely needed. Some colleges, it is hoped, will experiment. Grades will not soon be abandoned—but their dominion is challenged.” While encouraging further experimentation, two more immediate steps can be taken to modify the damaging effects of an obsession with grades: (1) Grades should be de-emphasized as an end in themselves. They must be recognized as only one measure of a student’s achievement, a measure which by itself cannot be the absolute criterion for rewards and privileges, whether academic or otherwise. (2) Whenever possible, the cryptic letter grade should be supple mented with a further evaluation of the student’s strengths and weaknesses, to offer a more complete picture of his intellectual growth. 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Load (Max. 8 lbs.) $2.00 or partial load 35c per pound (minimum 3 lbs.). Lowell's Eastside Laundromat 1430 Orchard Si. Back of McDonald's Newman Student Center 1850 Emerald Sunday Masses: 9, 11 a.m., 12 noon. 5, 6 p.m. Monday-Friday: 8 a.m., 4:30 p in. Saturday: 8 a.m. Confessions: 30 to 5 minutes before Sunday masses, and Daily 4-4:45. Phone 343-7021 Montgomery To Address UO Business Group F. F. “Monte” Montgomery, majority leader of the Oregon House of Representatives, will speak on the recent findings on the Workman’s Compensation Act in Oregon at 7 p m. Monday in i the Student Union. Montgomery will also discuss the future of the state Republi can Party. His speech is being sponsored by Alpha Kappa Psi, professional business fraternity, and the Uni versity Insurance Society. Group to Discuss Viet Nam Policy The Faculty-Student Commit- ;j tee to Stop the War in Viet Nam is urging faculty, students, and townspeople to send telegrams and letters to President Johnson to stop the air attacks on North Viet Nam until negotiations can be made. Debates on such questions as “Should the U.S.A. pursue a pol icy of cease fire and negotiated withdrawal, leaving the Vietna mese to determine their own gov ernment: or a policy of negotia tion and compromise, with an American presence maintaining a role in Viet Nam's political fu ture?” will be held at 8 p m. to day in the SU. The meeting will be aimed at giving maximum opportunity for presentation of different points of view. • • • Dear “Dairy” Well, I did it and I'm glad. I went right down to 13th ' and Hilyard and treated myself ot a D.Q. cone, banana split, shake and soda. It was delightful! I'm now mak ing it a part of my daily schedule in between Soc. and Geog. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 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