Marks-manship bullshit

Some thoughts about what marks represent in education By Chia Wei I am barely a few months into being a teacher and the perversion of marks has me reeling in disgust. Its less the disgust against the idea of marks, but rather what they stand for in the current education system. In the present tertiary education, students fawn and obsess over the idea of having bonus marks and choice -based assessments; and groan over the idea of projects, assignments and essay-based assessments. Academic departments furl up their brows thinking about moderating scores to fit into a nice bell curve, with talks about pass rates, turnovers,and student feedback. That has triggered a chain of thoughts about the current system of assessment, and the representation of marks and grades.

Let us first examine what do marks represent:

What does it mean if you have scored 75 out of 100 in say, MECH111 Mechanics? Ideally, it means that you have achieved roughly a 75% mastery of what the course needs you to know and apply in this subjectincluding objectives such as calculation, problem solving, and practical application of said knowledge. It is usually composed of a final exam, usually a test of knowledge, and project and assignments that could assess the course objectives that is

relevant to the application of such knowledge. The individual marks of the component should thus correspond to an assessment of the skill or knowledge of the person, and the composite grade a weighted average of these components. If and when an external party should ask about the grade (say in this case 75%), the grade should thus give an approximation of the skill and knowledge of the person. A person that obtained a High Distinction, or an A+/A8, should indicate that the person understands and is able to apply proficiently such knowledge to problems in the subject matter. In extension, the fine line between fail and pass should serve to indicate the suitability of the person in being able to reliably use the knowledge and skill. The definition of fail/pass varies between fieldsfor example in certain Medicine courses, a pass is only given if the student can obtain a 70% grade. Obviously, one would only trust a doctor who could reliably perform a particular operation or diagnosis and perform suitable treatments for the patient. Yet, even if a particular course requires students to score a 50% only in the subject, it should still serve to delineate those that can versus those who cannot. Would you live in a house that is built by an engineer whose houses are sometimes designed and built reliably. Only 4 out of 10 houses collapsethats a 60% success rate, which is a pass right?

Perhaps what a pass in a subject means is that the student is able to reliably demonstrate knowledge and application of the core components of the subject. If a student passess electronics, he should be able to construct a basic closed circuit that switches a light on and off, every single time he is asked to. Perhaps he is not well versed with very complicated circuits, but at least there is a basic competency to the subject. How would an external party know how is the student assessed? Is there a common consensus between educational institutes? Does society and the public have to put every single person to the test again even if they have a formal acknowledgement of competency (e.g. a degree, diploma, certificate)? Just some food for thought.

This brings us to the topic of the adjustment of marks:

Teachers occasionally award bonus marks to students they feel should deserve extra academic credits. These extra effort demonstrated by students could take the form of participating in out-of-class activities that ideally should be related to the subject matter. Usually, this serves to reward students who are already proficient in the subject and are able to demonstrate their capabilities beyond what the course requirements measure.

The issue arises when students who tread between the pass and fail gap are awarded bonus marks which allows them to pass a subject, which they technically would be failing. Have they at least demonstrated the knowledge or skill of the core components of the subject? It is unlikely. Should such students deserve to fail or pass the subject? On the flip side, how about students whose marks are deducted because of a departmental policies that unfortunately penalizes students based on the fault of the student, but which is unrelated to the subject? Should they deserve to pass or fail? In certain countries or education systems, marks are adjusted against the mean/median, such that there will be a proportionate part of students that obtain the distribution of grades. For example, in the Malaysian high school graduate exams, the subject of Additional Mathematics is infamously known for having just a passing score of about 30 marks. If you obtain 60 marks, it is likely that you would have scored an A, or a distinction. Based on the discussion of the representation of marks above, would this be a fair adjustment? In this particular scenario, it is just a high school examination, so arguably it is not of a life/death importance. Certain courses and universities are also known to practice such adjustments. Should society be concerned?

The (possible) implications of condoning such lax representation of marks:

Assessments and marks are a core pillar of most education systems in the world, especially countries whose education is largely derived from the British. A vague and misrepresented assessment system might have various effects on society. Students could graduate into work without knowing their own capabilities, and thus create a mismatch of expectations between students and jaded employers. Bosses comment, A degree is not worth much anymore, since any Tom, Dick, or Harry can obtain one nowadays. In othe r cases, services and products might be of sub-par standardsmalpracticing doctors, collapsing structures. Of course, these are relatively far-fetched claims, and there are many factors such as societal expectations and the enforcement of minimum levels of service. However, without a particular reference standard in education, proliferate mediocrity (or worse, incompetency) can influence the general expectation, work ethics, and culture of a particular field. Who should be the one to fix this? Society? Employers? The government? Educational Institutes? Families? I believe it is a network of expectations and perspective. In dear Malaysia, many would attribute it to the government and its policies of implementing an adjusted nationwide high school examination, as well as the quota system which purpose is to graduate particular groups of student as a representation

of a successful education system (i.e. 70% of people have obtained a university degree; and not a focus on excellence or standard). I believe educational institutes and society too have a part to playwhy the focus on marks and it alone? Should marks and assessment not be an indication of the competency of the student? I write this article in hopes of getting people to think about the education system. Marks, assessments, grades and what they represent only covers a particular aspect of where education seems to be failing in providing society the productive people it needs, and individuals the learning and growth they need. Change can start from individualsI am just one teacher, but if I put thought into educating others, and inspire others to do so, we can slowly but surely make changes in education.

Some other food for thought:

In some disciplines, assessments cannot be even graded against a 100% cap. Marks represent what you need to achieve in the course, and does 100% represent full mastery of the subject? What about divergent, creative skills such as writing, performing, inventing? Can they be fairly graded against a 100% cap? There are other questions about educationis the focus on assessment and marks diverting our attention away from the most crucial aspect of education the process of learning

and thinking? A select few countries have already made the change to educating children in elementary and high school differently (see Education in Finland), and even without formal nation-wide assessments, the Finnish are considered one of the most highly ranked in international student assessments. Who and what does education ultimately serve? Should there be multiple channels of further education? I hope to cover these topics in the future. Stay tuned.