Are Students Trapped by Zeros?

The way students assessed was never developed in an orderly fashion. Standardized rules for grading don't exist. The lack of systematic assessment has created confusion.

The controversy over zero grades has been gaining momentum over the past decade. One side is represented mostly by administrators who are concerned about the ability of teachers to instruct well enough to reduce failing grades to a minimum. Schools and districts with a high failure rate are shunned, and although administrative concerns are deeper than mere appearance,communities apply pressure to develop “good” schools.

The assessment and evaluation procedures used in the nation’s schools were not designed with the most prudent statistical methods in mind. As a matter of fact, school grading systems weren’t designed; rather they evolved haphazardly. There have been recent efforts to ban zeros, to do away grades altogether, or to develop grading systems that can report progress without being subject to abuse. But most schools continue to use the 100 percent scale of long ago. Reform hasn’t met with overwhelming success, and zeros continue to take an uncalculated toll.

The Primary Problems with Zeros

• Some teachers continue to give zeros for behavior, while most knowledgeable educators understand that grades are for the assessment of academic progress. 
• Students are supposed to earn grades academically – teachers are not suppose to give them; 
• The distance between zero and passing is great. Consequently zeros can drop averaged grades severely. 
• When some teachers understand the mathematics and ethics of grading – and some don’t – then equally qualified students can perform equally and receive very different grades as a result of different grading “philosophies.” 

The Effects of Zero Grades are not Equally Understood by Teachers or Parents

The misunderstandings about grading and the effects of zeros are serious. The effects of non-academic zeros on beginning student can be confusing or discouraging. There is widespread belief that zeros motivate despite decades of research that students are more motivated by success.

The simple way to think about it is, “What makes me feel successful?” Answers to the question are not likely to include something that reminds one of failure. The old maxim, “Nothing succeeds like success,” is quite accurate. Success makes effort much more attractive because it makes one feel smarter. We learn from failure as adults. In school one fails from failure.

Prior to having a good understanding of human motivation, the practice of giving zeros for a wide variety of reasons had a head start. For some teachers, zeroes became a way to manage student behavior or even motivate students to perform better academically. Zeros continue to be given for trivial things like papers without student names or being turned in a day late.

The Solution: Uniform Understanding of Assessment and Better Teacher Training

To reduce confusion the most influential educators might help solve the zero mess by developing a set of accepted core beliefs about grading to clarify their purpose and use. Among these might be some of today’s more widely accepted elements of grading:

• Grades are for reporting student progress to students and parents. 
• Grades are confidential. 
• Grades are given to assess performance on valid assessments. 
• Grades are not to be affected by the inclusionof scores for behavioral pr procedural matter that are better managed byclassroom management techniques. 
• Grades are not for the development of or reporting of responsibility. 
• Low grades can be self-sustaining once started. 

These ideas are but a start. There is much more to the issue because, despite popular practice, reporting student progress completely and meaningfully is complex.

Leading educators, whoever they might be and whatever station they might hold, will have to become more vocal to develop new and more sensible ways to grade. Districts could initiate efforts to educate teachers who still do not understand motivation, discipline, and classroom management. Schools could benefit from sharing ideas about the ethical use of grades.

Zeros as grades are a defect from the antiquity of mathematics. Most teachers do well in assessing despite lack of good assessment guidelines,but some continue to use them as a convenient way to punish or motivate students, thus violating the generally honored practice of separating academics and behavior. Teachers, and most of all, students, could benefit from open dialogue.

Copyright Harvey Craft. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.