The New Grading System: 8th Grade Perspective

Project or Mastery Based Grading. The new guy in town. This is the first year the system is being used throughout the whole school with all the grades, since 8th graders didn’t use the system last year. There has been a lot of feedback about this new system, and not all of it is good. Is the new grading system lowering morale among students to do well? Was this transition a good idea, especially given the current post quarantine situation? Does this new system help you understand what you can improve on more than the old one? Does it give you an accurate representation of your grades? All of these questions and more have been raised as the 8th-grade debates over whether the system is successful or not.

Is this the best time for a new grading system?

8th grader Story Donich said she doesn’t like it because, “We can't use pupilpath anymore.” Another 8th grader agrees, 

“Pupilpath is so much easier.” Having to learn a new system and website to manage your grades isn’t the easiest thing, especially post-remote learning. 

 “Changing the grading system after quarantine isn’t going to make it (the transition) any less complicated,” an anonymous 8th grader remarked. Not just students are affected by the system change, parents are too. An 8th grader mentioned that their parents,

“Can't even see the grades.”

Is Mastery Based Grading lowering 8th-grade morale?

One anonymous 8th grader raised an interesting point. 

“I think you have to work harder to receive a 4 then an 100 because you have to go the extra mile,” they responded, “It’s almost impossible to get a 4, it’s discouraging.” Is the new system causing 8th graders to aim for a goal they’re never going to reach? Sufei Z thinks that the new system is, 

“Not helping people with good grades.” Once again this system could be causing people to raise their standards and cause students who in reality have perfectly acceptable and good grades to feel that they aren’t doing enough. 

Not all feedback was bad though. 

“It helped me improve my grades,” an anonymous 8th grade student mentioned.  Another one said, 

“This grading system helps people who struggle more because it’s based on mastery.” Although the 3 to 4 spectrum is bothering some students, the main idea that grades should be based on mastery of a topic and not how well students score on assignments or tests can be very helpful for students who don’t test well or have trouble putting their ideas onto paper for assignments. This system is also meant to help students recognize where they struggle more by giving separate grades for different sections of assignments using rubrics. 

Just a few months of in-person school has gone by and everyone is still getting used to the new system. Although the 8th grade has already developed many strong, varying opinions, and the majority appear to be in agreement, they haven’t had the chance yet to really see how it affects overall grades and what it’s like to use with big assignments and tests. Due to that, these opinions are subject to change.