Corrections and Retakes Can Change Menlo’s Grade Culture

by ZOE

For many Menlo students, getting good grades is a top priority. As the college application process has gotten more competitive, having exceptional grades can almost feel like a necessity. However, many factors such as mental health, learning differences and packed schedules can interfere with students’ ability to thrive in school. If a school culture prioritizes grades above all else, it can take away from students’ learning. Menlo’s grade culture needs to change, and the allowance of retakes and corrections across all classes can help foster that change. Although opportunities to raise test scores can be seen as a way for students to just boost their grade, they also ensure better retention of material.

When the focus of school is to get good grades, it creates a toxic culture and learning loses value. “What develops is a competitive mindset that prioritizes grades over curiosity. [...] Therefore learning becomes a task rather than a happy pastime,” Bryce Holland said in a Virginia Review article. In a study by researchers at University of East Anglia, students that had been tested on subjects from their A-level syllabus were only able to answer an average 40% of questions correctly. Similar to the function of Advanced Placement testing in the U.S, A-level courses are offered to UK students in the two-year period post high school. They help demonstrate students’ qualifications when applying for high level educational institutions. However, the lack of retention illustrates how a grade focused system prioritizes short term recollection over long term knowledge.

If teachers allow students to retake and correct tests, there would be less pressure surrounding grades, shifting the focus back to learning. Not only can retakes eliminate a fear of failure, but they allow students room to review and grow from their mistakes. Often if a student is not given an incentive to try and improve in the future, they might not have a reason to review what they have done wrong. If testing is the method in which students’ learning is evaluated, it should be viewed as an iterative process where students are given a reason to want to improve from their mistakes.

A study published in Sage Journal found that students who were offered the ability to review their tests before a retake showed higher improvement than those who were not given the opportunity. Giving students the ability to review and correct mistakes can increase understanding of the material covered in class.

Another study, funded by the National Science Foundation, found that students in classes that offered frequent testing that incorporated elements of “mastery testing and second-chance testing” overall tended to score higher than those in classes without. Mastery test- ing is a technique of formative tests and quizzes to help prevent students from falling behind on class material and ensure strong foundational knowledge. The results of this study indicate that when testing is an iterative process, used as a tool for learning rather than an evaluation of knowledge, students tend to perform better in their classes.

At Menlo, testing should be viewed in the same light. Rather than being a somewhat stressful evaluation, evaluations should be used as a method to further learning. One of the easiest solutions to assessment-focused learning is to allow students retakes and corrections. With flexibility around grading and testing policies, every Menlo teacher has different options regarding retakes: Some teachers offer unlimited retakes, some have mandatory corrections and others offer neither. However, these opportunities to revise will eliminate pressure around performance, take away the fear of failure and allow students to build an understanding of material rather than simply memorizing information for cumulative assessments.