Causes of Low Student Achievement

Does the grading system accurately measure how well a student is learning?

This question itself implies that the grading system used by many teachers cannot be fully accurate in assessing what a given student has learned. Psychology Professor James D. Allen (the School of Psychology at the College of Saint Rose in New York State) explains that while the grading system is supposed to "accurately" reflect a student's academic achievement, it is very likely that in most cases grades do not truly reflect progress in academics, i.e., learning (Allen, 2005, p. 218).

Moreover, Allen says that teachers are required to give grades that supposedly summarize the knowledge a student has obtained, and this is called a "summative evaluation" (219). The teacher should also provide "formative" assessments by directly giving the student feedback and training them to become "self-regulated learners" (219). The grade is supposed to...
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