School Isn't Even About Learning Anymore

Source: https://www.nazannouncer.com

The economic principle I’m exploring is people generally respond to incentives in predictable ways.

The question I’ll answer in the blog post it: What’s wrong with the school system?

The article published in 2011 titled “The Case Against Grades” by: Alfie Kohn, demonstrates this economic principle by showing how kids are more likely to cheat and lose motivation, but there are solutions to this problem.

    

First, Khon writes about how a grade-oriented environment is associated with increase levels of cheating since grades promote a fear of failure even in high-achieving students.  In his article she states “students become so concerned about their achievement...that they’re no longer thinking about the learning itself.” This means that, because of grades, kids are more concerned about getting a good letter or number grade rather that actually learning anything so they will cheat if they have to. I know this is true because everyone always sends their friends answers to homework even if they don't know what they are writing down.

Second, Khon brings up the important fact that the motivation you sometimes feel from grades isn’t healthy.  While it is good to be motivated to do well grades motivate you to impress others rather than yourself with your “knowledge”.  Alfie writes “External motivation, which includes a desire to get better grades, is not only different from, but often undermines, internal motivation, a desire to learn for its own sake.”   This means that you are only motivated to get good grades rather than actually learn. This speaks to me because I agree with it based on how school motivates me and I see this in my peers. The value of real knowledge in far less than the value of grades.

Third, there is a solution to all of this.  Teachers, if they got consent to, can stop putting letter or number grades on individual assignments and instead offer only qualitative feedback.  Also “although teachers may be required to submit a final grade, there’s no requirement for them to decide unilaterally what that grade will be. Thus, students can be invited to participate in that process either as a negotiation (such that the teacher has the final say) or by permitting students to grade themselves.” This would make students work harder since they will have a say in what their grade should be.  They will take this solution and see the true value of learning by sitting down with their teacher and seeing their progress and talking about what their grade should be based on conversation about how they are doing and how hard they are working to acquire true knowledge.

 

In my next blog post I will research the question: How does the “let’s pretend game” influence students utility and incentives in school?