by Mercedes Czlapinski

Created on: June 15, 2009

In retrospect, whether or not college grades really matter is very much a personal debate. To me getting good grades is very important, as it boosts my confidence and allows me to personally evaluate myself; however, we have all heard the counter argument that no one after you get out of college is going to look at those grades - they care more about the school you went to, internships, and extracurricular experience. Whenever I skip out hanging with friends to study for a test, I get the same response from one of my guy friends: it's one test, who cares if you fail? The answer: me.

There is also a distinct difference between how males feel about grades and how females feel about grades. In general, girls tend to care more about their grades than males do - this also goes back to the age - old fact that men hold more jobs than women and get employed more often. I think that getting good grades makes females more confident about going out into the work force while some males feel they have a guaranteed in considering their sex and so-called life experience.

Recently, some colleges across the United States have begun to change the way they evaluate students, meaning they have gotten rid of actual letter grades altogether. One of these colleges is the New College of Florida in Sarasota, who has begun not grading its students until the end of the semester, evaluating them on a number system (1-3) based on their performance. The school claims that this evaluation system helps the students to focus more on what they are learning rather than how they can test. I completely disagree with this statement. Typically you do more than just take tests that are graded in the courses that you take. In fact, I have taken many courses in which I haven't had one test, but these courses have had plenty of other dynamics that deserve a grade, such as projects, participation, debates.

Certainly there are some majors out there that may be able to get away without having your typical grading system throughout the year; however there are majors out there that need the grading system. I am currently attending college for English and Secondary Education, and I find that having a typical grading system is pertinent to my major and concentration. For every lesson plan that I write and for every lesson that I teach in my Education courses - I want to be able to evaluate myself based on the grades that my professors give me, and I want to be able to know what my professors think, rather than wait until the end of the semester and realize I am horrible at writing lesson plans and teaching. Although I am sure that students who are attending a college that follows an alternate grading system are receiving some type of feedback throughout the year - oral and written feedback can have a lot of gray area, which usually means confusion. Grades, on the other hand, are black and white, either you are doing well or you are not, there is no, "well maybe you are doing okay". Plus, with grades you get the added bonus of written and oral feedback, which can help you to understand why you are doing good or bad.

We all have our opinions, and to me grades are an important process of self-evaluation. It is a personal battle and there will always be those who care about the grades they receive, and those who feel there are other aspects of the college experience that are more important: it's your choice.

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