Here at GHS, we follow the 80/20 rule; grades are divided amongst Academic Achievement (AA) and Academic Practice (AP).The 80/20 grade rule is based on a student’s performance. 80% of the grade is based on tests and projects, while the other 20% of the grade is based on in-class work and most homework assignments.
Although some believe the 80/20 rule could be beneficial, it can cause some students’ confidence to decrease.This rule could cause students’ confidence to decrease because if something were to happen on a test/project and it affects their grade, they may feel like a failure, or their self-esteem may lower. The effort the students put forth, more than likely determines 80% of their final grade. This policy of grading has potential, but is not helpful to students.
In a way, the 80/20 rule could cause students’ grades to descend. From the view of students, homework and/or classwork might feel pointless. Since tests and projects are worth so much of the grade, homework and classwork will not even make a dent in the grade. On the other hand, failing a test or achieving a devastating AA grade may cause the overall grade to remain low, with the test being worth 80% of the grade. The other 20% can help to boost it, but it may only bring the grade up by a couple percentage points.
As stated by the Harrisonburg High School Media, “Formative [material] is your homework, which at 20%, can’t fail you per se, but you need to be able to do the homework to do well on the test. [The tests] carry a heavy enough weight to cause a student to fail.“
This grading rule could be a particular problem because the 80/20 grade rule is mainly based on achievement scores. This could lead to unwanted anxiety, worry, and excessive stress about school.
Many students feel that even if they are consistently good test takers, there usually is still unwanted stress about how the grade could change in the future. Majority of the time, even the smartest students still struggle on assessments, mainly because of the stress caused by how their grade could change in the slightest way.
The Jetstream Journal states, “Not only is homework mentally depriving, but it also greatly impacts a healthy sleep schedule needed for both academic and athletic success.”
It can be hard for students to balance out time for studying as well as after-school sports and extracurriculars. School is already hard enough on its own, especially during the high school years. Participating in a sport, or extra curricular makes it harder because of the time cut out for the activity. Students who are involved in something with the school usually do not have much time after school to relax, which causes an overload of homework all at once along with stress.
Our editorial board believes the 80/20 grading rule is a difficult way to approach grading, and is harmful to students, especially those with limited time on their hands.