Response to Inquiry into Assessment and Evaluation of Learning

After the discussion we had in class, my mind is focussed on the following two questions:

1. Are marks accurate?
2. Are marks effective?

For both questions above, I found myself to be in the middle of yes/no. This is mainly because it's not easy to give a definite yes/no answer to such questions as they can easily lead to never-ending discussions. For instance, accuracy of marks/grades can be multifaceted depending on many factors including personal experiences, the way marks are computed, teachers, subjects, etc. Speaking of personal experience, marks were more/less accurate for me especially during Secondary education. For me, marks were an excellent indication of the areas I needed to wrok on. Moreover, I almost always knew the marks I would get based on my comfort level, confidence, and effort I would put into mastering the test/exam/course content. This is different from my understanding of my classmates' experiecnes.

Furthermore, depending on how marks are computed, whether or not teachers modify marks once they are calculated, and the models used to do that, grading may/not be effective. The effects of grading is highly dependent on the personality of studernts and their perceived notion of grades. For example, grading was definitley effective for me as a student that is not willing to accept anything less than A or A+. Low grades or grades not meeting my personal expectations and standards became a great motivation for me to improve, do better, excel, and enhance my leanring/studying.