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Morgan Johnson
Professor Beatty
English 2010
November 2015
Schools these days are extremely grade oriented. The basic function of school is
to simply collect assignments and then grade them so that the student and their parents know
where they stand within the subject. Most students, including myself, get caught in a tidal wave
of mechanically producing assignments and memorizing information for tests. Once the
assignment or test is completed, the student will proceed to perform a mental dump of
information so that they may pile on another collection of concepts, equations, lists, and so on.
Some subjects are taught to students simply to teach the student to learn how to learn. In fact,
a majority of schooling in America is learning how to learn, which can be translated into
learning how to memorize and achieve as many A grades as possible. Schools need to invest
more time into improving our education system so that they are geared more towards learning
and comprehending subjects rather than simply memorizing and regurgitating them. Alfie Kohn,
American author and lecturer, says beautifully, Collecting information doesnt require tests, and
sharing that information doesnt require grades. He is saying that there are better ways of
assessing students progress in school. In his published article, The Case Against Grades, he
goes into great detail how grading is an expired practice. We have a decent education system in
America, but like all good things, it can be improved upon [Text Removed] by looking to other
counties and comparing our education styles with that of the top ranked educational systems of
the world.

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As one of the most powerful countries in the world, it may be easy for some to assume
that Americans dominate in education as well. However with a little research I found that the
United States is ranked about 17 in a recent comparison of academic performance within 57
countries. Finland is ranked top of the pack, coming in first place for science and second place
for math. Other top-performing countries were Hong Kong, Canada, Taiwan, Estonia, Japan, and
Korea, according to content strategist and producer, Marian Wilde. In this study the United
States performed near the median of the group. On average, 16 other countries scored above us
in science, and 23 in math. In her article on greatschools.com, Wilde states that Experts noted
that the United States scores remained about the same in math between 2003 and 2006, the two
most recent years the test- the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)- was
given. Education and government officials from around the world are now taking a closer look
into Finland's education system to determine what helped their students come out on top of
everyone else. Not surprising to me, these experts discovered many contrasts between American
and Finnish education. In Finnish schools, students have light homework loads, minimal
standardized testing, no classes for gifted students, and their children do not start school until
age 7. In their preschool programs they emphasize self reflection and socializing, not academics.
In fact, academics are the least of their concern when it comes to education. Grades arent even
given to students until they enter high school. And even then, class rankings are not compiled.
They dont make school a competition like we do in America. Their education system is geared
towards learning, and not collecting As and comparing grade point averages. It is a common
opinion among experts that education should be more about learning and less about testing.
Many experts praise Finland on their forward-thinking educational System. One of them,
Professor Jouni Vlijrvi of the Institute for Educational Research at the University of Jyvskyl,

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and Project Manager of PISA for Finland explains that, During the last 20 to 30 years most of
the industrialized countries have invested huge amounts of money and intelligence on external
evaluations and standardized tests. Finland has not. Finland has invested in teacher education.
[Text Removed] He goes on to explain that American might have a few things to learn from
Finland in the educational world. Perhaps America should look to Finland as a role model to
create a higher learning enviroment for our students.
Americas educational system forces students to study and learn in a way that is
not conducive to long term wisdom of subjects. For example, the best way I have found to study
for tests are to simply memorize the information presented to you. I like to call the classic rouge
memorization method of studying the chug and dump. I chug all the information the teachers
throw my way, and then after the test I dump it all so that I can move on to the next bundle of
information I have to chug. While this method works fine for achieving high grades, it greatly
reduces the academic value of the information I am supposed to be absorbing and gaining insight
from. If America was more like Finland, we wouldnt have such a problem with this unhealthy
way of studying and learning.
It is undeniable that grades seem to diminish students quality of thinking. There are
several studies that support this idea. Rather than questioning the material to learn and
understand what it means, students are often stuck thinking about whether or not the information
they are reading or learning about will be on the next test. By doing this, students take away
much less from the material they are presented with in school. In Alfie Kohns article he cites an
experiment where half the students were told they would be graded on how well they learn
information from a textbook, and half the students were told they would not be graded. In this
study Kohn tells us that Students told theyd be graded on how well they learned a social

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studies lesson had more trouble understanding the main point of the text than did students who
were told that no grades were to be involved. The reason for this is that the students were not
focused on the actual material, but their anticipation of what they thought was notable enough to
be included on a test. By focusing only on one aspect of a reading, the student missed the main
point.
If schools think more about focusing their efforts towards the students learning it will
greatly improve our education system. Having more well rounded, educated people in America
can only help us prosper both locally and globally. By directing students to develop an interest
in subjects based off of pure curiosity rather than test anxiety, we create a more safe, engaging
environment for students to learn and thrive in. America is a great country that got where it is
now by adapting and overcoming adversity. This is just another brick in the wall for us;
something to build us stronger. America should aim to be more similar to Finland in the case of
education. The numbers show that their methods of teaching are beating us. We need to rid
ourselves of the outdated testing methods that we have now in order to move forward. Schools
need to invest more time into improving our education system so that they are geared more
towards learning and comprehending subjects rather than simply memorizing and regurgitating
them.

Works Cited:
Kohn, Alfie. "The Case Against Grades." Alfie Kohn. 02 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

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Mulholland, Quinn. "The Case Against Standardized Testing." Harvard Political Review The
Case Against Standardized Testing Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Popham, W. James. "Membership." Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality.
N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
Strauss, Valerie. "11 Problems Created by the Standardized Testing Obsession." Washington
Post.The Washington Post, Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Wilde, Marian. "Global Grade: How Do U.S. Students Compare?" GreatKids. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.