While “Little Change” in ‘06 Fall Grades, Students Glad to Forego Exams
By Irene Zhang ‘08
News Staff Reporter
When Choate students looked at their term grades this fall, they saw grades without the influence of exam scores for the first time in decades. Formerly, the weight of exams was 20% - 33% of a student’s term average, depending on departmental policy. Many students interviewed for this article believe that their grades last term would have been drastically different had they taken examinations. However, most faculty members contend that grade distribution this fall showed no significant change compared to fall term 2005 when exams were administered.
The absence of fall exams allowed students to enjoy a few extra days of Thanksgiving vacation. It also eliminated some end-of-term stress, as students did not need to prepare for assessments that tested everything they had learned throughout the term. Despite these advantages, a small group Choate students believe that their grades would have benefited from a strong exam performance.
According to Dean of Academic Affairs Kathleen Wallace, however, grades from this fall should not have deviated much from those of fall 2005. Although Wallace has not yet closely examined the overall fall term grade trend, she is “not anticipating there will be any big change.” Likewise, English Department Head Cyrus Cook said, “I don’t have a sense that there’s really any difference from the past years. In other words, there’s nothing that seems unusual.” Other department heads either said that there was either no sign of the absence of exams affecting students’ grades, or that they did not have enough information to make any conclusion.
Although Wallace could not release specific data concerning grades, she said that one notable difference was that there were more A marks given this fall than ever before. Still, Dean Wallace believes that this was not related to the absence of exams. “When I looked at what the courses were, and I read some of the reports… [the grade] was justified,” she said.
Mixed Views on Impact
Although many students appear to have done especially well this fall, some students feel that they were hurt by not having exams. Janet Li ’08 said, “Last year, in almost all my classes, my grades on the final exams were either the same as or better than my term average beforehand.” Other students, including Emma Erlich ’08 and Chloe Patton ’09, echoed her sentiments. “I would’ve done better with exams,” said Erlich ‘08 confidently.
On the other hand, most students preferred not fall term examinations. Lauren McGraw ’07 noted, “For me, exams wouldn’t have helped. They never help me in the subjects I need anyway.” One of her senior classmates commented that she usually receives exam scores that are lower than her pre-exam average. Another view, expressed by Nathaniel Moore ‘08, is that while he is not concerned about the absence of exams affecting his grade fall term, he is worried about being overwhelmed by more exams in the winter and spring.
Dean Wallace acknowledged the two extreme scenarios of an exam drastically improving or lowering a student’s grade. But she said that for the majority of students, exams do not significantly alter their overall average. Also, with some 2500-2600 exams administered each term, according to Ms. Wallace, abnormal performances on exams will cancel out over the student body to have little effect overall. “Statistically, exams don’t change kids’ grades,” she said. “They reinforce what teachers already know about a student.”
Overall, 2006 fall term grades followed patterns that were present in previous years. For example, upper formers had stronger grades than lower formers – a consistent trend in Choate academic history. Despite taking more difficult classes, fifth and sixth formers have more courses to choose from. Therefore, said Ms. Wallace, upper formers often have motivation to work harder, and thus do better. In addition, students acquiring better time management skills over time can explain this trend.
Along with other preparatory schools and universities, Choate has been experiencing steady grade inflation. Partly due to this, over the last ten years there have been fewer grades of C or below administered to students. According to Wallace, the administration has been “keeping an eye on it,” but has not actively tried to control grade inflation.
Though it did not have much effect on grades, the absence of exams meant that faculty had to use other methods to motivate students to recollect and synthesize what they have learned over the course of the term. According to Science Department Head Lawrence Stowe, many teachers used alternative approaches that successfully achieved that purpose. Some teachers gave cumulative tests toward the end of term, which required students to pull together their knowledge but did not involve a formal examination settings.
An Assessment Committee – consisting of teachers from all departments – has begun studying assessments at Choate. The purpose of the committee is, according to Ms. Wallace, “to look at how we do assessments, especially summative assessments, and determine how a school such as ours can best review content mastery and cumulative learning.” It is likely that new policies regarding exams will be announced in the coming months. These policies are expected to take effect next school year.
