The Case for Not Giving Grades

A University of Georgia professor is being ridiculed for offering a class in which students can give themselves any grade they want.

Predictably, that’s pointed to as the latest example of colleges’ dumbing-down so a college degree attests to little more than having paid all that money.

And certainly, legitimate arguments can be made in favor of grades. After all, few of us would go to work every day if we didn’t get paid. Grades are students’ pay. Indeed, most students do work harder and thus learn more if the course is graded.

But underdiscussed, a case can be made not only for allowing students to grade themselves but for eliminating grades except for on a comprehensive exam given before a bachelor's degree is awarded. I make the case in my PsychologyToday.com article today.