The week before finals you go on Powerschool to check your toughest class. You see your grade has dropped from a B to a C. But how could that be? You worked so hard all year to get that 81. Why is it a 79 now? You scroll down the long list of assignments and see you’ve gotten a B on every single one. How could you not have a B average? Just as you’re about to email your teacher, telling her she made a huge mistake, your eyes wander to the bottom of the page. You see a 60 and trace it to the assignment: Participation Points.
Participation points are not a fair way to gauge a student’s learning. Students are responsible for coming to school, taking tests, taking quizzes and getting their work done. If they do all of that, then it shouldn’t matter if they raise their hand, competing with every other student to answer a question.
The majority of the teachers I spoke to said the main purpose of participation points is to keep kids alert…. which they do--for five minutes. Generally, one participation point a day will keep a student’s grade intact, and every student knows that. Since a teacher has to try to give every kid an equal shot at points, chances are, each student will only have to answer one question. Average students will pay attention until they’re called on, and then, once their participation quota for the day is filled, will relax. They will stop paying attention and will do what they want because the pressure’s off. In this sense, the points backfire on the teacher. Rather than keeping students’ minds on topic, the points give the kids an excuse not to pay attention.
Then there’s the occasional teacher who doesn’t tell students that participation affects their grade. A number of teachers do this as a way to reward students who do participate and pay attention. However, it hurts the students who do not.
Participation points do work in some students’ favor: the outgoing, overexcited, always eager, question-answering kids. Good for them. However, there are kids who have legitimate reasons for not participating, and they should not be punished.
Some kids may be a little too tired to answer questions. Participation points come across as a tool used by teachers to make school even more stressful and unbearable. As if school isn’t hard enough with all of the homework and studying that keeps students up late at night, we also have to come to school energetic and psyched to answer questions.
Some kids also lack confidence, and may be a little afraid of answering incorrectly. These students make an effort to stay under the radar. It’s humiliating to answer a question in front of the entire class and be wrong. This discourages students and makes them want to participate less.
Lastly, some kids are just shy. If a student is not an outgoing person, he or she is not going to be eager to participate. Should that student be penalized for who they are?
Now, this is not to say that these kids shouldn’t be called on. Discussions are a way to make sure students are keeping up with class work. In fact, class discussions help teachers gauge how they are doing as teachers, who they need to spend more time with and what areas need improvement. Teachers should have class discussions. They just shouldn’t give points for them. Sometimes the tired kids will have to muster up energy, but they should not be reprimanded if they don’t volunteer an answer.
Even the concept of rewarding students is okay. Then, those shy or unconfident kids who have to force themselves to participate will be encouraged to do so, and if teachers want to reward kids who are enthusiastic, they can call on them, give them extra credit or do something that doesn’t affect the whole class.
Every student is different. Classes are made up of many students with individual personalities. No kid is the same, and each should be treated for who they are, not how their classmates act.
illustration by I. Alesna
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