1.21 Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Grades (marks) encourage students to learn. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
Can grades (marks) really encourage students to learn? This issue has been standing in dispute for a long time. Some people say "yes" while some others say "no". For my part, as the most reasonable way to evaluate student's performance in the exams, grading system has its reason for existing. And in order to get a better score in the exams, students are encouraged to study hard.
As mentioned above, grades really play important role in encouraging students to learn. No matter in the campus or in the society, those with good performance will certainly get better opportunity for personal development. However with what standard can we measure a person's performance as "good"? Here comes the meaning and function of grading. From the grades in the exam, people can see clearly how they behave in the exam and whether they've got adequate preparation for the exam. Students with higher score will be rewarded with scholarship as well as further chance for higher education, which also means a brighter future. Therefore in order to get a better grade in the exam, students are greatly stimulated to work hard.
Although grades serve as a vital role as the stimulant for students' learning, sometimes people's over-emphasis on score has twisted its meaning and function to some extent. There are many examples to illustrate this point. Take those cheating affairs in the exams as a example, students violate the basic principle of honest in order to get a better score in the exams. What's more, more violent competition among students and heavier and heavier load of study have pushed students too far. In order to get a better result in the exams, students are burdened too much. So it is not surprising that many of them take extreme actions such as suicide and campus violation. This point is something worth our considering.
To sum up, as the most reasonable system for accessment, grades owns various grounds for its survival up till now. It measures students' performance in the exam as well as motivates students to work hard. But at the same time, people should pay more attention to the comprehensive qualities of a person, grades in the exams should not be the unique standard.