Thanks for reading the post. I think you got my point.

Thanks for the post, Sam. It is true that every teacher teaches different things and in different ways. But, I feel the basics always remain the same. That being said, it does not necessarily mean the someone with 4 GPA is a better engineer than someone with a lower GPA.

Thanks for the post, Kyunghee. This is exactly what happens in India. It definitely creates a divide which is not healthy. Also, the prime focus of the student becomes good grades and not the learning/knowledge. This needs to change for sure.

Thanks for the post, Shannon. Like you said, you never knew you were a living experiment. I think the present grading system does not promote healthy competition. Rather it hinders with the learning process as you mentioned. It needs some change and soon as well.

Thanks for the post, Negin. This is exactly what I recommended in my blog post. Diluting the importance of individual assignments and exams with group projects is a really good idea. It promotes the learning process. I think, even exams with real-life problems also help to make the course more interesting and creative.

Nice post. I really liked reading your point of view. Tunisia is very similar to India where I studied till my Bachelors in terms of grading. I think we cannot get away with the grading system completely. It has its merit and we have to stick to it. The question is how to improve it? Well, I think more importance should be given to learning rather than grading. And this can be done by making the exams more practical rather than theoretical. More real-life problems will help a student learn better. Increasing the weightage of group projects can also help to reduce competition in class and draw more focus towards learning.

Thanks for reading, Ben. I completely agree with you. The middle way is probably the way to go. Some kind of assessment is needed at all levels. But there is a need to make the learning process more important than the grades. I know many people who do not have good grades but are far better engineers conceptually than I am. I am of the view that the present grading system needs to be changed a little bit.

Thanks for reading, Jon. Today’s grading system does not do justice to the learning process. The learning somewhere gets lost while chasing the perfect grade at the end. But you are right that if the goals and objectives of the class are clearly stated and help the student learn, it does make the class more interesting and engaging.

Thanks for reading. I agree with you. I think real life situations kind of prepare you for the problems in the real world. It not only gives you confidence but also let us be creative and innovative in the process which is kind of lacking in today’s grading process.

Thanks for reading the post, Sara. It is fascinating to see that this is being practised in your field.