The Efficacy of an “A”

            What does an A really mean?  As a parent and educator, I can tell you what I don’t want it to mean. I don’t want an ‘A’ to mean students passed the test. I want an ‘A’ to mean so much more than that! An A should represent engagement with learning.

            The engagement research states that highly engaged students are enthusiastic and think deeply about their schoolwork (Cleary & Zimmerman, 2012). Behaviorally engaged students participate in class and attend school; emotionally engaged students persevere and are resilient because they understand that mistakes happen, that the bad grade today was due to something that can be fixed. These students monitor their work and seek extra-help and/or ask questions to clarify their thinking. Lastly, an ‘A’ student is cognitively engaged; they are self-regulated learners who think about the process of learning to ensure that they submit quality homework on time (Fredrick et al. 2004).

            There is nothing earth shattering about what I’ve written so far, most educational systems include homework, participation and attendance in their grading system. However, there is a need to better define the systems for evaluating homework, participation and attendance in order to properly assess and include engagement as part of the ‘A’ criteria. For instance, the assessment grade could include test corrections. This practice is consistent with research demonstrating that formative assessment promotes student learning through feedback that helps them “modify their learning activities in which they are engaged” (Filsecker & Kerres, 2014).

            Homework often gets a bad rap by parents, students, and, sometimes, teachers. However, homework has been shown to play an important role in helping school age children learn to set goals, monitor their on-task behavior, manage their time, self-evaluate, and delay gratification.  The criteria for an ‘A’ should include homework as an indicator of engagement. There are researchers who believe homework is not an effective instructional tool (Kohn, 2006). I disagree. There is a large body of research that lists the advantages of homework (Bembenutty, 2011; Cooper, 2006; Kitsantas & Zimmerman, 2009; Harris, L. 2011).  These studies argue that homework promotes self-regulatory behaviors that are important indicators for success at school and life.

            As for attendance, it should not be a grade for showing up. Attendance could be a valuable marker of engagement. The literature on attendance is clear, when student are in school they are there to learn. They engage in academic conversations in the classroom, seek-help, and arrive on time (Appleton et al., 2008, Cleary & Zimmerman, 2012; Lawson & Lawson, 2013; Martin, 2012).  

            An ‘A’ student is a model worker. To be ‘outstanding’ takes engagement in the activity, not just ability.

References

Appleton, J., Christenson, S., & furlong, M., (2008).  Student engagement with school: Critical conceptual and methodological issues of the construct.  Psychology in the Schools, 45, 369-386.

Bembenutty, H., (2011). Meaningful and maladaptive homework practices: The role of self-efficacy and self-regulation. Journal of Advanced Academics, 22, 3.

Cleary, T. & Zimmerman, B. (2012). A cyclical self-regulatory account of student engagement: Theoretical foundations and applications. Handbook of Research on Student Engagement, Christenson et al. (eds).

Filsecker, M. & Kerres, M. (2012). Repositioning formative assessment from an educational assessment perspective: A response to Dunn & Mulvenon (2009). Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 14, 7 pp. 2.

Fredrick, J., Blumenfeld, P., & Paris, A. (2004). School Engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research. 74(1), 59-109.

Harris, L. (2011). Secondary teachers’ conceptions of student engagement: Engagement in learning or in schooling? Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 376-386. DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2010.09.006

Kitsantas, A. & Zimmerman, B. (2009). College students’ homework and academic achievement: The mediating role of self-regulatory beliefs. Metacognition Learning, 4, 97-110.

Kohn, Alfie. The homework myth: Why our kids get too much of a bad thing. Cambridge, MA. Da Capo Press, 2006.

 Martin, A., (2011). Courage in the classroom: Exploring a new framework predicting academic performance and engagement. School Psychology Quarterly, 26, 145-160.

Zimmerman, B. (1989b). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Models of self-regulated learning and academic achievement. (pp. 1-25). Springer-Verlag New York Inc., New York, New York.