While grading students on a bell curve may make some sense in a college setting, it's a harmful system for measuring the comprehension and knowledge of younger students.
The bell curve was designed to determine where each student ranked in their class. However, each child has a unique mind that is developing at its own rate and understands things in its own time; therefore, to compare a child's ability to those of his peers defies common sense.
Would we punish a baby for walking later than other babies of the same age? No, it would be a cruel act if we did because a child can only walk when he is ready to walk and not a minute sooner.
Yet, when it comes to testing a six-year-old child for his academic abilities, we see no harm in punishing the child in the form of low grades. However, a child has no control over the development of his brain or natural aptitudes, both of which are factors in how early a child can learn to read without a struggle.
Grades will affect a child's self-confidence—for better or for worse—and whether or not he views himself as stupid or intelligent. Therefore, if they continue, low grades may eventually become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What if our perfectly intelligent but very young child gets one of the worst scores in his reading class?
Studies such as Double Jeopardy by Donald J. Hernandez show that poor reading in the early grades is a prime indicator of the child's likelihood of becoming a high school drop-out.
However, science has proven what common sense has always known: that children develop at their own pace and not according to an arbitrary schedule set by educational bureaucrats. For some children learning to read will happen sooner, and for other children, it will happen later according to the ripening of their minds.
To expect a child to read with comprehension before this age is like expecting an elephant to walk a tightrope!
True reading requires comprehension, and comprehension comes between the ages of six and eight for most children, with more girls on the earlier side of reading than boys. If we allow our children to be humiliated by such labels as "slow reader" or "slow math student" in elementary school, what incentive do they have to try harder?
Many children will give up in the face of discouragement, just like adults do, and we have the statistics to prove that a significant number of our children do give up.
I was teaching English grammar to a friend's son some time ago. As I explained a new concept to him, I could see that he was having difficulty grasping it. What struck me is that this boy is brilliant. He has one of the quickest, sharpest minds I've encountered, and I would have expected him to find the lesson easy, but he didn't.
In his case, he was able to understand it with a little more time. However, I found myself reflecting on the thousands of intelligent children who would be labeled "slow learners" in school for not understanding the same concept when the teacher demanded it of them.
According to Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers: The Story of Success, many students who do poorly in school result from nothing more than having a birthday that puts them amongst the younger and less mature students in their class.
The surest road to academic success would be to establish schools that will allow our children to learn at their own pace or to homeschool our children where this will happen naturally.
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Elizabeth Y. Hanson is an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and a Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach with 20+ years of experience working in children’s education.
Utilizing her unusual skill set, coupled with her unique combination of mentors, Elizabeth has developed a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child. She devotes her time to helping parents get it right.
☞ Disclaimer: This is not a politically-correct blog.
