Leave participation points in high school

Throughout my time at Monmouth, I have noticed that many professors include attendance and participation as key factors in determining a student’s final grade.

I believe that attendance shouldn’t be a big part of your grade but rather a very small portion of it, though I understand the reasoning behind why this is included in the grading process. Nevertheless, I believe that participation shouldn’t be a part of your grade in college at all.

If you are showing up to class and doing the work, you are participating more than if you were to raise your hand once a week in class to get the participation grade. Going to class is more than enough for participation because students show up every day to ensure they will get a good grade.

Participation should be excluded from the grading aspect of the college curriculum for several other reasons as well. First, some students feel more comfortable with participating and speaking in public than others. The only time that it should be a part of your grade is for things like major projects that include having a presentation. It’s unfair to punish one student who is shy and does their work compared to one who is outgoing but does not actually pay attention or care.

Not all students learn best through things like verbal participation in class and class discussions. Although it makes the class more interesting at times, some students may be uncomfortable talking in class. Some students absorb the information taught in class through things like lectures, videos, and notes as well as independent study. Further, making participation a grade is something that seems to be unfair.

Along with this, I believe that participation shouldn’t be included in your grade in college because there are many external factors that may discourage students in college from wanting to participate. For example, if a student received some bad news prior to class and decided to show up anyway, this shows the student still cares but may not be in the mental state to talk in front of the class. There are other obstacles such as academic pursuits, jobs, family obligations, and even health issues that could deter someone from participating any given day. Thus, grading participation may unfairly penalize students that are unable to participate in class due to these factors.

Being a college student is hard enough and having to worry about your participation being a part of your grade is the last thing students want to worry about.