Should students’ grades be made public?

Editor's note: The education bureau of Binjiang district in Hangzhou has issued via its official weibo account a trial draft of the Binjiang District School Classroom WeChat Group Convention, which forbids teachers to release students' grades or rankings in the WeChat group. The policy has gone viral and sparked heated discussions on Sina Weibo. A survey with 18,000 participants shows over 10,000 people think test scores should be announced, saying otherwise there is no point to testing. Are students' grades a matter of personal privacy? Should test scores be made public? Readers share their opinions.

Olivia

I think it's a mistake for teachers to make students’ grades public. Naming the students, especially those with lower scores, could put undue pressure on them, and dampen their enthusiasm and motivation to pursue studies. They need positive words of encouragement rather than feeling humiliated by having their grades announced to the entire class.

High school students lead in heated tests and studies to prepare for the first biggest test in their life, the college entrance examinations, as shown in A Little Reunion , a hit TV series. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Michelle

When I was a student, the teacher named the top three students with the highest scores and handed back their papers. The rest were mixed up and given back. I knew the gap between my grade and the top one. From the communications with top scorers, I learned some strategies that helped. I worked hard and I did it.

A graduating student attends a class at Jiangsu Qingjiang Middle School in Huaian, East China's Jiangsu province, on March 30, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

GhostBuster

Test scores do not equate to success in life!
One thing people must not forget is in life it is the capable who succeed, and not merely those who excel in school!

Lee

I think it’s good to recognize the top scorers -- they will be inspired and keep trying to maintain their high grades. There are some disadvantages, however, for the low performers. But competition is a life skill that needs to be learned to be successful in the real world. The earlier, the better. Regardless of the type of competition, it will keep them motivated. It is not necessarily about winning or losing, it is about how they get involved, enjoy the process and improve themselves.

A student studies in a classroom of Minzu High School in Jianhe county, Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/Xinhua]

rén

What if most of the test scores show poor (or even high) score results? Then it becomes a persuasive norm not to improve oneself. The poor scorer will say the tests were too hard, the high scorer will say the tests were too easy.

Better to focus on how to improve the process of teaching and studying. Take the latter, for example. Educators should get up and go into sampled homes of students, sit at the same desk that the student uses to study after daily classes, and observe how the student studies, tackles a problem, work out a solution and memorize the facts.

Graduating students prepare for the national college entrance examination, or gaokao , at a high school in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, June 5, 2019. [Photo/sipa]

Janet

In the US teachers violate a federal law if they make student grades public.

Students at a high school in Chongqing prepare for the national college entrance exam known as the gaokao, May 28, 2019. 

Belle2003

If I were a teacher, I would never announce students' grades in front of class. But I might let all the students know what the average was so they can get a better sense of how they might fit in. Only students themselves and their parents have the right to know how they did on a test.

Students attend class at a high school in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu province, April 9, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]