Adamson U's new grading system hit
STUDENTS and teachers of Adamson University in Manila are up in arms over a new grading system (NGS) that would raise the marks required to pass a subject to 70 percent from 50 percent-60 percent.
On Facebook and other social networks, as well as on the campus where they held a “Black Shirt” day, a large group of students and faculty members have opposed the new system implemented in all levels this academic year.
They raised fears that it might lead to mediocre academic performance and consequently lower the competitiveness of the graduates produced by the private Catholic institution whose mission was to cater to the “socially disadvantaged.”
On Friday, a group of faculty members and employees even went to court seeking to block the implementation of the new grading system.
The Adamson University Faculty and Employees Association (AUFEA) filed a petition for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction to stop the school administration from using the new system.
Named respondents were the school and its president, Gregorio L. Banaga Jr., in the petition filed before the Manila Prosecutor’s Office.
In the nine-page petition, the teachers led by their president, Orestes J. Delos Reyes Jr., questioned the decision of the administration to implement the new grading system without consulting the stakeholders and informing them properly.
Upon learning in May about the impending implementation of the new system, the teachers said they requested a dialogue with school officials but this was denied.
“The AUFEA and petitioners herein have no idea how this new grading system may be applied to the grading system of the students that replaces the old grading system because the AUFEA and the individual petitioners herein and its members have not been informed how this NGS may be implemented,” the petitioners said.
Lack of dissemination
“In other words, there was no proper information how to implement this new grading system as being introduced by the respondents. Worse, the petitioners were not given a copy of said new grading system,” they added.
Several Adamson students have also opposed the new grading system, noting that schools like the University of the Philippines have imposed a lower passing grade of 60 percent.
Last week, the students held a “Black Shirt day” to show their opposition to the new system. They also campaigned on Facebook and other social media. A Facebook page, “No to Zero-based grading system in Adamson University,” has collected more than 2,000 fans.
But in an open letter to the school community, College of Pharmacy Dean Ryan C. Pekson, one of the proponents of the 70 percent-zero based system, argued that the new requirement would actually be beneficial to students in the long run.
“This new grading was designed to raise the standards of education and to provide students with a fair, honest, and realistic way of evaluating their REAL performance,” he said in the letter.
He said the old grading system used to impose a minimum grade of 65 percent even if the student missed a quiz or an exam. “This means that as long as the student is attending class and has not dropped [the course], even if he/she gets nothing for any course requirement, the faculty is obliged to give a grade of 65 percent as the minimum,” he said.
“Where is the logic and fairness in this system? If a student took the exam and he/she gets only 30 percent, it will be automatically converted to 65 percent. Does this mean that it is just fair for a student who got nothing to be given a grade equal to those who really got 65 percent or those who did not even bother taking the exam at all?” he said.
He said the 70 percent cut-off grade was also more reasonable than most students believe.
“In the old system, 50 or 60 is the passing mark. These values are transmuted to make it appear as 75 percent. Hence, what appears as the equivalent of 3.0 in the grade sheet is 75 percent. Will you be happy now to think that you will earn your diploma even if you only learned half of what was required from you?” Pekson said.
