The plight of sheet music

Luckily there are grades and someone is interested in my performance! Does this statement sound crazy? Not for schoolchildren and parents in the 17th century. At that time, school grades were introduced in Switzerland to ensure greater educational equality. Until then, only those who came from a wealthy family were allowed to go to school. School grades were introduced to make access to the school system fairer and to replace descent with performance.

Schooling has been compulsory in Switzerland since the 19th century, and with it the general right to attend school - regardless of money or ability. Nevertheless, grades have remained part of the school system, even though they are often perceived as unfair and inadequate by pupils, parents and teachers today. And although many educationalists and psychologists such as Stefanie Rietzler say: «Grades do not increase the desire to go to school, they often have a demotivating effect» and pupils and parents alike describe them as a source of pressure and stress.

In 2021, the Pro Juventute Foundation surveyed 1056 children and young people aged 9 to 15 on the topic of stress. A third said they were stressed because they felt unable to cope with the demands, expectations and tasks at school. Exams and grades in particular cause stress.

Parents have a similar perception, as a recent study by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland shows. Out of 8,000 adults surveyed - including a third of parents - half of these parents observe stress and strain in their own children in connection with examinations and assessments at school. However, the majority of those surveyed do not want to abolish school grades. So are there still good reasons for grades today?

Abolishing grades is not enough

«They are at least a transparent and pragmatic means by which schools can fulfil one of their functions in society,» says educational scientist Philipp Eigenmann from the Thurgau University of Teacher Education, who is researching the historical and sociological significance of performance orientation in schools.

This function is allocation, i.e. the assignment of pupils to their future and suitable place in the world of work. In a strongly performance-orientated society, this is done through performance assessments. «If the schools don't do this, then the companies or universities will do it later,» says Eigenmann. There, aptitude tests could then cost money, which would stand in the way of equal opportunities.

If the schools don't assess performance, the companies or universities will do it later.

Philipp Eigenmann, educational scientist

Even attempts by various schools to replace the numbers on school reports with words would not change much, says Philipp Eigenmann. «This allows the teacher to give more detailed feedback. But the aim remains the same, namely to have to give an individual performance assessment, which ultimately leads to selection.» If you don't want that, you have to reform the entire school system from the ground up - and not just abolish grades.

Individualised learning on the rise

In fact, a lot has already happened at Swiss schools in recent years. Individualised learning and inclusion are taking up more space everywhere. However, grades have only been shaken up cautiously so far - which parents, teachers and learners increasingly find stressful, as psychologist Stefanie Rietzler observes. «It simply doesn't fit together that teachers should try to let children learn at their own pace on the one hand, but on the other hand all learners have to take a test at the same performance level on day X.»

In her experience, a large part of the pressure results from this, because pupils who are not yet ready to learn at this point are constantly made aware of this. «They then can't concentrate on their individual progress, but only see: I'm still inadequate, still worse than the others and yet I'm continuing with the material,» says Rietzler, «which is of course very demotivating.»

Performance should be assessed in a more differentiated way

She is therefore in favour of teachers spending the time they currently spend on test corrections and grading on more individual feedback. In this way, the children would know regularly and in detail what progress they have made at their respective skill level and what their next goals are.

There are already some test schools in Switzerland where pupils take their exams on a specific subject when they are ready. They then receive points for this, but no marks are awarded during the school year. At least legally, this would be possible at many schools in Switzerland. In many cantons, grades are only required at the end of the year in the school report. No grades have to be awarded during term time.

You do not need partial grades for a certificate grade, which are added together at the end to form an average.

Marcel Naas, university lecturer

Marcel Naas, lecturer in education and training at the Zurich University of Teacher Education, hopes that more schools and teachers will utilise this freedom. «You don't need a flood of partial grades for a report card grade, which are arithmetically calculated into an average at the end and rounded up or down.»

Instead, a report card grade should be based on a variety of assessment situations in order to be able to evaluate performance in a differentiated way. «This can be a written examination, but oral presentations or proof of competence in innovative media formats are also suitable,» says Marcel Naas and adds: «These can then also be assessed using transparent criteria grids instead of grades.»

Majority of parents stick to grades

However, Naas also knows that such a new culture of assessment requires a great deal of conviction and steadfastness on the part of teachers and a rethink on the part of parents. This is because he also observes in his everyday life what the latest school study by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland has found: Despite all the criticism, the majority of parents would like to retain school grades. «They are familiar with this type of assessment from their own school days and consider it transparent,» says Marcel Naas.

At the same time, they also want their children to enjoy going to school and have a good relationship with their teachers. Stefanie Rietzler also considers grades to be a hindrance to this, especially in primary school. «For children, grades are also a sign of sympathy. They learn to make their teachers or parents proud. A bad grade is of course very damaging to this relationship.»