Educational Competition

What does it mean to place the act of competition into an educational setting? Are students competing for knowledge, or perhaps intellectual supremacy? To answer this question, one needs to examine the end result of this competitive process, namely the grades and test scores received by students. Students are not competing for the actual knowledge which is being presented, the goal is to give all students access to this knowledge. Nor are students competing for any form of intellectual supremacy since the reward received is in the form of a grade or test score which does not necessarily accurately reflect the intellectual proficiency a student possesses. It then seems that the only object which students are competing, are the test scores and grades which a student earns.

If a student is forced to stay up all night before an exam by a scenario outside of the students control such as personal family issues, an illness, or perhaps a unfavorable living situation which results in a poor exam grade the next day, the student's performance will still be viewed in comparison to his or her classmates whose circumstances may have been more ideal to optimizing their performance. Yet the grade received by the sleep deprived student is still marked down on paper as a representation of the intellectual attributes this student possesses. If this process happens on a consistent basis for any given student, they may find themselves suddenly being put into classes which cater to 'slow learners', when in reality this will only result in a student feeling demeaned and will prove detrimental to his or her self confidence.

Third grade was the first year which my school began giving standardized tests. I thought these endless sheets of circles which you are forced to fill in were not important since they did not affect your grade in the classroom. Needless to say, I soon found out that standardized tests do not test your ability to make patterns on a bubble sheet. My parents were shocked when they were informed that I needed to attend a class designed to help students who lack adequate reading comprehension skills. I dreaded the twice weekly shame I encountered as the special reading assistant would come pick me up from class. Even though I knew my reading skills were above that of the average third grader, I also knew my peers viewed me as intellectually inferior since I had to attend special sessions with the learning facilitator.

I do not believe competition cannot coexist with education, rather I believe the current model of educational competition does not properly achieve the desired objective. If you desire to utilize competition to determine a student's intellectual development, it is necessary to develop a system which accurately reflects the intellectual development of students. The use of a grading system is merely an attempt to associate the intangible aspects of a student's intellect, to the tangible attributes of a grade. This system fails students because it acts as an inaccurate portrayal of their intellect, while at the same time establishing precedent for future measures of intellect. This system does not work because intellect is not constrained by any form of precedent, rather it is continuously developing and obtaining new heights previously unimagined.

It is absolutely necessary to abolish any form of precedent in an educational system, only then can competition be useful. If students are repeatedly placed into a fresh environment where they are not held back by their past performance, they will be able to focus on learning the issues presented to them without the psychological conditioning of knowing how their intellect is defined on paper. By incorporating a competitive environment which focuses on development rather than judgment, this system would then provide a means for students to strive to learn the information without fear of being judged for any failures they encounter along the way. Failures of students should ideally be shrugged off, and viewed as a necessary component of learning rather than a means by which to judge a student.

I am not claiming that the failure of a student is necessary for a student's success; instead, failure needs to be incorporated into the educational system in a responsible matter which allows students to continuously strive for success while furthering their education. My suggestion for an ideal academic system would get rid of the kindergarten through 12th grade system, and replace it with a subject related proficiency assessment system. This system would provide students the opportunity to advance at a faster rate in subject areas which the student is stronger in, while allowing the student more time for gaining necessary proficiency in areas of weakness. This system would place students into a competitive setting with students who are at their level of proficiency in a given area, and thus encourage a competitive environment in which students are on an even playing field. If a student feels equal to his or her peers, I believe the student will be more inspired to try competing with these peers, since the student will not feel incompetent or insufficient in comparison to his or her classmates.