How Grading Systems Determine Class Atmosphere

Not only are collaborative atmospheres more conducive for learning, they're essential for teaching students how to work together; a critical skill future physicians must possess in order to function alongside other healthcare providers.
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When asked to describe the average medical student, the terms neurotic, narcissistic, and apathetic may come to mind faster than a miracle fat burning pill endorsement by Dr. Oz. Being a first-year medical student myself, I can proudly say that in my mind, I have evaded those unfortunate qualities (mainly because I was raised to repress any negative character traits that I may have). Medical school has always been stigmatized as having a toxic, competitive environment that eats the weak alive. I was burdened with this prejudice up until my very first day of class. I stepped through the elevator doors expecting to see a hallway filled with barbaric, blood thirsty students just waiting to claw my eyes out just so they would have a chance at a better grade. Anatomy lab was envisioned to be a lawless jungle with my peers using sawed off cadaver arms to slap fight to the death. Fortunately for me, receiving a medical education has been one of the most enjoyable, cooperative experiences of my life. I believe my learning has been fostered by a grading system that allows for students to work together instead of against one another.

Years before I was fortunate enough to begin my medical training, I was enrolled in a premedical post-baccalaureate program at NYU to take the necessary courses to even apply to medical school. It was here that I was introduced to the notion that students will obtain high grades by any means necessary. I recall my chemistry professor explaining on the first day of class that the grading system had been changed from a class curve to a numerical cutoff scale because he learned students were intentionally giving each other the wrong information just so they could perform better on exams. Students went from being compared to one other to now receiving a grade solely based on their numerical scores. Journeying through the two-year program, I met both collaborative and uncooperative students. If anything, it taught me to be careful who I trusted and spent time around. It planted the seeds for the suspicious mindset I carried as I began my medical career.

The school I'm currently attending has implemented a grading system where our test scores are scaled based on the performance of students in past years. What score a peer receives in my class has absolutely no bearing on my grade. A week after sitting for an exam, we receive our grades in the form of a Z-score, a statistical analysis that quite frankly no one in my class understands. All we know is that grades are normalized to exam performance of prior years. This cooperative atmosphere promotes group studying and a sense of community that I have never experienced before. I've often doubted professors advocating for group studying as the most effective means of understanding complicated material, but I can confirm from firsthand experience that I learn significantly more with others than I do by myself.

I have been lucky enough to befriend six other students who share the same 8 x 12 study room with me essentially seven days a week. These individuals have become more than just my study crew; they've become true friends in every sense of the words. I've spent enough time with these people that I can confidently and blindly match bodily functions with its source. The main benefit of group studying is to afford its participants with a comprehensive review of the course material. Individuals will inevitably have gaps in their independent understanding of content, but collectively there is an all-encompassing overlap that can be taught to one another. Additionally, being able to explain specific concepts to others only serves to solidify that foundation of knowledge one possesses.

More and more medical schools have implemented a pass/fail grading system to combat competitive academic environments. Not only are collaborative atmospheres more conducive for learning, they're essential for teaching students how to work together; a critical skill future physicians must possess in order to function alongside other healthcare providers. However, these grading systems should not be contained to just higher learning such as medical schools. They should pervade all levels of academia. The same discord I experienced at NYU was painfully familiar to the rivalry I felt in high school. With college admissions becoming increasingly more competitive each year, students are essentially forced to adopt an individualistic ideology to be afforded a spot at a top university. Implementing grading systems that don't force students to compete against each other should be a major focus of educators going forward. Why can't good grades be achieved due to one another instead of in spite of one another? It's a question that doesn't just need answering, but needs to be asked in the first place.

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