Do You Want to Dig a Ditch or Build a Bridge? Your Grading System Will Answer The Question

November 29, 2016

I recently received a question from a teacher who was concerned that her colleagues, opposed to changes in grading systems, insisted that in the real world, it was essential to get things right the first time.  Therefore, her colleagues claimed, the average, along with draconian punishments for failures, were appropriate grading policies.  

But the “real world” of the 18th century is not where we are preparing students to succeed. Today’s real world requires feedback, acceptance of that feedback, followed by improved performance.  Think of it this way.  The nation is about to spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure improvement.  If you want to use a shovel, you’re fine just as you are – get it right the first time.  If you want to use a machine, like a post-hole digger, be prepared for some feedback and adjustments.  If you want to operate a more complex machine, like an asphalt layer, then be prepared for a lot more feedback and more complex equations before you make the wrong move. If you want to be a surveyor, engineer, or the architect of a bridge, then you’d better be prepared to accept lots and lots of feedback and never, ever, think that you’ll get it right the first time. 

So that’s the real world of the 21st Century.  If you think the real world is “getting it right the first time,” then grab a shovel.  If you think that the real world is gathering lots of feedback, making mistakes, listening to that feedback, and then producing a magnificent road, bridge, or transportation system, then collaborate with your team and change the world, and lock the door on anyone who screams at you that in the real world, you have to do it right the first time.

Purchase Dr. Reeves’ newest books on grading here: Elements of Grading, FAST Grading 

Subscribe to receive our blog updates

 

Related Posts

  • Research Wednesday | March 4, 2026

    Do Audiobooks Count as Reading?
    Contributing author: Dr. Douglas Reeves

    While surveys indicate that more than 40% of U.S. adults think that listening to a book should not be regarded as genuine reading, Brian Bannon, Chief Librarian of the New York Public Library, disagrees in a November 23, 2025, article.  He notes that while print circulation in the library has remained flat over the past five years, audiobook demand is up 65%.

    Read More

  • Research Wednesday | February 25, 2026

    Hope for Cynics
    Contributing author: Dr. Douglas Reeves

    In this inspiring book (Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness, 2025) by Stanford’s Jamil Zaki, there is a treasure trove of research that will help all of us who support educators and school leaders who are dealing with despair in the dark winter months and pervasive threats to our schools, students, and professional careers. Professor Zaki marshals research and keen observation to make these essential arguments.

    Read More

  • Research Wednesday | February 18, 2026

    A Balanced and Skeptical View of AI in Schools
    Contributing author: Dr. Douglas Reeves

    In this thoughtful and evidence-rich article (February 12, 2026), the authors cite several randomized control trials (RCT) that provide mixed evidence on the use of AI in schools. My recent book, Education and the Ethics of AI, offers practical ways to avoid cheating – the principal concern of teachers – and use AI in an ethical and constructive way.  This new article notes that when students become dependent on AI, their performance actually decreases, especially when they practice with AI but are later tested without AI assistance. Moreover, while AI can assist with simple tasks, such as learning multiplication tables, it does not enhance students’ reasoning or creative thinking.

    Read More