Nancy Rankie Shelton, Education, in Maryland Family Magazine

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:10:51 -0400
policy-and-society

For some students it’s third grade, for others it’s sixth, and for others it is completely different, but it’s a problem each child encounters at some point in his or her education: a grade that they find uncommonly challenging. Maryland Family Magazine recently reported on the problems children face when a class challenges them an August 15 story entitled “The Grueling Grades.”

What makes a grade tough ranges from lengthy writing assignments to hours of homework. Nancy Rankie Shelton, an associate professor of education, argues that a focus on testing may be part of the problem.

“With the focus on testing the way that it is… it makes it really difficult for teachers and students,” she said. “There’s more and more focus on one right answer and less focus on critical thinking and exploratory education.”