What's in a Number

Written by Paul Donovan

Numbers are a funny thing, on the one hand they are a necessary and helpful part of our lives while, on the other hand, they can be incredibly distracting and harmful. 

 We all are aware of the helpful side of numbers when we’re planning events, budgeting or designing and building something.  They allow for a precision that has become invaluable in certain areas of our lives.  But are numbers the best way to express everything?  Imagine your child asking if you’re proud of him. Is 8.5/10 an appropriate response?  There are certain aspects of our lives that are not quantifiable in such a way that the use of numbers is appropriate.

So why the fuss about numbers?  Report cards, new admissions, provincial reform and Fraser Institute reports have all been part of my life recently.  Let’s start with report cards and provincial reform.  The Ministry of Education has introduced a new approach to learning and evaluating that is currently being implemented in Secondary One and Two.  There are some really positive aspects to this reform (now being called “renewal”) that have focused on a style of teaching and learning where individual skills (competencies) and inter-disciplinary work are paramount.  In many ways, we have been doing these things for years but the mandate from the Ministry has given us an opportunity to look at our best practices and grow as a school. 

Then comes evaluation, and we’re playing with numbers.  How do who accurately and fairly report how well students are doing in the areas we’re being asked to evaluate?  There have been some very strange report cards generated in the name of reform!  Do we now ignore content grades completely?  Of course, as the parents of last year’s secondary one students know, we have decided to provide both content and competency evaluations. But the question remains: What do the numbers that we report really say about the student?

Before giving my perspective on this, I would like to shift to the Fraser Institute report that evaluates schools based primarily on Provincial examination results.  How valuable are those numbers?  Well, if we raised the prerequisite averages needed for advanced Math and Science courses to 85 from 75, and dropped our Langue Maternelle French program and taught Canadian History in Secondary 4 instead of Secondary 3 and offered 516 and 416 Math classes our results would skyrocket!  Would we be a better school?  I think offering kids the opportunity to be challenged in their academic endeavours serves them far better than the ninety percent they could achieve in easier courses.

When we really consider what Loyola stands for and how we hope to form our students, the numbers game doesn’t make much sense.  From the time they apply for admission we look for more than numbers in our students.  We use more than eight different criteria to evaluate an applicant and we frequently don’t accept the students with the highest score on the entrance exams.  Right from the beginning we’re trying to find those students and families who wish to develop the same values as we claim to teach.

This is not to say that numbers and grades don’t matter.  In fact, I would argue that doing away with a numerical grading system would be a grave error.  This type of grading, including content evaluation, does provide a more objective way to understand areas of academic strength and weakness.  We do, however, need to understand them for what they are and not mistake them for “the whole picture.”  The mistake we make, on both ends of the grade spectrum, is when we lose sight of this.  If my son’s value is too closely tied to his achievement, then I’ve lost sight of who he is.  The devastation of the failed Math class or the excessive pride in his First Honours status, both suggest that I’ve forgotten (or have never known) the source of his value.  I have had students come to my office in tears because they obtained an overall average of 79 or 89 and begged me to change the grade. In a similar way, students have been terribly distraught over a failing grade and were afraid of what their parents might think.

Many think that the best response to this sort of “grade distress” is to stop using grades completely, or to create situations where everybody passes, regardless of ability and effort.  This is done in the name of protecting the self-esteem of the kids.  But I would argue that self-esteem can’t ever come from grades or academic evaluations of any type because they are not the source of the kids’ value.  For a student to fail a course or receive low grades and still know his value is a freedom that actually allows for greater success.  Conversely, if a student needs the high honours to feel that he has worth, then he lacks the freedom to thrive as a person.

The academic formation we offer at Loyola is not based so much on achieving results as it is on the development of a mind that strives to grow.  Does he work hard to achieve the results he gets? Is he being challenged by his courses, or is he taking an easy path? When we add the fact that intellectual or academic competence is only a part of what we want for our students, the value of the numbers fades a little more. Is the student kind and generous? Is he committed to doing justice, loving, religious and open to growth? So how well are we doing these things? Maybe 8/10!??