First Attempt

Competition for high grades seriously limits the quality of learning at all levels of education.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

Sports motivate kids to work hard and dedicate their time, patience and energy in order to excel.  Many of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate youth to succeed in sports, should play a role in education.  Competition for high grades is an academic motivation to study harder, ask questions and to go above and beyond the usual expectations.  The best athletes don't simply go home after practice- they practice on their own, attend sports camps and play for fun on the side.  Likewise, the best students don't relax at home after school-  they get tutoring where needed, spend hours on projects and are inclined to academic past-times such as reading, writing, or playing games such as sudoku or scrabble.  Not everyone can play in the championship game, and not everyone deserves an A.  However, even second string deserves a chance to play, and everyone deserves a quality education.  Competitive grading works well for students with natural ability and strong intrinsic motivation for success in education, but this policy may leave behind many of the students who need the most help.

Competition for grades is an extrinsic motivator that taps into the intrinsic need to succeed.  As a straight-A student, I NEED to get that A.  Because this drive to succeed, I would do anything necessary to get it.  I would spend hours making a presentation polished and perfect.  Not only did I want to do well, I wanted to have the highest GPA, the highest ACT score and the most decorations at graduation.  Although this did not happen, that spirit of competition forced me to delve deep in to my school work where more than a little learning took place.  

Unfortunately, some students struggle more than others.  No matter how much extra time is put in, nor how many questions asked, some students are not able to reach the top level.  This spirit of competition may actually discourage them when they see others around them succeeding where they are not.  For this reason, there should be a limited number of grades available.  It is difficult to objectively say who deserves the limited number of As - should it be the student who works incredibly hard, but doesn't quite grasp the concept or the student who easy understands, but never goes out of his/her way to learn more?  This is not to say that all students like the former deserve As, or than none of the latter deserve them.  

Some of the most difficult teachers are those who only give out 3 As per semester.  In my experience, these are also the teachers who work the hardest to help those who WANT those As.  This does not mean that competitive grading works for all students, nor for all teachers.  This is a policy that could not be implemented as a standard which all teachers must follow, however, it works well for certain students and certain teachers willing to go above and beyond for the students.

I have presented my response honestly with no changes after the initial 30 minutes I was given.  At least my integrity will remain in tact, if not my self-delusion of intelligence.  

I could already critique myself as I was while writing it.  Don't talk about yourself so much.  You shouldn't write in an essay that you are a straight-A student, especially if the essay isn't very good!!! Too much time setting up the introduction with the crazy sports analogy, not enough time developing your two main points.  Also, the two main points contradict each other.

Jeeze louise!  This timed essay thing is stressful!  But I believe I would give myself a 4.  It is adequate for the limited amount of time given.  I believe I followed the task adequately.  The support for my first point was mainly based on my own experiences.  I am not sure this is necessarily a weakness of the essay.  The support for my second point is somewhat weak.  In my own experience with matters of education, competition for grades hardly seems like the most important topic, but this was the task assigned to me.

1400 or Bust

GRE GRE GRE GRE GRE. 

My mind needs to keep on this track for the next month and two days.  Thank goodness for Cassie Steele, who gave me a great tip this weekend.  She suggested I try Nummber2.com.  This is a free site that gives really easy and detailed explanations of the types of questions you are likely to run in to on the exam.  I have already started to work on some of the math and sentence completion questions.  I had no idea I was so bad at arithmetic!  I only scored in the 55 percentile.  The great thing is, it gives you more practice questions and it will track your improvements.  I did a little better with the sentence completion (76 percentile), but I'd like to get both scores above the 85 percentile.

As far as the analytical reasoning portion of the test, I may be "up a creek without a paddle" to use a cliche that is not allowed on the exam, or "screwed" which is slang, therefore also not advisable.  There are two essays: an issue analysis and an argument analysis.  You have 30 minutes for each section.  I can't even finish this blog post in 30 minutes, let alone write a concise, well thought out, well organized essay with evidence and support to back up my opinions.  I could possibly carry out this task in say, two hours.

In undergrad, I never put myself under pressure to write a paper.  I was always very good about time management because I know that I do not write well under pressure.  I am usually a meticulous writer, painstakingly choosing words that accurately depict the message I'm trying to convey.  I LOVE Microsoft Word.  I love spell check.  I love shift+F7 which allows me to browse the list of synonyms to help me vary my sentences. 

I will be taking this test on the computer, which is a definite advantage.  I have terrible handwriting, especially when I'm trying to write quickly.  I was able to almost completely give up handwriting when I purchased a netbook that was easily transportable.  My three-pound computer fit handily into my book bag and left space for my coffee cup on my desk.  Even now, when I take minutes at meetings, I prefer to bring my netbook along instead of wasting trees and whatever ink is made out of. 

The word processor for the GRE does have some basic essential functions such as cut/paste and undo.  The problem will be, not spelling and grammar- because you are allowed some minor mistakes- but sentence variation.  I tend to repeat myself.  HOWEVER is my favorite word.  THEREFORE, I need to use shift+F7 to learn some new transitions.

I am a bit curious to see what kind of score I'm able to earn.  Issue analysis is pretty much a hobby of mine, only I do this through conversation rather than by writing.  I LEARN by talking.  I am generally an audio learner, but this also applies to hearing my own thoughts.  I find it difficult to remember my own thoughts when I'm simply thinking them.  This is usually very annoying for everyone around me during test taking.  I mutter the questions out loud to myself and work out problems under my breath.  I always wished there were more oral exams in college.  Life is more of an oral exam.

For a bit of practice, I may start writing my 30 minute essays here and having my friends critique them.  Especially Pat.  Pat would not feel bad about ripping apart my silly 30 minutes essays.