In a school where academic competition is widespread, every grade that a student receives matters. Grades, which are meant to reflect a student’s work and intelligence, are not always comparable due to differences between classes of the same course. How are students supposed to portray their knowledge equally when their classes are moving at different paces, and are graded at different standards? In order to ensure that grades are equally reflective of students’ work, teachers should collaborate their courses by establishing the exact same curriculum and grading system.

When applying to colleges, students must submit a copy of their transcript. The transcripts show the letter grade a student received in a certain class but do not show the teacher, curriculum, or specifics of that class. Two students in the same course may be equally smart but have different grades due to differing class curricula. One teacher may grade harshly while the other teacher might grade more generously. While we understand the grades we get may seem unfair based on grading differences, colleges cannot see these discrepancies when evaluating student performance.

In addition to negatively affecting some students’ college opportunities, lack of collaboration between teachers causes constant readjustment of the class agenda to stay on the same pace. The readjustments prevent student from receiving the maximum quality education that they deserve. A teacher often needs to speed up to catch up to the other class. Thus, instead of taking the time to effectively teach a certain topic, a teacher will rush through it and students will not understand it as well. Scheduling differences can also cause a teacher to do the opposite and slow down too much, which slows the learning process for students who learn at a face pace and want to be challenged. By collaborating on curricula, teachers would eliminate unnecessary schedule changes that distress students and prevent them from learning to their fullest potential. After taking a preparatory course, some students choose to take the subsequent AP class or SAT subject test for that class. If the curricula among classes of the same preparatory course are not equivalent or if the courses are taught in contrasting ways, students will not be equally knowledgeable of the subject matter. One class may have gone more in depth than the other on a given topic or may have illustrated key concepts in an entirely different way. As a result, students would not be equally prepared for the next related class or standardized test.

Some people argue that if curricula were consistent, students would not be able to transfer into a class where they feel they may learn better. While it is important that each student be given options that allow them to learn to the best of their ability, having the same assignments in classes would lead to a larger scope of learning styles. If this was the case, students would not need to worry about the hassle of switching classes. Furthermore, having the same assignments between classes allows more student collaboration, which can help enhance the learning process.

One solution to the problem of uneven courses would be for all teachers to administer the exact same tests or curve their tests so that the averages for both classes are equal, in addition to using an equivalent grading scale. Teachers could also create calendars with the same due dates for homework, tests and topics to be covered so that constant schedule changes would not be necessary. Furthermore, assignments among classes should not vary so that students will learn the material at the same level.

Our current class system fosters a lack of collaboration, and thus is not very beneficial to students. At a school with extremely motivated students constantly striving for success, it is only fair that teachers of the same course set an equal curriculum and grading system. Teacher collaboration and equal grading systems are necessary if students are to receive equal opportunity, equal knowledge and equal education.