Struggling Chinese school pupils given higher grades from ‘mark bank’ to avoid failing exams
Like a real bank, struggling students can ‘borrow marks’ that are repaid – with interest – in future tests
In a novel scheme to encourage students to study harder, an international high school in eastern China is allowing students to loan marks from a “mark bank” to avoid the embarrassment of failing exams.
The international division of Nanjing No 1 High School in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, is running a trial of the innovative scoring scheme in its 10th grade Advanced Placement class, the Yangtse Evening Post reported.
The mark bank allows students to loan marks to make up for a failing grade in any given exam. But the borrower has to return the marks to the bank by scoring extra points in future exams. Some teachers also allow students to give public speeches or conduct lab experiments in exchange for extra marks to repay the bank.
Physics teacher Mei Hong said the new scheme aimed to help provide pupils with a second chance.
“59 points and 60 points are actually not that different,” she said, “[But because the former means failing the exam while the latter means passing], the difference weighs heavily on students’ psyches.”
