Marks in the Masters

Many of my post-graduate students often share their
concerns about marks in their internal assessments and final examinations. These
concerns are generally not from poor-performing ones; they are from students
who score above-average marks.  Their
anxiety and sadness make me wonder how and why marks still matter to these
youth in their mid-twenties.  I share
below certain conclusions from many reflections and discussions that I had with
my students.

For most of us, marks have remained an
important part of life since early childhood.  This attracted some sort of validation from
parents and teachers during our formative years.  It leaves a very deep imprint on young minds.  Being used as a yardstick for advancements in the
educational journey, Marks acquire some sort of apex importance. The students
never allow themselves to revisit this marks-centeredness and its relevance in
adulthood.  This is a very important
reason for marks-related anxieties.  

Many families value their children, based on their grades in schools and colleges. The taboo around low
marks is very high in these families, and therefore, there is tremendous fear
of failure.  This is especially relevant
for students from middle-class families as they strive to secure seats in
government quota owing to lower fees. Howsoever we claim to have become
equal, investment in the master's education of daughters is still a tough
decision for many parents when they also need to plan for their son’s
education. Therefore, these students in general, and girls with siblings in particular, choose to push themselves to score high marks. Low scores are therefore perceived as
bad as a complete failure, which is an unacceptable option in the post-graduation.

The public health or hospital administration courses
are ‘dream careers’ for only few students in India. Many others are those who have aspired to become medical
doctors after choosing the biology group, but the dream could not be fulfilled
due to low grades in standard 12^th. 
This inability to get admission into their dream course could have been the
first experience of failure for these students. 
After pursuing courses secondary to their original aspirations, like BHMS,
BAMS, BDS, or B.P.T. or B.Sc., for graduation, they come face to face with the
second harsh reality of the competitive world. For some of them, the low salaries and limited entrepreneurial
opportunities after graduation give these youth yet another taste of feeling like
a failure in their early twenties.   It is at this juncture they choose to do post-graduation
in allied subjects, away from the core expertise of their graduations. That is
how many students choose MPH and MHA as midcareer candidates.  The
experiences of failure from the past make these students insecure about their prospects
too. Marks-based assessments being a
barrier to their first choices, and insecurities after their graduation ensure that marks remain a disliked but crucial element of the students’ education. This may not be the case with fresh graduates with clear career trajectory.

However, scoring high in PG courses is broadly irrelevant
to a successful career. The PG scores are certainly not used for any entrance
or competitive examinations.  Having
realized this through experience and yet having discussed the students‘ concerns
for quite some time now, I invite them to explore and reflect on marks
differently.

Revisit the need for marks: I invite them to reflect on: why
do marks matter to them? How much is enough - Is it good marks they seek or exceptional
marks? Beyond securing a job, are they doing their PG ultimately for knowledge,
skills, and insights or scores? In their reflections on these questions, the
students may wonder: what if marks are used for campus placements or the first
job, and subsequent jobs and careers, in general! This is a genuine concern
that must not be speculated upon.  Instead
of seeking views of professors on the matter, the students should rather connect
to their immediate pass-out seniors and alumni with 3-5 years of experience.  Such discussions are easy because the current
batch of students network with seniors or experienced alumni through LinkedIn
etc. I am sure no alumni would mention
that marks played a very significant role either in securing their first job or
through career advancements.  The alumni
would generally emphasize that overall learning has an important role. They would
insist that the attitude matters a lot in career progression.  They would be very certain that marks do not
matter.

Normalize ‘f’:  The idea of failure needs to be reconstructed contextually; from a
binary variable, failure needs to be learned as a continuous variable.  Not all ‘f’ grades are to be stigmatized.  Allow oneself to occasionally fail will not
make or break one’s life or career.  Acknowledging
the fact that our PG courses are multi- and inter-disciplinary, and that the students
are from diverse backgrounds, the institute has an important policy of allowing
students to graduate with ‘f’ grades in up to 2 courses.   Certain
students from biology-related backgrounds are not good at mathematical
calculations. They may perform
poorly in two statistics-related subjects. However, they can still clear the
course and get the degree.  The same can
be true for students with a non-bio background. Such students may perform
poorly in epidemiology or related courses, and can still get their degree.  Although available, the students fear
exploring the ‘f’ option and push themselves to take unnecessary stress and the
burden of equal and higher performance in all the subjects. The taboo and
stigma around ‘f’ need to be dealt with productively to prioritize the joy of
learning and scoring smartly and wisely. They can focus their energy on
subjects they like to score more for a better GPA and choose wisely to risk having
an ‘f’ in subjects they don’t like. They can still get the degree with flying
colors.

The last chance – not to score but to
experiment:  For most students, the PG courses are the last
opportunity to experiment with rot learning and examination-centric studies.  This is because not many will do a second
master's or study for their Ph.D. Therefore, it is all the more important to
understand that the student’s approach to examination and marks in PGs will
have the final impression of studies. It will also form a foundation for their
parenting role. It is very vital to explore this last experience of studying
for examination to explore approaches that one has never tried. As the youth in
their 20s, the adult and mature students need to make a choice between a) continuing
the 15-17 years old approach of their school or college life, or b) taking a chance
and courage to unlearn and relearn the idea of education and examinations

Take charge as an adult to unlearn the
conditioning:   I have realized that anxieties and worries
about marks are a habit learned over years.  While the students have unlearnt a lot of
other conditioning as they moved from childhood to adolescence and adulthood,
the one around examination and marks has remained an unfinished agenda.  Many students have mastered this habit and
cannot derive interest or courage to break it, considering it wrongly as their
nature.  A conscious decision and
consistent efforts can break diehard habits, including that of giving undue
importance to marks and taking unnecessary tension for scoring high marks in PG
courses.

One needs to make a move. One needs to make
conscious choices to prioritize peace of mind and joy of learning, and learn to resist
undue cravings for marks in PG. 

The BMJ approach may help in enabling one to make the right choices.