Abolishing grades sound a bit absurd but if you take a closer look you would begin to see why abolishing grades is not so bad. Think about it, if a child is failing a certain course but aces the exam, something if definitely not right. Or say for instance, someone is passing with flying colors but fails the exam, we all know something is definitely not quite right. As I see it, grading now is basically meant to terrorize and intimidate students. The students feel pressured by the grading scales and are intimidated by the menacing chance to fail. When students are pressured so much they begin to cheat off others, bully, and etc.
On the other hand, grading and grading scales can help the student recognize the position that they are in. Whether they are on the verge of failing or passing flawlessly. With the knowledge of knowing where they are standing, grade wise, they will know whether to work harder or continue their great efforts. But you would also have to consider, "Is my teacher just passing me along or am I really learning and perceiving my work correctly?" Most teachers, as of now, try to take the easy route out or possibly just teach just a little of what they know without going into extraordinary detail.
Essentially, the concept of abolishing grades and keeping exams is adequately the best way to go. If grades were abolished, hypothetically speaking, it could bring the confidence of certain students up because they will have a sense of not being a complete failure. With that type of confidence boost, maybe just maybe they would find that putting in effort in trying to pass that exam is the best route to take. They could also feel as though they do not have to struggle to get by with cheating but they could actually learn the lesson and be able to comprehend what they are learning.
