If you go to a relatively good high school, one of the worst aspects of it is the fact that most of the advanced classes (e.g. AP classes) spend most of their time “teaching to the exam” rather than focusing on providing knowledge. Doing the same for college would, in my opinion, completely ruin the university experience. Part of the point of college is to give students the freedom to explore their interests. Grading is really a very small point of the entire endeavor.
(I single out “relatively good high schools” because I imagine for most high schools the alternative to an AP class would be no class, so the AP class is probably an improvement. At a sufficiently good high school the alternative would be a college-level class taught by a local professor.)
I don’t think grading plays as small a role as you seem to think—remove the grading (and just pass everybody) and see how many students show up for class.
If you go to a relatively good high school, one of the worst aspects of it is the fact that most of the advanced classes (e.g. AP classes) spend most of their time “teaching to the exam” rather than focusing on providing knowledge. Doing the same for college would, in my opinion, completely ruin the university experience. Part of the point of college is to give students the freedom to explore their interests. Grading is really a very small point of the entire endeavor.
(I single out “relatively good high schools” because I imagine for most high schools the alternative to an AP class would be no class, so the AP class is probably an improvement. At a sufficiently good high school the alternative would be a college-level class taught by a local professor.)
I don’t think grading plays as small a role as you seem to think—remove the grading (and just pass everybody) and see how many students show up for class.