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I think most people can measure progress without grades! For me at least, getting a 90% on a test is usually the same as a 100%. That 10% difference is almost a

I think most people can measure progress without grades! For me at least, getting a 90% on a test is usually the same as a 100%. That 10% difference is almost always just silly math errors or simple misunderstanding and not a fundamental issue.

choeger 5y ago
I don't think that most people can do that. In fact, I think only the ones that already understand a topic can realistically give an estimate of the percentage of their understanding. Someone who "got" 25% or 45% of some material will usually not see their progress.
- etataetaet 5y ago
  Fair enough! If you don't understand the material it makes sense you wouldn't be able to properly judge how well you're doing. Thanks for the thoughtful response
MikeTheGreat 5y ago
I'm going to do the obligatory thing & cite the Dunning-Kruger Effect here :) Also, from personal experience as someone who's taught computer programming (US college 1st & 2nd year courses - listed as "computer science" but really mostly computer programming): I've seen a _lot_ of people tell me some variation on "My program won't compile, I'm totally stuck, but those are just (implied minor) details - I really do understand what's going on!". Bonus points for when their code indicates that they've missed huge concepts at both the language level ("What do you mean I can't do arrayName = arrayName + 1 in Java?") and/or algorithmic level ("The variable defined by the outer loop of the bubble sort was never used so clearly that loop was useless so I removed it"). Ok, I'll stop ranting :) My point being that you may be able to measure your own progress but not everyone is. Plus, certification / credentializing is one of the services that education provides to the the rest of society.
- etataetaet 5y ago
  Yeah I see what you're saying! However, for me specifically, I know the mistakes were not fundamental ( Just gotta trust me on this one xD ). The other comment pointed out that if you fully understand the material its a lot easier to judge your own understanding. Now that someone said that it seems really obvious, but It wasn't something I ever thought about! Thanks for the insight

choeger 5y ago

I don't think that most people can do that. In fact, I think only the ones that already understand a topic can realistically give an estimate of the percentage of their understanding. Someone who "got" 25% or 45% of some material will usually not see their progress.

etataetaet 5y ago
Fair enough! If you don't understand the material it makes sense you wouldn't be able to properly judge how well you're doing. Thanks for the thoughtful response

MikeTheGreat 5y ago

I'm going to do the obligatory thing & cite the Dunning-Kruger Effect here :) Also, from personal experience as someone who's taught computer programming (US college 1st & 2nd year courses - listed as "computer science" but really mostly computer programming): I've seen a _lot_ of people tell me some variation on "My program won't compile, I'm totally stuck, but those are just (implied minor) details - I really do understand what's going on!". Bonus points for when their code indicates that they've missed huge concepts at both the language level ("What do you mean I can't do arrayName = arrayName + 1 in Java?") and/or algorithmic level ("The variable defined by the outer loop of the bubble sort was never used so clearly that loop was useless so I removed it"). Ok, I'll stop ranting :) My point being that you may be able to measure your own progress but not everyone is. Plus, certification / credentializing is one of the services that education provides to the the rest of society.

etataetaet 5y ago
Yeah I see what you're saying! However, for me specifically, I know the mistakes were not fundamental ( Just gotta trust me on this one xD ). The other comment pointed out that if you fully understand the material its a lot easier to judge your own understanding. Now that someone said that it seems really obvious, but It wasn't something I ever thought about! Thanks for the insight