Grades reward social conformity more than cognitive achievement

Evidence

Teachers are likely to reward those who conform to and strengthen the social order of the school with higher grades and approval, and punish violators with lower grades and other forms of disapproval, independent of their respective academic and cognitive accomplishments. This fact allows us to investigate exactly what personality traits, attitudes, and behavioral attributes are facilitated by the educational encounter. — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 495

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle: the empirical claims that grades track compliance rather than learning — and how to test that against real grade-vs-outcome data.
• XREF: connects to: Doing well in school can be coded by minority peers as betraying one’s culture — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1300; Rewarded school traits correlate negatively with creativity among elite students — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America:…, 509; Downward and intraclass comparisons protect the self-esteem of low-status groups (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Rewarded school traits correlate negatively with creativity among elite students #corroborates (0.85) — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 509
• Learning and conformity are distinct psychological processes #expands (0.80) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2001
• Doing well in school can be coded by minority peers as betraying one’s culture #qualifies (0.70) — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1300
• Downward and intraclass comparisons protect the self-esteem of low-status groups #exemplifies (0.70)