Starfleet Academy grading system

[Vanyel]

How does Starfleet Academy grade its students?

For example can a human compete with a Vulcan in history, or mathematics? Subjects where memorization and recall of information are important (for example dates and formulas).

And what about the different ways species learn? We've seen Vulcan children learning via view screens and covering multiple topics at once.

Are different species with a greater aptitude for 3 dimensional space given the same flight exams as species whose aptitude is less?

So how does the Academy grade different species? Is each species graded on its own? If so, can there be a Valedictorian? Would it be fair to lump all species into one style of learning and expect them to be able to learn and compete with each other?

 

[sbk1234]

I wouldn't think there would be different grading for different systems. The standards would be the standards. Sure some species would have an advantage over other species, but that would just be the way it went. To grade one species differently than another would be like if they graded Data differently than others, because he had 100% recall. That would be like a teacher today grading a kid who's been tested as gifted differently than a student who hasn't. In today's world that would be called discrimination.
What they may be able to do is simply do more with those students who can excell easier than others, without punishing those who don't.

 

[Vanyel]

Gifted students are treated differently, they can be moved up a year or more so that they can be with a teacher who can teach them at their level. Why wouldn't the Academy be any different? Vulcans are smarter than Humans, Data is smarter than Vulcans (Though he isn't always portrayed or written to his full potential.) How many Humans can out preform a Vulcan who has near 100% recall.

 

[neozeks]

I wouldn't think there would be different grading for different systems. The standards would be the standards. Sure some species would have an advantage over other species, but that would just be the way it went. To grade one species differently than another would be like if they graded Data differently than others, because he had 100% recall. That would be like a teacher today grading a kid who's been tested as gifted differently than a student who hasn't. In today's world that would be called discrimination.

On the other hand, it wouldn't exactly be fair for a student to get a low mark even if he did his work to the best of his species abbilities. I'd say a combination system is the best solution. One, personal grading system denoting your results in relation to your species abbilities - cause you deserve for your effort to be appreciated. And another, all-encompassing for all species - because in the end it IS more efficient that a job gets be done by the species that's best at it. The Valedictorian could be chosen by some complex formula taking both into account. As for learning, given the hundreds of species involved, I'd say a highly customized and personalized program (within some general limits, to maintain cohesion) for each student would be a must.

 

[Sector 7]

Perhaps there is a reason we see mostly humans in StarFleet. It would seem some species are better suited for the skills needed.

Grading on the Bell curve, to allow those with lesser intelligence and skills to succeed, has proven a failed effort in modern education. The result is graduates who are unprepared to succeed in real life. It is better to set the standard and "let the cream rise to the top".

 

[Vanyel]

Then wouldn't Starfleet be filled with Vulcans? Or other species that are, by nature, more intelligent, faster, stronger and more skilled in 3 dimensional space.

 

[sbk1234]

Gifted students are treated differently, they can be moved up a year or more so that they can be with a teacher who can teach them at their level. Why wouldn't the Academy be any different?

Although gifted students (all students for that matter) should ideally be treated acording to their strengths and weaknesses, in order to provide them with the best opportunity to learn and exceed, the grading scale should remain the same for each. (In the case of Special Education students and English Language Learners, additional standards are also taken into account.) For example, in the state of California we have a set of education standards which has been decided upon by the Dept. of Education. The smartest, most advanced student and the lowest performing student are supposed to be graded on this same standard. Differentiation should come into play when it comes to helping each student achieve these standards, and when possible, exceed these standards to as great an extent as possible. In differentiating the instruction, on occasion highly advanced students are moved ahead, but this in and of itself should not affect grading. Only how well the student actually performs in the new grade, based on those standards.

 

[T'Girl]

Then wouldn't Starfleet be filled with Vulcans? Or other species that are, by nature, more intelligent, faster, stronger and more skilled in 3 dimensional space.

Because of their cultural system Vulcan might actual make fairly poor Starfleet officers. Even high ranking officers like Spock and Tuvok have on going problems understanding non-Vulcans. Inspite of his intelligence Spock during TOS made bad judgments, some which resulted in Enterprise crewmen getting killed (TPS and TGS).

The school district I graduated from had a program called GATES, student who showed superior aptitude are removed from regular classes and placed in a separate class room setting that allows them to move forward at a faster rate. One of my cousins graduated high school with a 3.975 and the equivalency of a associate degree in English.

By the 23rd/24th centuries it's possible that each cadet will have an individual course of study based on their personal attributes.

 

[Shatnertage]

The purpose of grades isn't to make the students feel better about themselves, or to judge them on how far they've come given their natural abilities--it's to identify who's mastered the skills in question. I would think that when you're preparing people to work with very complicated and very dangerous equipment, it would be even more so.

Real world reasons for mostly humans in Starfleet--because most actors are human. In-universe reason--maybe other species aren't as into exploration as humans. They go into pure rather than applied studies.

 

[Sector 7]

^Well stated, shatnertage. I would want my starship piloted by someone who passed a rigorous set of standards and testing, rather than a student who passed because the teacher felt sorry for him and lowered the bar.

 

[Vanyel]

But again, how do you fairly grade and teach different species? Vulcans can be taught and tested in different areas simultaneously,Humans can't. Also there could be species who are natural inclined to orient themselves in 3D space, making them better pilots or species, like some trill who can call on lifetimes of knowledge to pass exams without really studying. What can the Academy do to make sure all Cadets are treated, tested and advanced fairly?

Another question, would the next Dax need to attend the Academy? It would have been a cadet twice, and if it chose to continue in Jadzia or Ezri's career, what would be the point of it going to school?

 

[neozeks]

Another question, would the next Dax need to attend the Academy? It would have been a cadet twice, and if it chose to continue in Jadzia or Ezri's career, what would be the point of it going to school?

I'm under the impression that candidates for hosting generally have to finish their education before getting the symbiont (that's part of their evaluation), so the next host would have probably already attended the Academy before becoming a Dax.

OTOH, if it chose to join Starfleet after being joined, I wager he/she would go through a sort of shorter/refresher course.

EDIT: Though all this brings up the question of just how Starfleet deals with it's previosly unjoined Trill Academy graduate suddenly becoming a few hundred years older and wiser?

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Maybe different species just take different lengths of time to complete the curriculum, and this is accepted? Everyone would get to the same standard but not everyone would have to do so at the same pace. Perhaps a Vulcan could finish in a year or two, but a human takes 4? (Though the Vulcan might not take AS long, if maybe classes are offered that are geared towards management techniques and social interactions, that they have the option of taking?)

 

[Vanyel]

EDIT: Though all this brings up the question of just how Starfleet deals with it's previosly unjoined Trill Academy graduate suddenly becoming a few hundred years older and wiser?

Well Ezri was an Ensign still in training to be a counselor before being joined to the Dax symbiont. With a little push from Sisko she jump up from Ensign to Lt.J.G., and became a counselor. So it would would seem they could be jumped up in rank.

 

[Sector 7]

Maybe different species just take different lengths of time to complete the curriculum, and this is accepted? Everyone would get to the same standard but not everyone would have to do so at the same pace. Perhaps a Vulcan could finish in a year or two, but a human takes 4? (Though the Vulcan might not take AS long, if maybe classes are offered that are geared towards management techniques and social interactions, that they have the option of taking?)

This is a very good point. The standards are kept intact; the time is variable depending on the person or species. Logical.

 

[Caliburn24]

A point that has been overlooked somewhat is that Starfleet Academy is not your typical school, it is a military/professional school. Why would a gradepoint matter? You're not going to apply for graduate school or law school. You're not going to have potential employers looking at your transcript and asking why you got a C' grade on your Quantum Mechanics course. For the next four years of your life at a minimum, you're obligated to be in Starfleet, and from what we've seen onscreen it appears that you're in Starfleet for basically the rest of your working life.

All Starfleet Academy needs to do is make sure you can pass the challenges of being an officer, rank your skills against your peers, find out where your natural gifts and apptitudes are, and help steer you down that path.

Kirk asked how Spock's cadets would handle themselves during Star Trek II, and Spock's answer was, "Like all living things, each according to his or her gifts."

Grades don't matter to Starfleet.

 

[T'Girl]

Sure grades would matter. If the Starfleet Academy only graduates the top ten or twenty percent of it's entrants, how else would they know who to throw into the street?

 

[Caliburn24]

Where was it stated that the Academy only graduates the top so and so percentage of cadets? I'm sure some drop out due to this or that reason, but forced out of the Academy because of their grades? I must have missed that episode.

 

[neozeks]

A point that has been overlooked somewhat is that Starfleet Academy is not your typical school, it is a military/professional school. Why would a gradepoint matter?

Well, for example, they would matter when deciding who gets the best postings and assingnments after graduating.

 

[Vanyel]

A point that has been overlooked somewhat is that Starfleet Academy is not your typical school, it is a military/professional school. Why would a gradepoint matter?

Well, for example, they would matter when deciding who gets the best postings and assingnments after graduating.

Didn't Bashir make a big deal about this saying he had his choice of postings, but chose DS9?