Many teachers think that it’s great when a student gets constant 100%s.
They think, “No problems here!” They even tell parents, “Everything’s great!”
But there’s nothing less helpful to a learner than a 100%. It tells you nothing.
It’s like using a yardstick to measure your height. When we keep getting “3ft tall,” it tells us more about the measuring tool than anyone’s actual height.
Likewise, 100% is a useless measurement. It only tells us that the task was too easy. It tells us we aimed too low.
And imagine measuring your height over and over with just a yardstick. You’d see no growth. How disheartening! You’d feel like you maxed out before you were 3-years-old.
Likewise, it feels bad to always get 100%s. It creates apathy. Humans want to see that they are getting better.
Plus, it creates students who come to expect 100%. I was that kid. 100% was the only acceptable score!
But then, when school finally caught up to my ability, I had an identity crisis. I thought I was stupid. I wrote more about this danger here.
So, if you’re seeing 100%s in classrooms, it tells you that you need to realign your expectations. Because they’re way too low! And you’re setting up all sorts of future problems.