I’m not so sure it’s that bad of an idea. If the child’s grade is only based on content tests, it will accurately measure whether or not the child mastered the material.
That does not mean there is no discipline in the classroom, only that a child’s academic achievement will not be diluted by personality issues. Ditto for homework. If the child has mastered the information, why do the homework?
There are a lot of factors at play, but it may be getting away from using the schools for social engineering and returning to the actual purpose of education: Passing on to each generation the knowledge gleaned from previous generations. Isn’t that the idea. . .to allow them to stand on the shoulders of giants instead of having to develop everything from scratch?
And what about the students who chronically freeze up on tests? I have had many students who I KNEW knew the material, but would freeze up on tests. Does that "accurately measure whether or not the child mastered the material"? Absolutely not. If I only graded them on test results, they would fail. Basing a grade on many parameters actually helps students achieve higher and fairer grades. Should a student who faithfully attends class, does all their homework and projects, participates well in class, and you know tries their best--but messes up on most tests--fail? I say no. That is why all of these should be separate inputs. I also had a part of grades depend on classroom behavior, because that is something, like completing homework, that the student can directly control and is not dependent on their endowment of academic gifts, only personal effort. It was an easy way for them to improve their grade.
When my daughter was in Algebra II in tenth grade, unbeknownst to me, she went to her teacher about three weeks after school started. She told him that his homework assignments were repetitious and a waste of her time, and she offered him a deal. If she only had to do as much of the homework assignments as she needed to do to understand the concept, she would ace every test, get a 100% or better with the extra credit points. If at any time, she didn't get a 100%, he could go back to having her complete the homework assignments. To the teacher's credit, he took her up on her offer. After about another two weeks, she quit doing homework completely. Finished the year with a 105% average on tests. Fascinatingly enough, none of the other students in the class ever figured out she wasn't turning in homework. The teacher had sworn her to secrecy, so she didn't tell anybody she wasn't doing it. I found out about the deal during parent/teacher conferences at the end of the first term.