Can teaching and learning be better when we grade less?

Assessment is integral to teaching and learning. Bearing in mind the word’s etymology, how can we ‘sit beside’ students in a way that communicates respect for “their individuality, their diversity, their idiosyncratic radiance”? (Carol Black)

Gradeless learning challenges the culture of competition, comparison, and compliance in schools. In lieu of this, how can we build communities that foster values of collaboration, creativity, and care?

How do we invite students into discussions about their learning and progress, meaningfully involving and empowering them to take ownership of their learning, as well as in determinations around their grade?

The availability of platforms and tools that facilitate gradeless assessment, feedback, and reporting is ever growing. How do we use available technologies in ways that center student voice and interests, connecting them with authentic networks, audiences, and communities?

How can we ensure that our classrooms are truly equitable, liberatory spaces? How can we assess in ways that are intentionally inclusive and responsive, empowering all students to reach their potential?

Many gradeless teachers employ portfolios as a way for students to curate artifacts and evidence from their learning journey, empowering them to reflect on and showcase new skills and understandings.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are all about trial and error. So how did these subjects become about memorizing algorithms and having the “right answer”? By removing grades, we rediscover the curiosity, creativity, and wonder at the heart of these disciplines.

Writing, Linda Mabry observes, is “fundamentally self-expressive and individualistic.” Standardizing writing—through rubrics, prescriptions, and templates—obstructs its assessment and impedes writers’ development, all while “making little or no room for linguistic diversity.” (Asao B. Inoue)