First Impressions

For me, as well as others, I’m sure, going gradeless, or grading less has been a journey. One definition of journey is an act of traveling from one place to another. What this definition does not explicitly include is that along this journey there are many different experiences you will have, some positive and some negative. My experiences with diving into the world of going gradeless is that the very mention of grading policies with other educators, or grading in general, can become a very divisive topic in 0.5 seconds! On the flip side, the more positive experiences have been that many educators are really reflecting on their practices and tip-toeing into the gradeless world. 

This past year I’ve  been reading Joe Feldman’s Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms, and one of the topics he explores in his book is how many teachers have a very personal connection to their grading practices. Feldman writes, “The topic of grading is so hallowed that it inhibits conversations even among colleagues.” He goes on to say, “Maybe we struggle with discussing grading because we have very little experience doing so. Grading and measurement is rarely if ever included in teacher preparation programs or in-school professional development.”

This last statement was my a-ha moment or validation as to why my initial conversations and professional development on grading practices were so intense and sometimes met with hesitancy and unwillingness to reflect on current grading practices. This also emboldened me to continue my quest to refine my own gradeless journey and commit to being a contributing voice to making grading practices more equitable.    

Why does grading less make sense for me? 

A brief snapshot of the beginning of my going gradeless journey began in a school I taught at many years ago, where we were having a school-wide discussion on assessment practices. I participated in action research offered by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and started researching standards-based grading, alternative grading, and assessment practices. One of the biggest turning points for me was learning about how zeros on the 100-point scale is not equitable in reporting student progress! I never even considered how giving students a zero on the 100-point scale is so harmful.

In my district, the grading scale is 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, and 0-59 = F. The distribution of the grading parameters is not equitable. With the massively disproportionate amount of space for failure—60 points worth!—giving a student a zero offers virtually no hope of recovery. Why would a student even try to recover when they know it’s next to impossible to pass? In my experience, these students oftentimes turn to behaviors that may disrupt the learning of others, or they may begin to have issues with absenteeism because zeros are next to impossible to recover from.

I also learned from another leader on grading and assessment, Rick Wormeli. In this video, Rick explains how, by moving to a 4-point grading scale A = 4 (Excelling), B = 3 (Meeting), C = 2 (Approaching), D or below = 1 (Beginning), makes the zero not only mathematically proportional but more easily recoverable. From Rick I learned that formative assessments are considered practice and are therefore evaluated with narrative feedback; summative assessments were scored using the 1-4 scale and based on the priority standards for each unit of study. Because I work in a traditional grades school, I also incorporated student-led grading conferences at the midpoint and end of quarter to involve students in choosing what grade best matches what the student knows and is able to do with the content. No averaging of grades takes place.

In implementing these gradeless practices, the fear or common misconception that some teachers have is that, if students are not getting numerical grades in the gradebook, they will be less motivated to actually do the work in class. In my experience, I have not found this to be true. Often, the hardest part of this process for students is discussing in student-led conferences what their grade should be based on their evidence of learning for the quarter. By moving to discussing grades only twice a quarter, the primary focus in class has become what I’ve always dreamed of: the learning! Mid-quarter I give students a Google Form to reflect on their progress and choose a numerical grade that I can enter that into the gradebook. Up until that point I will enter all formative assessments in the gradebook as collected, missing, late, etc. and attach narrative feedback to the assignment in the comment section. This way all stakeholders, students, parents, and administrators can see that, even though there is no numerical grade in the gradebook, the students are working and receiving feedback on assessments. All of these implementations have increased student accountability for their own learning while decreasing my part. The students and I now share in the assessment process by giving individual or whole class/group narrative feedback, which is recorded in their progress trackers as well as the gradebook. By decentralizing grades there is more focus on the content and learning than ever before when I graded traditionally.

Student-centered assessment and embracing the journey

As a teacher in an International Baccalaureate (IB) school, a couple of our Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills are communication and thinking skills. By intentionally having students think about where they are in their learning progression and having to articulate it in writing as well as in student-led conferences in person with me, students can no longer just play the game of school. If I were grading traditionally, students would complete work, turn it in for a grade, and that is where the feedback loop stops. In many instances, as soon as you put a number on an assessment, the student is no longer concerned with or engaged with the content. The focus is only on the numerical grade. Students who take my class for the first time and are not familiar with my grading practices ask, “Is this for a grade?” even after I have explained and given examples of how I grade. That is because most of their other teachers still grade traditionally.

As a teacher leader, I feel the call to share with others how they can reclaim a huge chunk of their time by making students more accountable for their own learning. Teachers should not own 100% of the assessment process. By grading less, students share in the responsibility. Some educators are concerned with students selecting their own grade because they are not the trained professional educator and should not have that power. I look at it through another lens. I fully support engaging students in the assessment process. In my experience, it takes them further in the learning progression when they have to explain their learning and analyze why they deserve whatever grade based on their evidence of learning (e.g. student portfolio, summative assessments). They do all this with guidance from me, the trained professional educator. As an IB teacher, I am intentionally focused on developing my students IB learner profile traits and going gradeless fits perfectly within this framework. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate the traits of being thinkers and communicators, of being principled and reflective. 

So What’s Next?

As most know, we are facing a huge teacher shortage. In fact, most new teachers in my area are coming into the field without having gone through a teacher-education program. We have a lot of lateral-entry teachers, people who come to teaching from other careers. Rarely do I come across a new grad who went to school to become a teacher.

After 21 years in education, I have fewer years of teaching left ahead of me than I do behind me, and I am intentionally focusing on continuing to make grades more meaningful and equitable for students by sharing my knowledge and experience with beginning teachers. Sometimes I feel like my voice is drowned out by all the traditional grading teachers, and it can feel like an uphill battle. Sometimes I hear the voice in my head saying, “I’m just a teacher,” as if my voice isn't as valuable as the educator with a PhD, or one who has authored several books on grading practices/reform.

In my district we have a Teacher Academy, a great group of teachers who mentor other teachers across the district as well as offer professional development. The biggest key to this program is that we are all teachers who are still in the classroom—sharing our experiences and collaborating with other teachers to become stronger in our practice. A lot of times when we have to sit through professional development with a workshop leader who is no longer in the classroom, it can sometimes diminish the impact of what they have to share. This is one of the reasons that I remain in the classroom. Teacher buy-in is greater coming from someone who is doing the work. With the start of another new school year upon us, I am poised to continue to affect change in the gradeless movement.

Rhonda Higgins teaches high school IB/MYP Spanish and provides professional development sessions on assessment practices. When not in the classroom, Rhonda enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters (2, 7, and 19 years old), running 5Ks, traveling, and gardening. You can find her on Twitter and Spoutible @rhonhigg.