To Grade or Not To Grade?
Thank you to all the parents who took the time to attend our Parent Information/Meet the Teachers Evening last night. It was great to see you all, touch base, receive feedback and for you to further develop your understanding of our academic approach.
Last night we were asked a few questions, which over the next weeks, I will endeavour to go into more depth in my weekly blogs. This week, I would like to share with you in more detail as to why we are moving away from giving our students letter grades or number results.
In Alfie Kohn’s paper on The Case Against Grades, he shares the following:
A student asked his Zen master how long it would take to reach enlightenment. “Ten years,” the master said. But, the student persisted, what if he studied very hard? “Then 20 years,” the master responded. Surprised, the student asked how long it would take if he worked very,very hard and became the most dedicated student in the Ashram. “In that case, 30 years,” the master replied. His explanation: “If you have one eye on how close you are to achieving your goal, that leaves only one eye for your task.”
As parents and teachers, we want to know how our children/students are achieving in their subjects – but does a letter or number grade truly tell you what you want to know? Does it give you the whole picture or just a snapshot? Should a student’s achievement come down to how they perform in a test or exam or should it cover their whole efforts? What about the student who works extremely hard all year – but finds the pressure of an exam too much? So many questions, but as parents and teachers – we need to ask these. We also need to ask ourselves – what is important – is it the grade/mark or is it the overall academic development/progress? How can this be communicated to both students and parents?
Again with reference to Kohn, he writes of psychology research of the 1980s and 1990s into the effects of grades, which revealed 3 major conclusions:-
* Grades tend to diminish students’ interests in whatever they are learning. For example, a student may have put a great deal of effort into a task, a poor grade is given and therefore the student feels deflated and disengaged. Or, they are just doing the work – because they have to.
* Grades create a preference for the easiest possible task. Why do more than one has to? By associating certain work with a grade, students are less likely to push themselves and be creative with their thinking. Once their are boundaries and guidelines associated with particular tasks, it is difficult for the student to shift beyond these.
* Grades tend to reduce the quality of students’ thinking. This means that students tend to focus on the “need to know” rather than going more in-depth into a subject. topic or question. It also encourages learning by rote rather than thinking creatively, critically and analytically.
At Central Coast Sports College we want our students to move away from focusing on the importance of grades, as this does not truly measure their academic success. Every student is different and learns differently. How do we, as teachers authentically recognise this and give our students individual and personal feedback that reflects their academic achievement and progress?
We are challenging our students to develop a relationship with learning that is powered and motivated by a desire to learn. We are challenging our students to focus on what they are doing and learning. We are challenging our students to focus on what happens in the Open Learning Space, what is going on in their head, and to encourage them to think creatively, critically and analytically about the work they are producing.
Students need to be part of the conversation as to how they are progressing. Our students are being encouraged to be part of the process when it comes to assessing their work. This happens on a daily and weekly basis. By having this conversation with students, they become more aware of what is required of them in order to demonstrate their learnt skills and knowledge. Students have a clearer idea of what needs to be improved upon and are learning to focus on listening to feedback and acting upon advice. It is about teaching our students to not interpret feedback as “academic criticism” and in turn taking it personally, but learning to develop from advice and feedback given. Also, by being part of these discussions, students are authentically demonstrating that they have accepted responsibility for their learning, and it also encourages them to stop make excuses.
Students are regularly asked to reflect and evaluate their work. By doing this, we are again encouraging our students to think about the hows and whys of their learning not just the what. This also gives teachers an insight into how they can best support students as well as make changes to how content is delivered to students.
There are times when receiving a grade is appropriate and necessary. In a majority of these instances, students will have an opportunity to help create the marking rubric and contribute to the discussion of what is being assessed and how. This approach allows for a more honest and open approach regarding individual academic achievement as well as motivating students to achieve a goal they have helped set.
Our marking and feedback system is constantly evolving, and both our teachers and coaches are embracing ideas and approaches that allow for improvement in the way we are communicating with our students.
If you would like to read more about discussions on grading, or the works of Alfie Kohn, look up Parent Resources IFS
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