Grading Moratorium: Dave Martin

Dave Martin has joined the Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.

Dave Martin

Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

High School Math

teacher.davidmartin@gmail.com

@d_martin05

I started teaching highschool Calculus at my school a couple of years ago. When I started teaching the course, I used a traditional assessment strategy. I would assign homework daily, end the week with a quiz, and then end the unit with a multiple choice/written exam.

My classes would start around 30 students, and by the end of the semester the class size would be 20. What I did was "weed out the weak". One day I realized that I wasn't weeding out the weak mathematicians, but instead weeding out the weak test writers.

This year, after many talks with first year University and College professors, administrators, teachers, students, and parents, I am proud to say that I have abolished grading. We are currently in the middle of our semester and I have not graded a single item of student work.

Before you continue, I want to remind you that this does not mean I have not assessed, but not one student in my Calculus classes has received a grade at this point. (Other than the report card mark which I must give).

How does it work?

First, I went through my outcomes, given to me by the government, and identified what the "Rocks" are. These rocks are the outcomes which I expect the students to master above all other outcomes. I chose these certain outcomes after my discussions with others and as well as what will be helpful for students to succeed in the future.

Next, these outcomes were rewritten in student friendly language and then provided to the students on the first day of class.

My teaching schedule did not change, nor did the speed on which I have taught the course, but what has changed is the speed at which the students can learn at. Once I had taught 2 or 3 outcomes at a level where I felt that the class has mastered the outcome, I administered a summative assessment. For this assessment, each child wrote it as a traditional exam, but it looked drastically different than a traditional exam. Each assessment was entirely written, broken up by outcomes, and tested only the basics of the outcomes. There were no "trick questions", just simple questions that would assess "Can the child demonstrate this outcome, on their own, as a basic level of understanding?"

When I assessed these assessments, I would write comments only on them, and either a "Outcome demonstrated" or "Need to learn" for each outcome assessed (Not on the overall assessment). It is very important to understand that "Outcome demonstrated" is not a 100%, as a student could make a minor mistake and still achieve this, as I am assessing understanding the outcome, not perfection.

Next, if the child received a "Need to learn" he/she must do the following:
1) Demonstrate the understanding of the questions given at a later date. This usually occurs after a lunch session, a quick conversation, or multiple conversations with the child.
2) A conversation explaining how he/she made the mistake earlier and how their understanding has changed now
3) Write another assessment on the outcomes.

If after completing these 3 steps, he/she can demonstrate the outcomes then I would I count this as "Outcome demonstrated" just as if the child had done it the first time. I do not deduct marks based on the number of tries needed.

If the child still does not demonstrate, (which is extremely unlikely as I have seen) then he/she must repeat the same 3 steps.

After 5-7 outcomes have been taught, then each child is assigned an open ended project. This project consists of each student creating a problem around the math in the 5-7 outcomes and solving it. The expectation is the problem is one which is deep, relevant, and for a purpose. This part is not always easy!

An example: A student to demonstrate his understanding created a Call of Duty video and determined the rate of change of a ballistic knife falling in the video.

These projects usually range from 3-5 pages and must be handed in individually, but can be worked on with assistance from others and/or textbooks.

To assess these projects, I follow the same pedagogy from above. I use comments only, and give guidance towards any errors I see. The projects are then handed back to each student, who can go back, make corrections, and rehand it in. This process is repeated until the child receives perfection on the project.

I have even abolished the traditional final exam. The expectation is the students must give me a 30-45 minute presentation around the rocks of the course, and demonstrate their understanding of all rocks.

How do I get a final mark percentage?

I simply take the number of outcomes and projects completed (at the end of the course) and divide by the total number of outcomes and projects. This is not the best strategy, but it seems to work for me at this moment. I do weigh projects twice as much. (I have 20 outcomes, and 5 projects, so the total is (20+5x2=30)

Let me know if your thoughts

Join the Grading Moratorium in 2012

In November 2006, I abolished grading in my classroom. In July 2010, I started the Grading Moratorium on my blog. It's almost September 2012, and a new school year awaits. The beginning of a new school year is the best time to try something new and innovative. 

What if you joined the Grading Moratorium and shared your story about how you tried to abolish grading as much as professionally possible?

I see the Grading Moratorium as a support group for teachers who are trying to reduce the time and effort they place on summative grading while simultaneously placing more time and effort on formative assessment that helps children learn and grow.

Remember, if teachers waited to join the Grading Moratorium until they have abolished grading entirely, there would likely be no one in the Grading Moratorium. Abolishing grading isn't necessarily a destination. I see it more as a journey towards redefining, rethinking and refining how we help children learn.

Here is a list of teachers who are dedicated to abolishing grading and have already joined the Grading Moratorium. Check out each one of their stories and feel free to contact them.

Want to join? Here's how.

If you would like to join but feel like you just can't, please consider leaving a comment so that I may develop a better understanding for the obstacles that are in your way.

Grading Moratorium: Leslye Folmar

Leslye Folmar has joined The Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.






At what stage of the abolish grading game are you?

I no longer give out letter grades in literacy (reading and writing) and I am working toward the same in Math.


Why do you want to or why did you abolish grading?

Honestly, I abolished grades because my district adopted a continuum system instead of letter grades. However, if they had not done so, I would have abolished grades in my classroom this year anyway.

I would have abolished grades because they have no meaning, they carry no weight...An A means one thing in the Advanced Proficient class and another thing in the Basic Skills class, but on the report card there was no way to distinguish that difference.

I knew something needed to be changed when I looked through one of my struggling students portfolio and saw that he “earned” A’s from k-3rd grade, his grades we not a true reflection of who he was as a student.

I also knew I needed to abolish grades when I noticed my students rushing to see their letter grade and not to see what they got right or wrong. It seemed that they were done with the “learning” once the grade was given.


What do you do in replace of grading?

Instead of traditional letter grades, I place students on a skills continuum. Once a student shows 80% proficiency in a category they are able to move up.


How do you establish a grade if you have no grades?

This is not an issue for reading and writing but it becomes tricky for math. I no longer put grades on test or quizzes; instead I put fractions (total correct/total number of problems).

I have also created a skill sheet to go along with each assessment. I focus on the skills mastered and those that need more attention instead of the grade.


What fears did you have about abolishing grading?

I fear that cutting out grades will take away some of my students motivation. However, this may just be my issue.


What challenges do/did you encounter with abolishing grading?

Parent-teacher conferences were the first time I encountered any trouble with abolishing grades. Parents needed something concrete (a letter grade) to know where their child fit in with their peers. As I tried to explain the continuum and the skills their child was showing progress with, I was interrupted with, “That’s nice…but what grade is she/he getting?”


Are you willing to provide contact information (e-mail, Twitter,
blog, Skype, etc) for others who are interested in abolishing grading?

lfolmar@gmail.com

@ellewriter

Grading Moratorium: Mark Skelding

Mark Skelding has joined the Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.

Professor at Southern New Hampshire University-Vermont Center’s Field-Based Graduate Program in Education, in Colchester, Vermont.












At what stage of abolishing grading are you?

I often wonder if the marking period during high school, when I deliberately tried for all B’s and no A’s, and succeeded, might have been the actual beginning of my fight against grading. I currently teach graduate level courses on formative assessment and grading reform for practicing teachers coming back to school to get their Master’s Degrees. As I tell my students in the grading course, I vowed years ago, after starting to uncover during my 12 years as a middle school teacher what I now know about grading, that I would never grade anyone ever again. Although our program could move to a Pass/Fail (which is still grading) system, school districts in our area still require letter grades as a measure for whether to pay for/reimburse a teacher for the courses they take. Consequently, we still give a final grade. But it is the only grade the teacher receives at any time during the course, and it is a standards-based grade based on their progress (growth) score which they are sustaining at the time the course ends … and I don’t give the grade. I will explain below.


Why do you want to/did you abolish grading?

One title I’ve given my work is “The Theoretical, Technical and Ethical Reasons for Abandoning Grading.” Grades and the whole notion of grading student learning are flawed on every level you can think of. Most obvious is the unfair subjectivity and arbitrary decision-making involved in the practice. But also, theoretically, systems thinking, constructivist learning theory, and cognitive science all reveal that learning is formative. Evaluation (grading) is summative, the antithesis of formative. Technically, practices such as averaging, weighting, composite grading and giving zeros are all unfair on varying levels. And ethically, and I would argue morally, grading and use of cut-score-scales is wrong because it is an inherently discriminatory practice. Please see my accompanying articles that explain each of these in more detail.

The overriding reason I want to abolish grading is because it is a social justice issue. I firmly believe that, whether knowingly, willingly or unwittingly, it is an insidious means by which we are helping reinforce and sustain a class system in this country.


What do you do in place of grading?

The system I’ve been teaching, and simultaneously using with our students, is a formative, standards-based progress scoring approach. Each of our courses is comprised of a set of standards which drives the instructor’s planning and instruction, and which students are given multiple opportunities throughout the course to continue showing growth in. The students are given a course standards checklist at the beginning of the course, the scoring-to-grade process is explained to them first thing, and once they understand how they will be getting graded they determine their own cut- score-scale from which their final progress grade will be determined.

From then on the instructor is responsible for designing learning opportunities that engage the students in those standards every step of the way, and the students are responsible for taking advantage of those opportunities to continue growing in those skills. The students know that their final grade will be based on their continuing progress. In order to be given credit for making progress, every time they are assessed they must show new evidence in their course portfolio, new and different from the body of work looked at for their prior assessment, that they have made progress in the standards since the last time they were assessed.

Periodically during the course the students, whether through self-assessment or peer assessment, share their accumulating body of work (course portfolio) and are assessed on whether their latest body of work shows that they have grown/progressed/ advanced in some way in each of the course standards since the last time their checklist was completed. Their course standard checklist is then marked accordingly.

At the end of the course a final assessment occurs, and it is that final assessment that then gets converted into a final grade (evaluation). And that grade is an individualized, criterion-referenced progress grade (as opposed to a norm-referenced attainment grade which typical cut-score-grading scale grades are) that is simply based on the number of course standards the student is showing sustained progress in at the time of reporting.

So for example, if there are 8 course standards and the student can show during the final assessment that she is sustaining progress in 6 of the 8 standards, she then plugs her progress score of 6 (out of 8) into her personal cut-score-grading scale she gave herself at the beginning of the course and gives herself a grade. If her personal cut-score-scale is 7-8=A, 5-6=B, 3-4=C, 1-2=D, 0=F, she would give herself a B, which we then submit to the Registrar’s Office.


What fears do/did you have about abolishing grading?

Now? Absolutely none. In the beginning I think my greatest discomfort was feeling like I was doing something wrong by not conforming to the system. I no longer have any of those feelings, especially with what I now know about grades and grading.


What challenges do you encounter with abolishing grading?

Although I still encounter some teachers who are set in their belief in the validity, reliability and fairness of grades and grading, most teachers I work with are begging for a better way for accounting for student learning. The biggest challenge for me in my current position is teachers feeling that there are systemic obstacles preventing them from moving forward. These obstacles range from parents wanting grades because that’s what they had when they were in school, to students wanting grades because that’s all they’ve known and in their minds the only thing that counts, to electronic grade books that force teachers to have to give grades (which we reveal during the course can be gotten around).

I remind them that if we can be doing what we’re doing with them at the university level, a level of schooling where typically there is an extremely conservative belief in/emphasis on grades, then they can be doing the same at their school.


Are you willing to provide contact information for others interested in abolishing
grading?

Yes. Please feel free to contact me at m.skelding@snhu.edu.

Grading Moratorium: Carol Barton

Carol Barton has joined the Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.



Carol Barton
Grade 4
Summerland, British Columbia, Canada







At what stage of the abolish grading game are you?

For the last two years I have not included letter grades on student report cards. I have not used letter grades to mark student work for many years. I recently completed my Master’s Degree in the summer of 2010 - my research project involved developing an alternative reporting tool to complement letter grades as I was unable to eliminate letter grades completely due to Ministry Policy. I followed up my research project by implementing a pilot project for the 2010-2011 school year where I did not give letter grades on the traditional report card. Parents were given the option to request letter grades for their child if they wanted them.

I have made presentations to my School Board and to representatives from the elementary schools in my district who were part of a 'reporting and grading' committee. Since the committee meetings I've been invited to speak to intermediate teachers at several schools within the district. For now this has been put on hold because of our job action – we are currently not writing first term report cards. I have had great support from our Superintendent, the Director of Instruction, my school administrators, colleagues and parents.

I found an interesting website from Damian Cooper, an independent education consultant from Ontario, who specializes in helping schools and school districts improve their instructional and assessment skills. In his video Does the Drive to Quantify Learning Get in the Way? Damian makes a good point about not being able to eliminate letter grades; but I hope, however, that one day we will be in the position to report student progress without having to use letter grades:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYFiWJ4DtVU

Damian's website has other resources that are also interesting:

http://www.damiancooperassessment.com/index.html


Why do you want to or why did you abolish grading?

The biggest reason I have for not using letter grades is the negative effect that letter grades had on my students. I have included a section from my research project to explain:

At least fifteen research reviews in the last twenty-five years have documented the impact letter grades have on students (Fuchs & Fuchs 1986; Natriello, 1987; Crooks, 1988; Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik & Morgan, 1991; Dempster, 1991, 1992; Elshout-Mohr, 1994; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Black & Wiliam, 1998; Nyquist, 2003; Brookhart, 2004; Allal & Lopez, 2005; Köller, 2005; Brookhart, 2007; Wiliam, 2007; Hattie and Timperley, 2007; Shute, 2008 as cited in Wiliam & Leahy, 2009). The research described how grades reduce the natural curiosity of students to learn. Letter grades decrease students' desire for challenge, and grades diminish their quality of thinking. Schools tend to rely on motivating students extrinsically with grades and positive reinforcement like awards for good marks. This diminishes the students' natural curiosity to learn as their intrinsic motivation, or natural curiosity is extinguished and extrinsic motivation involving getting good grades and having parents excited with good results is now their goal. It is interesting to note that researchers found the more students were pressured to get good marks the less likely they were to challenge themselves. Another downside to letter grades described by researchers is that grades have a tendency to diminish the quality of student thinking. Kohn (1999) wrote about studies which found that if students lost curiosity in what they were learning because of grades, it is likely that their thinking would not be as powerful. One particular group of studies he referred to discovered that students who received grades were considerably less creative than students who received written feedback but no grades. Stiggins pointed out that if assessment was to support student achievement then letter grades should not be a part of a balanced assessment system. He wrote:

If they are to have a productive impact on the learner, the nature of our assessment practices must continue to evolve in specific directions. For instance, the assessment results must go beyond merely providing judgements about to providing rich descriptions of student performance.


What do you do in replace of grading?

I strongly believe in using assessment for learning. Again I've included part of my paper to explain. Researchers (Earl, 2003; Marzano, 2008; Stiggins, 1999, 2008; Wiliam & Leahy, 2009; Wiliam, 2006) are adamant about the use of assessment for learning to improve student achievement. When evidence about student achievement is obtained and used by teachers and students to make decisions regarding the next steps in the learning process student achievement is inevitable. A critical difference with AFL practices is that the student, not an adult, is one of the key users of assessment data and therefore a key decision maker in their education. It was previously thought that parents, teachers, school leaders, and policy makers made the most important decisions regarding assessment data; however, years of research have shown otherwise (Stiggins, 2008). Three important aspects of AFL are to have the students work in collaboration with their teachers, to self-assess, and to know what they are presently learning and what will come next. The benefits of AFL are multi-faceted because the format allows for student success and it increases student achievement and improves student confidence, motivation and learning; something letter grades cannot do for all students.


How do you establish a grade if you have no grades?

I combine the results of assessment rubrics from student work, which indicate four levels of achievement: not yet meeting, minimally meeting/approaching, fully meeting and exceeding; with student self-assessments and reflections, quizzes, and tests, oral contributions, and teacher observations to see where the students are in their learning.

What fears did you have about abolishing grading?

I approached my research project with a sense of hope not fear. I had resented using letter grades for so long that I was excited to actually not use them. I was also curious to see what the reactions of the parents would be. Since starting on my 'no letter-grade' journey I have made connections with other teachers who have eliminated letter grades as well and I've been pleasantly surprised to have similar results – no negative reactions from parents; in fact many were very supportive.

What challenges do/did you encounter with abolishing grading?

I don't really consider it a big challenge, but the high achieving students (especially straight A students) and most often their parents, though not always, liked to have letter grades. This wasn't a big issue for me because of the option to request letter grades if they were wanted. I included the letter grades on a separate, very plain, document and had only written comments on the official report card. I was given the suggestion by another teacher who has eliminated letter grades as well. It is a subtle way to show that letter grades really don't tell you much about student achievement (what did they do well if they received an 'A', do they have areas to work on?, etc.)

Are you willing to provide contact information (e-mail, Twitter, blog, Skype, etc) for others who are interested in abolishing grading?

Yes, I can be reached via email: cbarton@summer.com

Grading Moratorium: Tia Henriksen

Tia Henriksen has joined the Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.

Tia Henriksen

Elementary Vice-Principal

henriksen_t@sd36.bc.ca 

@henriksent

henriksenlearning.wordpress.com

At what stage of the abolish grading game are you? 

I am at the beginning stages of abolishing grading. As a Vice-Principal in an inner-city elementary school Surrey, British Columbia, I spend 70% of my admin assignment teaching. 30% of this teaching assignment includes being an Intermediate Prep teacher. Each class comes to me for 100 minutes each week. During this time, their classroom teacher is given "prep" time to prepare lessons, mark, etc... I teach French to 2 Grade 5 classes and Health and Career Education to a Grade 5/6 class and a Grade 6 class. I have not given any grades this term, but I have given students ongoing feedback on the work they have been completing.


Why do you want to or why did you abolish grading?

I care too much about my students not to abolish grades! Being a primary teacher for much of my career I haven't had to give letter grades a lot. However, whenever I have taught intermediate grades, giving letter grades has always been a real issue for me. I feel that grades put undo stress on students and do nothing to help their learning. In fact, it has been my experience that grades actually impede learning (and attitude toward learning). There has been too much focus placed on these letter grades and not enough placed on the process of actually learning, retaining and really understanding what is being learned, instead of memorizing and forgetting. This has been what Alfie Kohn has found as well. Recently, I read an important article of Kohn's, The Case Against Grades. This article substantiates all that I have thought about grading and giving letter grades.

Working in an inner city school, the students in the classes I teach have had many negative experiences with school. A number of my students are low-incidence students who have Chronic Health designations, many have diagnosed Learning Disabilities, and even more have not been designated with any label, but many of their previous teachers wonder if they may also have undiagnosed learning disabilities. A small number of my students are "typical" students. ALL of my students are passionate, fun, love learning, and have great senses of humour. Knowing the history of many of my students, their past and present struggles with the education system and self-esteem, I knew that I could not give them grades. I didn't want grades to squash them and to ruin any relationship I have worked so hard to develop this year.

What do you do in replace of grading?

Instead of grading, I have given a lot of feedback to my students. We talk a lot. I have written them detailed, specific feedback on their work. The students have also completed some peer and self-evaluations as well.

How do you establish a grade if you have no grades?

Well, since I am in the beginning of my process of abolishing letter grades, this is still a work in progress. With report cards going home in less than a month, this is something that I am thinking a great deal about right now. First of all, to establish a letter grade, we are very clear on the Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLO's) which we have been studying this term. We are going to be looking at the Ministry Definition of letter grades next week and discussing what each letter grade means. I am then going to give the students the opportunity to tell me what letter grade they would give themselves. They will write down their letter grade and reasons why they chose that grade. We will then have individual conferences where the students and I will sit together 1-1 and discuss their letter grade for the term. While I would rather not even give any letter grade at all, we are mandated to do so, at this time. I am hopeful this will change in the future though.


What fears did you have about abolishing grading?

I have many fears. Are parents going to understand? Will my students all give themselves A's? Will it really matter if they do? What will the other teachers think? What impact will it have on student-learning? Will this backfire on me?

What challenges do/did you encounter with abolishing grading?

My challenges are ongoing and just beginning. I'm sure I will be able to write about more of my challenges as I continue with the process of abolishing grading.


Are you willing to provide contact information (e-mail, Twitter, blog, Skype, etc) for others who are interested in abolishing grading?

Yes, my email is henriksen_t@sd36.bc.ca . You can find me on Twitter at @henriksent . My blog is henriksenlearning.wordpress.com.

Other posts I have written on this topic, can be found here and here.

If you would like to join the Grading Moratorium, you can find information here.

If you would like to read more Grading Moratorium stories, you can find them here.

Grading Moratorium: Pernille Ripp

Pernille Ripp has joined the Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.

Pernille Ripp
Middleton, Wisconsin, United States
Elementary
psripp@gmail.com
@pernilleripp
www.mrspripp.blogspot.com






At what stage of the abolish grading game are you?

I am in my second year of this now, but it doesn’t seem to get easier as far as making sure that I am doing it all correctly. I love not having the focus on grades, and yet still have to produce report cards. It is always a process in progress.


Why do you want to or why did you abolish grading?

For two years I fudged grades, handed out worksheets to make sure I had enough grades to average as well as see kids flourish or wither away depending on their report card. This is not what learning or
school should be. I want to create an environment where students know what they need to learn to move forward. They need to able to explain to their parents exactly what they are working on and what they have mastered, grades do not provide this. I also want parents to get a full picture of what their child knows and where they are headed.


When I remove the letter grade, the focus becomes on the skills and learning rather than that letter.
It has been remarkable to see the change in my students as they are freed from letter grades.


What do you do in replace of grading?

I provide a lot of feedback, and I do have to give trimester report cards. the kids decide their grades with me and we discuss how they want to move forward. Some assignments get rubrics filled in and other are handed back and discussed. Much of our work is a work in progress.


How do you establish a grade if you have no grades?

Through conversation with the students. they are much harder on themselves and clued in in different way than I am to their own skills and needs. It is such a rich discussion and I walk away knowing my students even better. I also trust myself as a teacher; how often do we feel that we have a more accurate reflection of a child’s abilities than what a test tells us. By removing letter grades I get to finally trust myself.


What fears did you have about abolishing grading?

Backlash from parents, teachers,and the students. However, it hasn’t been bad. Many agree and many feel that they have a good idea of what their child knows. The students find it peculiar but then move on. Administration has been supportive as long as I do a trimester report card. My district is exploring standards based grading as well so there seems to be a good discussion about grades starting to happen.


What challenges do/did you encounter with abolishing grading?

Just that I have to discuss and defend it. It is important to have your reasoning straight and also to have a network. I blog a lot about it because I want other teachers to feel comfortable reaching out. I am very transparent with my own struggles and I don’t ever want someone to feel alone in this. It is a big decision but for and for the kids, it was the only right one.


Are you willing to provide contact information (e-mail, Twitter, blog, Skype, etc) for others who are interested in abolishing grading?

Oh heavens yes; please! You are not alone in this so reach out. I am on Twitter @pernilleripp, I blog www.mrsprip.blogspot.com and you can always email me as well psripp@gmail.com

Grading Moratorium: Mark Barnes

Mark Barnes has joined the Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.

Mark Barnes

mark@thepaperlessclassroom.com

@markbarnes19

www.resultsonlylearning.com

www.learnitin5.com

Two years ago, I went through a remarkable transformation as a teacher. I’d been in the classroom for 15 years, running the traditional teacher playbook in nearly every way, including putting points, percentages and letter grades on all activities and projects. Then, I read Daniel Pink’s Drive, several books by Alfie Kohn, articles by Stephen Krashen and blogs by numerous educators who were moving to more progressive teaching methods.

Tired of being nothing more than a classroom manager and grader of homework, bell

work and worksheets, I decided that I was going to change everything --  including

grades. I built what I call a Results Only Learning Environment, based on a similar business model, created by two former Best Buy executives. The ROLE is student-centered and eliminates all traditional practices, including grades.

I wanted to do away with grades, because my research told me that real learning involved intrinsic motivation. Grades are extrinsic motivators – the central part of the carrot-and-stick system that traditional educators use to control students, and control destroys learning. It was time for me to get away from this abusive way of teaching.

Number and letter grades have been replaced by ongoing narrative feedback. This formative assessment helps bring meaning to evaluation. As students work on projects, I give them detailed verbal and written feedback that often directs them back to a prior lesson or presentation, so they can apply it to their work, demonstrating mastery learning. This cycle of production, feedback and change eliminates the one-stop-shop method of

teaching that exists in the traditional world.

Since my district mandates report card grades, I meet with all students at the end of the marking period, and we conference about their production and how they’ve handled my feedback. Then, I ask them to grade themselves, based on their self-evaluations. Remarkably, the students pick grades that I would have assigned about 75 percent of the time; most of the remaining 25 percent are harder on themselves than I would have been. Some even give themselves “Fs”.

I was never afraid of making this change. I was a little anxious heading into our first self-evaluations and report card conferences. Perhaps students would not be honest with themselves, I thought. Of course, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized how remarkably honest they are. Not that I wanted them to receive low grades; I was just happy that they understood how to be self-critical, which is important in a results-only classroom.

This transformation has been one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, as I love teaching again and feel that I’m impacting lives like never before.

* Note: Mark's assessment practices are further explained in an upcoming book titled ROLE Reversal: How Results-only Learning is Changing Education as We Know It that will be released in 2012.

Grading Moratorium: Kelly Aleman

Kelly Aleman has joined the Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.

Kelly Aleman

Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Middle School Councillor

Social Studies

@flamesstamp

At what stage of the abolish grading game are you?

I have been giving only report card grades for the last 7 years.

Why do you want to or why did you abolish grading?

After becoming a counselor, I found so many students of all abilities that were being degraded by grading.  Low achievers were defining themselves as not able to learn, and high achievers were being destroyed by the odd low grade and were so competitive that they were no
t caring about their fellow classmates.

What do you do in replace of grading?

This would be my recipe:

1. Engaging lessons
2. Lots of verbal feedback
3. Specific written feedback
4. Letters to parents informing them of my reasons for no grades

How do you establish a grade if you have no grades?

Mostly I decide in consultation with the student.

What fears did you have about abolishing grading?

Mostly that parents would not understand and that administration would field calls and tell me to stop.

What challenges do/did you encounter with abolishing grading?

Mostly from the students.  It is such a paradigm shift that some felt that the rug was going to be pulled out from them. After a short while, however, when grades were removed, almost all students soon forget about the carrots and sticks and focused on their learning instead.

The other challenge that I welcome is creating engaging material for students do so that they are immersed in the learning and I do not have to threaten them with a low grade for completing the work to the best of their abilities. They are having too much fun in the activity to worry about being bribed or punished.

Are you willing to provide contact information (e-mail, Twitter, blog, Skype, etc) for others who are interested in abolishing grading?

Yes

kaleman@rdpsd.ab.ca

flamesstamp - twitter

Grading Moratorium: Justin Nanu

Justin Nanu has joined the Grading Moratorium. Want to join? Here's how.



Justin Nanu
Grade 3 & 4
Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada

jvnanu@gmail.com
@jvnanu
http://mrnanu.edublogs.org is my classroom blog.


I’ll preface these answers by giving a bit of background about myself. I’m 23, and in my 2nd year as a full time teacher. I’ve been in school since I was 4, and will continue to be in school until January 26th, 2041, as my pension fund recently informed me. Beyond the 2 (or 4 in university) month summers, I have not experienced any break from school since I started kindergarten. I guess that among my colleagues, I’m one whose experience in education is more closely related to that of my students. I teach a grade 3/4 combined grade, and I myself was in grade 4 only 15 years ago. I would have hoped, entering the profession in 2010, that things had changed since I was a kid. In many cases they have not. For this reason I started doing some research and finding books, articles, blogs and edchats in an effort to learn about what others were doing. I feel that as a new teacher my new teacher colleagues and myself are in large part responsible for affecting the kind of progressive change that we see outside of education. So now for the questions that you provided:

At what stage of the abolish grading game are you?

I guess I’m emerging. I’m only 2 months in as of the time I’m writing this, and so far I’ve given one math test. It somehow felt wrong though. There are a few students who didn’t get their “level 3” on the test and I’m giving them opportunities to conference with me and tell me what they know. I’m also using what I know of the kids from their conversations in class, problem solving work, inquiry work etc. to develop the report card grade. It’s not just the test.

Why do you want to or why did you abolish grading?

Kids focus too much on the grade. There is so much pressure from home on getting the grade. Kids will do whatever it takes to get the grade, and parents aren’t helping when they offer grade-based incentives at home. The focus should be on learning, and learning doesn’t stop with a grade. The idea of a grade just seems so wrong. So what… I got a C in geometry… does this mean that I’m done? We’ve moved onto something else and I’m stuck with a C in geometry? It perpetuates the idea that students only need to remember the material until the test rather than understand the material and be able to apply it for the rest of their lives.

What do you do in replace of grading?

Right now I’m using anecdotal notes of student conversations, conferencing (1 on 1 conversation) and descriptive feedback. I also want to use some Flip cameras to create a reflection center where students can tell me what they’ve learned, rather than me tell them what they’ve learned.

How do you establish a grade if you have no grades?

For me, grades are curriculum based. We don’t give students a letter or a percentage but rather we give them a level. Level 3 means that they demonstrate competence in the curriculum expectations; a 4 means that they’ve gone above and beyond; a level 2 means that they’re approaching the provincial standard. I’m bound by this curriculum… legally, so when it comes to report cards I’m going to have
the expectations on one side of the computer and all of my anecdotal records, descriptive feedback etc. on the other side to decide on a grade.

What fears did you have about abolishing grading?

Mainly I fear the pushback from parents who have been expecting grades over the years. I’m also a little weary of the inconsistencies across classrooms. How much does it benefit a student who goes through JK, SK, 1, 2 and 3 being graded, comes into my grade 4 class and receives this differentiated type of feedback, and must then go back into a grade 5, 6, 7, and 8 class using grades?

What challenges do/did you encounter with abolishing grading?

I anticipate some concern from administration who likes consistency within a grade. If we have 3 grade 4 classes then traditionally the teachers have been sharing assessment tools for all units and using common assessment. One class being different would raise questions within the community.

Are you willing to provide contact information for others who are interested in abolishing grading?

jvnanu@gmail.com
@jvnanu
http://mrnanu.edublogs.org is my classroom blog.
Personal blog coming soon.

Grading Moratorium: Steve Moore

Steve Moore has joined the Grading Moratorium.Want to join? Here's how.

Steve Moore
High School
Reading and Writing
Kansas City, USA
www.moreonthepage.com
@stevejmoore








by Steve Moore

I’ve been trying to write this post for a long time. I started this draft nearly a year ago. Perhaps the most intriguing–and divisive–topic in education is grading. Why we do it, how we go about it, and when we report it are all issues of contention among educators, parents, and students. Figuring outassessment and its role in your school is a vital struggle for being able to do effective work in the system where you teach.

If you’ve ever set foot into a college Education classroom, you’ve probably heard of Alife Kohn. Maybe you’ve even read excerpts from Punished by Rewards or No Grades + No Homework = Better Learning. To a traditionalist, these concepts are heresy. The more “rigor” the better. Students should be under the weight of more content, deeper assignments, and even steeper bell curves if they are going to be able to compete in our economy.

Sounds familiar right? It’s been the standard message of “work-harder-endure-the-torture” education 
reformers status quo proponents for over a century. Kohn stands in opposition to those ideals, but he’s only a theorist and easy to write off. I love theory, but in my own journey through exploring learning, I sought out a more real-world teacher example.

That’s when I came across Joe Bower, a teacher from Canada on a mission to abolish grading, rating, and ranking in his classroom, have the tough conversations with parents, students, and administrators, and really explore what Kohn only writes about.

As a new teacher, rocking the boat is usually the last thing you want to do. Whether it’s standing up to blatant censorship or defending your own fledgling beliefs, it’s hard to not think of your mounting student loans, rent, and bills. You’d like to keep your job, ethics be damned.

That’s why, until now, I’ve stayed away from writing about this idea. I didn’t necessarily think I’d be let go, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to have the ensuing conversations with those above me. Joe has a list of people on his website who are participating in a Moratorium on Grading; they’ve each written about their decision and position in the process. I sent Joe a message on Twitter and explained that I was taking my time to write a thoughtful and intentional response before going public.

What spurred me to finally sit down and write about this last Summer was the AMC show Mad Men. I’m not the first person to write about education and this show. Education advocate and writer Sam Chaltain has written two pieces about democracy, capitalism, and education in the show, one for Huffington Post and the other on his blog. His pieces explore the important role that choice and desire play in our lives.

My ah-ha moment came about when Don, the bold protagonist and ad man, goes against his entire agency–and profession–to stand up to Big Tobacco. His firm Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce had Lucky Strike as a client for three decades and they represented half of their business cash flow. When they left unexpectedly, the company was thrown into turmoil. After work that day, Don sits at his typewriter writing into the wee hours of the morning. His character is an objective capitalist, but also deeply philosophical and pondering. The product of his scheming is this earth-shaking ad he places in the New York Times:

Seeing the effects of this on Draper and his firm was eye-opening; a true foil for my own profession’s struggles as Kohn, Bower, and others see them. His ad forced a sea change, something “rich and strange” as Ariel sings inThe Tempest.

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them — Ding-dong, bell.

I knew I had to write my own letter to the world, to my profession. I felt ready to plunge into the cold black sea, no matter how unforgiving it may seem. Writing his letter led Don’s firm into an ad campaign with the American Cancer Society in direct opposition to Big Tobacco. Maybe mine will help me start some real conversations about learning rather than grading. Maybe people will start to think beyond the false choice of carrots or sticks and start thinking about true assessment, which really means “to sit beside.”

Grading Moratorium: Tracy Mercier

Tracy Mercier has joined the Grading Moratorium.Want to join? Here's how.


Tracy Mercier
Elementary
Connecticut




I am an elementary teacher, currently teaching 3rd grade, but have also taught 4th & 5th.  My journey into abolishing grades began once I began abolishing homework.  I really questioned why I was assigning homework, what is was accomplishing, teaching the kids, & how much time I was spending assessing homework. My reflections led me to discover that homework was not making them intrinsically motivated, teaching me something new, reinforcing learning, etc.  What I began to see was 95% of kids extending their learning beyond the classroom, in some fashion, on a daily basis.  These realizations made me question grading.  

I wondered if grades, like homework, were making my students want to do quality work, pushing them to do more, telling them/me what they truly learned.  At first I began to use rubrics for everything (instead of occasionally).  I even created the rubrics with the children.  Yet, I became frustrated with those as well.  I noticed that they were no different than grades, & in some ways worse, because it provides children with the option of doing &/or learning very little.  Now, some may argue that it's the quality of the rubric, but I disagree.  They end up being used as a grade.  (How can they not?)  

So, this past year, I stopped grading.  I began to use solely feedback.  Specific feedback based upon concepts/content/skills I had taught them in mini - lessons & expectations I had taught/we had agreed upon as a class.  One thing I did demand, is that if they were going to state something, they needed to prove it/back it up.  

What were the results?  Mixed.  But...only because of what I did/didn't do.  This year I will continue to use feedback, establish routines & expectations that will help guide the children in how they behave as a learner.  I will also continue to make sure the children receive plenty of feedback from their peers.  While my feedback is valuable, I did notice that their peers was more important to them.  Even if it was just seeing how a classmate had done something, interpreted something it drove them to revise their work.  I still struggle with justifying that to a grade on the report card, but the more I'll do it, the easier it will be.

Grading Moratorium: Mark Kuniya

Mark Kuniya has joined the Grading Moratorium.Want to join? Here's how.

Mark Kuniya
9th grade English 

Carson Valley Middle School in Gardnerville, NV.

At what stage of the abolish grading game are you?

I decided just last summer to abolish grading in my classroom. Fortunately, my administrators have been supportive and several co-workers are interested in what I’m doing this year. I have just started what will be a very long road.

Why do you want to or why did you abolish grading?

I am tired of student apathy. A love for learning and independent thinking has disappeared at my school. And it’s not just the students—many of my co-workers talk about teaching as if it’s something to be abhorred rather than loved. Furthermore, the students are not at the center of the classroom.

What do you do in replace of grading?

I am required to give a grade every six weeks for progress reports. This year my English students are compiling personal portfolios and are evaluating their own progress.

How do you establish a grade if you have no grades?

Taking from Joe and Alfie Kohn’s examples, I’ve brought the kids in on deciding their grades. Students keep their work in their portfolios, evaluate what and how they have learned, and then conference with me by communicating about their progress. We’re still in the early stages. As of now, all forms of assessment have been in the form of written comments and verbal feedback. Before school started this year, I purged my filing cabinets of every multiple-choice quiz and test. I have also given up teaching grammar with useless worksheets. Lastly, my students almost never have homework.


What fears did you have about abolishing grading?

I fear that my students will not develop an intrinsic love for learning. I fear that I am being viewed as the “easy teacher”. I fear that motivation will decline even further and that my students’ performance will reflect that.


What challenges do/did you encounter with abolishing grading?

Motivation. Many times recently I have been compelled to threaten my students with grades because they have yet to see the true value in what we do in class. This year I am teaching my first honors English class. Unfortunately, many of the honors students are accustomed to working for high GPA’s, straight A’s, and, even worse, working just to please the teacher. Most days I feel like they are not being challenged.

Are you willing to provide contact information (e-mail, Twitter, blog, Skype, etc) for others who are interested in abolishing grading?

Absolutely. My email address is countryvalley@mac.com. I’m working on starting a blog and can also be found on Facebook.

Grading Moratorium: Chris Fritz

Chris Fritz has joined the Grading Moratorium.Want to join? Here's how.

Name: Chris Fritz

East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Employers: Lansing Community College; the Information Technology Empowerment Center of Lansing

Content Areas: Technology and German

At what stage of the abolish grading game are you?

I no longer grade. At all. But I also no longer work in the public school system. I teach college courses, after-school courses to middle and high schoolers, and week-long camps. None of this is for-credit, but that doesn't mean we slack off. Being non-credit is great for a few reasons:

1. We get a certain freedom of curriculum, so we don't have to cover exactly what's on the syllabus, and students don't all have to do the same work, or even learn the same skills and material.
2. Students come into the classroom really wanting to learn. They're not playing the accreditation game. No fulfilling requirements. No filling out their semester. They're there to learn a truly useful skill or to explore something they're deeply interested in.

When I was working in the public school system, at the high school level, I actually thought grading was a necessary evil. It really never even occurred to me that I could not grade in that system. I had never heard of teachers like Joe, who make it work in the public school system, so I got out as quickly as I could. Now of course, I know abolishing grades in public schools is very possible, but I'm still happy where I am.

Why do you want to or why did you abolish grading?

For a long time, I didn't know exactly what it was about grading that bugged me. It just seemed to cheapen the experience of learning. Even as a student, grading just seemed wrong. The problem is I love learning, I'm really good at it, and I'm a relentlessly critical thinker. That's unfortunately not a great combination in a traditional school setting, whether you're a student or teacher.

The grading system is ultimately about simplifying your knowledge and skills down to a simple number and comparing you to the student next to you, and for that, it requires, or assumes really, that the instructor knows how you learn best, when you learn best, and even what you already know and still have to learn. I knew that was bullshit as a student, but when I tried to be more involved in my learning, few instructors were open to my suggestions for alternative assignments - they needed standardized assignments to make the grading system work. So I knew even then that grades were getting in the way of learning, and was beginning to realize that the system doesn't eventolerate a passion for learning.

Later, as a teacher, when I finally did start hearing about alternatives to grading and about teachers that didn't grade at all, I was extremely ready to ditch grades!

What do you do in place of grading?

I have students practice real skills and if they're having problems, they try to figure out what's going wrong, do some more research, brainstorm with another student, or as a last resort, even consult me. In my German courses, students know they've learned when they can communicate in a new way, or in a new context. In my tech courses - well, if you're learning to install a new operating system, you know you can do that when you've just done it! It's pretty simple.

So you may be thinking now, "Well, that sounds great, but how do others know what a student has learned? What can they show educational institutions and employers?" Great question! My answer is three words: published student work. If proving what they can do is a concern, simply build up portfolios of their work and publish it online. You can also publish videos of presentations or of a great explanation/demonstration of how to do something or how something works. After all, there's no better way to learn something than to teach it, and you can use those videos in future lessons. So students show what they can do and get references from people they use their skills to help, just like anywhere else apart from education.

What fears did you have about abolishing grading?

Oh, I had lie-awake-at-night fears that students wouldn't do anything without grades and they'd think I was a horrible teacher. It helps a lot though, that students come in without the expectation that they should be graded, as the courses I teach are all non-credit. That really makes it a cakewalk.

What challenges did you encounter with abolishing grading?

Well, I first tried doing less grading in an accredited college course. I phased out everything except the exams I had to give out. That did not work well. I learned that if you grade even occasionally, students are still distracted from learning. I heard a lot of, "Is this going to be on the exam?" that semester. Maybe it would have worked better in public school at a grade where students have the same teacher all day, but a few hours per week of only-kind-of grading was not at all sufficient to get students re-focused on learning. Many still just wanted to do as little work as possible for a grade they deemed acceptable. Some didn't even show up except when we had an exam and then they'd inevitably fail. It was pretty rough.

Are you willing to speak with others who are interested in abolishing grading?

Definitely!

Email: chrisvfritz@gmail.com
Twitter: @radicalgeek
Blog: Power to the Learner!