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When you boil it down, the point of grades are to evaluate the level of knowledge you have about a course? I have only known one way of a grading system (until this course) so it never occurred to me there could be more valid ways of measuring a person's understanding of a subject. After diving deeper into this thought, I do realize that the typical grading system is actually a terrible way of measuring proficiency.

I myself have been guilty of "just getting the letter." Doing what needs to be done to get good scores, cramming before an exam just to get a good score, but this way of studying has proven to be just temporary knowledge, leaving extremely quickly. Participating in this course and they way it was structured, I actually feel educated. I have found myself bringing up topics to my friends wanting to tell them about the things I've read and new things I've learned about topics I thought I already knew everything about. I want to share with them the things I've discovered and hear their thoughts on the subjects as well. Providing material that is thought provoking and applies to real life I think is the best way to get students to want to engage on their own.

I know some classmates I've had hate attendance policies, however, I feel like class discussions are vital to cultivating shared knowledge. I think that a grading system based off participation, attendance, quality of discussion and questioning is a more reliable judgement how much a person is learning. Rather than assigning homework that students can turn to the internet to find answers, remix and make their own. There isn't and provocative learning in that. Anyone can read the syllabus and produce the minimum requirements to satisfy the professor in order to get that grade. But this doesn't create a desire to learn, or develop ones library of knowledge.

A grading system like this that assures the students from the beginning that quality interaction will assure them a passing grade, would facilitate more freedom of choice. I think that when people feel like they have the power to decide themselves what kind of commitment they want to dedicate to a topic or subject etc., it allows room for the genuine curiosity to set it. Decreasing the pressure and anxiety of obtaining that "grade" gives you head space to actually fill your head with the information. I have seen first hand what chasing that A can turn a student into...

In high school, one of my close friends fell into the category of an "A chaser." From the time we were in middle school until the day we walked across the graduation stage, he was obsessed with his grades. In high school it only got worse when things like the SAT and college came into view. He constantly pestered teachers about bonus assignments, perfect scores, always doing the most. Multiple SAT prep classes, once he even went head to head with a teacher because he was upset he could not earn over an A+ in a class even thought his "points" reflected it. Another time, he became very angry with a teacher because she would not give him a 100% in the class, the best she offered to any student was a 99% because said that no one is perfect. At the time I didn't understand this, but looking back I think she was offering a valuable lesson to us.
Well, all his work paid off, he got into his number one dream school, moved states away, graduated second in our class, and was voted most likely to succeed and even won our class heart. A semester into college he transferred out of his dream school, came back home, attempted to continue at another nearby college, and ultimately dropped out, not even finishing his freshmen year. I wont go into the rest of his story because honestly, it never got better. I whole heartedly believe that he burnt himself out before he even started. He chased that perfect A all his life but I don't think he ever had the time to consider what he actually liked learning, what he was curious about, he never had the chance to learn that school was actually for cultivating knowledge and not chasing perfection.

Can I completely blame a grading scale for the way my friend's downward spiral occurred? No. But I do think his story and probably countless others would have been written different if more qualitative measurements were used to assess the learning level of students, especially kids growing up.

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I think the grading policy as a whole in the educational system has become too mainstream. What I mean is that it is more important to get good grades than it is to actually knowing and understanding the information. I, myself, remember only studying the information that was needed to pass the class. I had no desire to go any further because I knew that it would not help me get into college. My idea would be to drift away from a one-size-fits-all style of grading and make it more individualized. For example, in my social studies classes a student may be proficient or distinguished in researching information but when it comes time to synthesize said information he or she falls flat. I think there should be a way to measure and grade all aspects of learning and not just information retention.

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I think grades, especially in today's ever-growing virtual world, are becoming less and less usable as objective data to measure student thinking. Teaching a lot of online classes, I can see students who may just simply be Googling the answers but I have no way of proving that because I am not physically there watching their progress. It is no leap that virtual learning could be the future for many students and districts. With that being said, I believe it is imperative to find different ways to test and grade their performance based on their skill set rather than a straight across the board letter/number system.

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Two years ago, for my gap year between undergrad and graduate school, I did this really experimental fellowship. We had different projects we had to complete and they would give us very vague and loose instructions on how to do it. I struggleddddd because as someone who was coming out of a system that gave me detailed rubrics that determined my grade, it took me a long time to understand that I was not doing work for a grade now. I realized that with the project that I was given that I could do anything that I wanted. I was so used to writing papers and doing slide presentations that I forgot that I love to make videos. I like telling stories and learning through visuals. During that fellowship, I was able to play around with how I completed my assignments in ways that I often could not in school spaces. I also more often than not, put more time into my assignment and learning because it was done in a way that deeply engaged me and in a way that I could decide.

I enjoy the freedom of this class. I also like that I am not doing things for a letter grade but that Dr. Dias challenges us to think deeper and more critically about questions or comments we pose. To me, that is the best type of learning. Being asked to dig and think deeper. I feel as if I have more autonomy over what I am doing when the grading policy exist as it does in this space. I feel as if I am doing my work for me, not for the person who determines my grade.

-Nae

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Grading can be a touchy subject for many and I think it's understandable, as I myself can see both sides. I think I have a more unique position as an educator because my work is very data driven, but I do not assign grades. I also never give homework, although I do give my students 1-2 pieces of work per week that should take no more than 5 minutes per day to reinforce the work we do in class. I am in interventionist, so adding to a student's typical workload would be unfair when they are receiving support services to fill gaps, not create larger ones.
Personally, I am both very driven by grades as a means of motivation and am equally as stressed out by them. When I went back to school for teaching as an adult learner at age 25, I quite literally made myself sick trying to maintain the highest GPA that I could. My professors would often pull me aside to tell me that my excessive stress and the amount of work I put toward my discussion posts and reflections was just not necessary, and they could tell it was affecting me negatively. I did earn an award for having the highest GPA in my graduating class but to be honest, I feel foolish for putting that much effort toward my grades when it negatively impacted my health, personal life, and ultimately did not matter as much when I would have still been just as successful in the long run. It wasn't until I (unfairly?) received an A- in my graduate program here at Pitt that I finally relaxed with my mindset about grades. I figured since I already 'screwed up' my GPA, I would spend more time appreciating the content, taking one class at a time to really immerse myself in each course, and have a little grace with myself and, in turn, be more understanding with my students and colleagues when there were outside forces preventing them from meeting deadlines or giving me their full focus. Do I sometimes become a little more lax than I should with my assignments and due dates? Sure. But I think that comes with finding a balance that supports a healthier lifestyle all around. I used to only give my students a sticker when they turned in completed work, now I give them one every Friday, because making it through the week is a much bigger accomplishment in my eyes. I learn from my own experiences to give my students more grace too.
-Stephanie Adams

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As I continue to develop my own practice, grading is always an area I come back to. Oftentimes grades can impede a students desire to actually learn the content, because they would rather focus on just achieving a certain numerical grade in order to pass the class. However, I struggle with the need for an incentive to actually participate and hold students accountable for the work. I have read and listened to several articles and videos by Rick Wormeli, where he focuses on making the case against giving a zero. Again, I struggle with this concept, but do think it has significant merit. In essence, a student should not receive A0 because it can make it mathematically impossible for the student to recover from. Additionally, the grade band numerical ranges for all of the other letter grades are only 10 points, but the F range is 60 points. That does not seem to be a fair distribution. However, the challenge for me comes when a student does not turn in anything. There's a difference between making an attempt and not mastering the content, thus rendering a 50 more appropriate versus not turning anything in it at all. I think when it is framed in the numerical ranges for the great bands it makes it a little bit easier to comprehend and follow though.

The case against zero, however, does not address the disincentive-ness of mastery of content. This is where standards-based grading sometimes makes a strong argument. I also think this is where elementary grades sometimes have grading correct. Many of the elementary teachers I have talked to and worked with have a competency-based grading system. They “grade” students using a scale based on different competencies of what the student shipmaster by the end of the year. The scale is built to be something like not initiated, approaching, developing, mastered, and advanced. Imagine if we did this for secondary and postsecondary education.

One thing that is nice about this class is the approach to allowing us as students to engage with the content and share our reflections as a look into our metacognitive thinking about the course material. I think one thing that could help make it more equitable, in light of our most recent discussion board, would be to rely less on the written word, which can sometimes be grounded in white supremacy culture, and have different opportunities for us to engage with each other outside of basic written discussion boards. One approach I've seen is some of my colleagues engaged in synchronous and asynchronous work related to different topics, much like we are. They have to gather for about in our session to discuss the material and engage him what would be typically posted in a discussion board, and then complete some asynchronous written reflections like we do in this course.
-Shannon Noguerola

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During my time in elementary - high school, I was obsessed with my grades. Not in the sense that I was always aiming for an A, just that the grades were on my mind because I knew what I wanted for my future and I knew the grades I needed to get for it.
When I was attending WGU for my BA, they graded based on competency instead of number or letter grades. At first, it was off putting. I wanted to know my scores! I needed to know how good I did based on a number. However, as time went on, I aimed for 'competent' and 'exemplary' instead of a number score. I aimed to really engage with and understand the materials instead of memorizing information for a high score on a test. I think competency based grading really allowed me to forget about the grades and focus on my actual learning and understanding.
If this course were to ever give grades, I think competency based would be an idea to consider.
-Madyson B.

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Thinking about my experience with grades and learning, they have a direct relationship. My grades were up and down throughout my academic career until high school. When I received a bad quality, I did not want to try for a new grade, but it made me think about my knowledge and wealth as a student. By this, I mean if I received a poor grade, my mind would tell me I was capable of higher grades and that I should not try. In college, I felt highly competitive and would become very stressed about keeping specific titles given to me, making me unable to focus on learning. This was so interesting to reflect on with the readings and video this week as they described the exact correlation and even the need for no grades. When thinking about grading in the future, I think about engagement, abilities, and communication between the students and teachers. If the student is actively engaging and reattempting, the teacher can encourage them to keep trying, possibly giving pointers or redirecting rather than grades. Once the student shows that they are no longer engaging and mastering the material, they can be exposed to new ones. This would also make the right level of understanding more noticeable and last longer as the student and teacher are not getting discouraged by the grade.- Tess Dupree

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As someone who was diagnosed with testing anxiety, I am always worried when my sole grade is based off of an exam or my exam grades.
I think that when it comes to grading, it shouldn’t be based on test scores and rather on being able to demonstrate your knowledge through discussions and assignments. I think that COVID has really changed the mindset of a lot of professors and it made us rethink how we assess our knowledge.
One thing that I feel is important is open communication between teachers and students. While students are learning, teachers are learning too and being honest and open to change can help students become more comfortable with acknowledging struggles and addressing changes that may need to happen.

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Reflecting on my experiences with school and education inside of the walls of school, grades have, in most scenarios, been accompanied with unnecessary stress. I’m puzzled though, in understanding how to “assess” if students are learning, especially in early education years. In later developmental years, as people move “further away” from “foundations” of varying topics/ disciplines, I think one framework for gauging people’s experience with the work is to present material in a way that invites people to decide if engaging with it “makes sense” for their own learning journey. It seems as though if people want to/ have the capacity for it/ are open, then there will be learning and an experience it itself. In that sense, “grades” don’t exist, rather “check-ins” of sorts, to pause along the way and reflect on the journey so far/ where it’s headed

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Growing up, I always saw grades as stress-inducing, and honestly I still do. Personally, I am so focused on my grades that it makes or breaks my day if I receive a grade and got anything less than an A. I think this type of thinking was really rooted in me during my undergrad. I was constantly being told that if I didn’t succeed in college, then I was a failure. However, I think it is important to realize that you learn from your mistakes.

In my current classroom, and as a new teacher, I am constantly making mistakes. I think that acknowledging these mistakes in front of my class and letting them know it is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn and grow from them. My students have even adopted the term “Silly Miss. Wells” that they use every time I acknowledge that I messed up. I have even noticed that my students use this term but insert their own name if they make a mistake as well.

If I hear a student saying that, I always ask them what mistake they made, and then how they think we can fix it or do better next time. I like to encourage my students to learn from what they are doing, even if it was the smallest of mistakes (ex. not having a stable base for their block tower made it fall).

I think the process of allowing students to give whatever they are turning in or learning a try first and then providing feedback allows the students to further engage in the content they are learning. It is important to me that I allow my students to try again before assessing them, and then I decide if that particular student would benefit from further instruction on the subject.

Giving students a second chance at an assignment or project allows them to learn from their mistakes and I think it is a great way to reduce stress that students develop overtime about grades or performance.

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I honestly agree that grades are useless and quite frankly stress-inducing. I have felt so empowered by this class's grading policy because I feel far less pressure to succeed and way more intrinsic motivation to learn and participate.

I thrive from receiving feedback that is presented in a positive manner as I think all people would. I have no qualms with critique but I need to feel as though it is helping me toward growth not pointing out my inadequacies in a condescending way (as I have experienced in the past).

I wish most "grading" and assessment worked as it does for my pre-k class where I can observe their abilities during activities or work with them individually to see where they are developmentally but rather than it feeling like a test it feels like we are working together. I feel like this can work with all ages from grade school to grad school. Student-teacher meetings where the students are involved in their education would benefit me so I feel it could benefit others. And, adding a one-on-one component feels, for a lack of better words, more special. For example in this class, and I know this has a possibility to not be realistic as this is an asynchronous class, Zoom conversations could be implemented as a check-in for grading. ~Leigh

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As a student in K-12 schooling, I struggled with grading policies. I was overly focused on the letter grade I received on assignments/in courses and whether it would show that I was “good enough.” My parents never put pressure on me to get a certain grade, they just emphasized the importance of hard work. But I put so much pressure on myself and felt my value was determined by how high my grade was. So I really connected with the idea behind the "ungrading" system.

As a teacher, I never want my students to feel the way I did. Over the years, I have struggled with the requirement in institutionalized grading systems that I am required to partake in and what I believe is valuable for my students. I do not grade many “formal” assessments or assignments, instead I observe students’ responses to in-class activities and their ability to apply what they know from lessons within a unit to complete projects, write, problem solve, etc. Their grades are comprised of their participation in activities (individual and whole group), how they engage in course materials and how they use their skills to respond. If students are performing poorly, I incorporate interventions until they demonstrate understanding and, in turn, growth. Students’ performance gives me perspective on what I need to add/remove from my instruction to ensure they have an entry point in their learning and constant opportunities to grow their minds. I only give letter grades because I am required to.

~ Kristen O'Block

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I think the grading policy outlined on Canvas aligns with Alfie Kohn's ideas in the video.  The grading policy is based on engagement with the material, discussion, and offers opportunities for self-assessment.  This will encourage opportunities to discover, explore, and learn.

I was a student that was hyper-focused on grades, and I chose to not take courses that interested me because I knew others would provide a better boost for my GPA and a better chance of college admissions/scholarships.  I do feel like I missed out on a lot of "discovery" at the heart of learning during high school years.  I loved school, but most times I was working hard solely for a grade, not because I was intrinsically motivated.  I think this "ungrading" system is really compelling at the high school and higher ed. level.
- Mary D.

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We can apply these lessons to classroom policies by providing more performance feedback and learning opportunities in our classrooms. For example, being able to re-submit assignments after feedback is given. Providing more immediate performance feedback throughout the processes of larger assignments.

How does education policy on a macro level inform classroom practice and policies?

I believe there is a direct functional relationship between broadened education policy and classroom policy. Classroom policy is based on educational policy and societally approved behaviors/tendencies.

I see this on a micro level at the preschools and childcare centers I consult for.  Children are praised for certain behavior and punished for others. Praise looks like public comments made to the child, additional positive attention from the caregiver, and the child being asked to do “special” or preferred activities. Punishment looks like separation from the group, additional negative attention from the caregiver, and denied access to do “special” or preferred activities.

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New Ways to engage Students and Families 

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New Ways to engage Students and Families 

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As a teacher, parent, and students I found the idea of abolishing grades compelling. I am a teacher of students with visual impairments who is currently working with high students. I share progress notes with parents with a narrative report describing how are lessons and work towards IEP goals are going. I try my best to make my lessons relevant to my students current and future needs. I ask my students to help me write their goals and share their thoughts and concerns with me. I am expected to collect data and be ready to share it if need be with supervisors. I do not find the fact that I do not assign grades in any way a detriment to teaching Braille, assistive technology and other topics.

My son is a senior in high school and applying to schools (looks like Edinboro is the top choice so far). Grades and GPA are a source of anxiety and concern. I think my son avoided taking language classes for fear he would get a poor grade. He may regret that decision later on. I wish he could have taken Spanish for the chance to learn how to talk to potential new friends and coworkers and not worry about the grade.

The quote from the video about taking away grades providing bad teachers no leverage to compel students to do work rings true (although harsh). Allowing students to design a project near the end of a term that highlights a favorite, most engaging or even what they found the hardest part of a class would be a potential way to measure engagement and understanding.

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As a teacher myself, I have always lived with the internal struggles between institutional requirements and what research suggests about assessment.  Before Pitt, I had the opportunity to work at an expeditionary learning school; where I learned about what the balance between both realities could look like. Here's a video from their portal showcasing their principles.
https://vimeo.com/159828967

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K-2 Skills Block: End of Cycle Assessments

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This video shows 1st graders participating in the end of cycle reading and spelling assessment with their teacher in the EL Education K-2 Reading Foundations Skills Block. It specifically shows the spelling portion. The teacher administers the assessment with a small group, evaluates their responses, and confers with each student to set an individual goal. End of cycle assessments are used throughout Kindergarten-2nd grade, typically weekly.

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This course offers a wide variety of involvement which is incredibly helpful and inclusive to all different types of learning abilities. It is also incredibly helpful to know that the course is designed in a way where students are able to present different ideas on assigned topics and have an open discussion-based curriculum which I think is one of the most important things for curriculum and grading in general. It is one thing to memorize terms and dates in a class, but to be able to have a group discussion allows all students to try to dip their toes into thinking outside of the box. - Jamie Walker

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I think we can measure learning assessments based on how students participate in class.

- Are they playing active roles in discussions (and do they have ways to participate if they don't feel comfortable through one method?)?

- Are they (pro-)actively doing their work?

- Is the student showing active interest in course material, or are they at least actively participating where they can?

- Is the student (pro-)actively solving problems/disputes? (Ex. if they receive a poor mark, are they speaking with the teacher on how to remedy the problem?)

- John J.