Inspiring Students Without Grades

When I talk with other teachers about getting rid of grades, there number one fear is about not being able to get the students to actually do or care about the work. I know we have all been entrenched in the system of schooling for most of our lives, but when we reflectively look at this, it does not make sense to me. Grades, in most situations, are just a more abstract version of reward and punishment. The traditional grading system is based more on compliance and accumulation than on actual learning. Shouldn’t that scare us some? If we are assessing behavior (Can you follow directions? Can you do assignments on time? How many of X assignments did you complete?), then isn’t that what we value in our schools? Furthermore, we are training our students to value the same thing.

I don’t value compliance. I never follow directions that don’t make sense. Yes, it has gotten me into hot water more than a few times, but I would much rather make a well-informed decision and accept the consequences, than just accept things the way they are because that is how they have always been.

What does this say about teachers?

Fear of change is normal. I understand that. I also understand that for true progress to occur, we cannot let our fears dictate our actions, especially when our hearts and minds reflect something different than our current practice. To not act out of fear of being unable to motivate students without grades, shows a few things.

1. We have lost our way. No one goes into teaching saying, “I’m so excited to get kids to behave.” There are two primary motivations that drive people into the teaching profession: love of children and love of content. Remember your first love and keep that in the front of your mind as you design your class for this upcoming year.
2. We have no real idea of what our students know. The current grading model, whether you give a certain point value to each assignment or a percentage to each category (i.e. Homework is 20%.), does not show any student’s current level of proficiency on any standard. It shows how many assignments they have done (If we are lucky, some teachers have correlated those assignments to standards somewhere.) and what score they received, but how can we know what they have really learned and what they can do with it?
3. There is little opportunity for authentic learning in our classrooms. It is not impossible, but it is difficult to make authentic learning happen regularly when what we are assessing and telling the students we care about is the final grade, not the learning, not the doing, not the service.
4. We need to retire. This line is going to sound much more harsh than I mean it to. The most important part of my job is inspiring children to want to learn. If I can’t do that anymore, or if I never could, then I really need to step aside because I am then hindering the children in my classes.

What does this say about students?

If students care about the work only because of the grade or some other reward, then they do not really care about the work. This is a system of reward and punish that is really not that much different that dangling a carrot in front of a horse; then, if the horse still does not walk, we have to hit it with a stick. This, to me, is dangerous. For the record, I graded this way for my first two years teaching. They were also my two most miserable years in the profession. We cannot blame students because the system is acting upon them. However, we can look at what kind of effects our grading system does have on them.

1. Most students care more about their grade than the content itself. When I was teaching junior English (16 and 17 year olds), I handed back their first mini-research paper with a lot of feedback and no grade. They were angry. They would ask. “How did I do?” I would respond by telling them what they did well and what needed work. Then, they looked like they were thinking for a moment, and said, “But what did I get? It is hard to break students of that model.
2. The longer that students have been a part of the system, the more work you as the teacher will have to do to change their outlook. Many of my juniors were consumed by GPA concerns because they needed a certain number to get into college or to get a scholarship. That problem still remains, but it we can change their focus to learning, they will probably do even better and they will get scores that reflect their levels of proficiency and what they have learned.

What are our options?

There are two viable options that I can see.

1. Stop grading. This will depend somewhat on your position. Non-core classes can often achieve this more easily. You building administrator, contract, or state may prevent you from going completely gradeless. However, I do recommend that you talk to Alfonso Gonzalez, who has some really great ideas in this area and only gives proficiency grades at the last moment he is required to, and Joe Bower, who is a great advocate of abolishing grades and will be presenting on it at the online Reform Symposium next weekend. We need to focus on giving individual, constructive feedback to all of our students. Numbers and letters are just extra distractions that get in the way.
2. Look into standards-based grading. I was going to utilize standards-based grading before I got permission to not grade. It involves grading based on how well the students understand a standard or achieve an objective. It is not grading based on assignment or compliance. I have written about it recently here, here (under Evaluation), and here. I also recommend you talk to Matt Townsley. While he doesn’t want to be the poster child for standards-based grading, he is one of the most articulate and knowledgeable proponents; his blog is also a wealth of resources.

My resolution

So after all this, what am I actually going to do? I have the luxury of having a supportive administration, so I received permission to abolish grades for my class. You can view the first draft of my syllabus if you are curious. I am teaching 6^th grade computer science, which is wonderful because they are old enough to be skilled with computers while being young enough that they are not yet jaded by the system. I am going to do a couple of things that I think will help motivate the students:

1. Each student is going to have a public blog on my WordPress MU. It uses BuddyPress, so it is also a social network where students can support each other and leave comments. I will be relying on #comments4kids to help give my students an authentic, worldwide audience for their work.
2. I will be emphasizing community a lot, even if it appears as though it is to the detriment of learning time at first. For students to really do assignments without grades, they have to trust me. We have to have a relationship where they believe that I will only do what is best for them. Furthermore, for them to help and work with each other, they have to have trusting relationships with each other. Community will be vital.
3. I will be giving the students choice in terms of what they want to learn and how to apply it to their own passions. They will be able to learn concepts and skills very deeply, and then both publish to a worldwide audience and use it to help their peers and their community.
4. Authentic projects will be the norm. Students need a base of skills, then they will use those skills to help others. The impact that they make will be more motivation than any grade.
5. I will continue to blog about the experience and see feedback and help.

This is my grading manifesto. What do you think? What would you change?