A Gradeless ELA Class Check out this very short write-up in a local online newspaper about a "gradeless" high school ELA course:
Woodland teachers rethink how they give out grades By Adam Littman, posted today! From the article, "“They have to be proficient in everything,” Blackwelder, 45, said. “The standards are a lot higher than they used to be. The way we used to do things, what does a B mean? If a student writes an essay with proper spelling and grammar, but no analysis? Or is it the opposite? This way, the assignment is incomplete until it’s proficient.”" What do you think about their evaluation process? How does it extend or differ from Gallagher and Atwell's models of assessment? Is this something you'd try? Why or why not?
6 Comments
Dena Stanley
4/17/2017 07:48:48 pm
This article offers an entirely different approach to student evaluation by “going gradeless,” which I am actually very interested in. I for one like the idea of going gradless because as the article states, there is far too much focus put on a grade. We have reached a certain point in education where test scores are placed over the importance of gaining knowledge. Students stress about their grade and begin to not care about the material that is being learning, and that is doing both teachers and students a huge disservice. This evaluation process of having to reach a proficient on assignments focuses more on what is being learned, and is emphasizing learning. I feel as if this is an extension of Gallagher and Atwell’s models of assessment due to the emphasis on growth, and the common theme of individual conferencing. I for one am all for tying something along these lines, and I feel as if more people should too. For one, the article states that there has been no negative feedback from students or parents, which is always a good sign. Along with that reasoning, as a teacher it is important to emphasize learning rather than scores, and it is also very hard to give a paper a number grade in my opinion. How is a 96 different than a 97? Who decides this? Also, with this approach you have a lot more freedom on how the material can be presented, because the focus is on the material rather than a test. I would try something along these lines in my classroom, because as the article states, “You can’t put learning into numbers.”
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Maci Catoe
4/19/2017 08:59:18 am
I really like the idea of not having grades in your English classroom because it takes away a lot of the pressure that hangs over your students. Focusing more time and energy on the students’ learning instead of grades will result in greater learning overall. I was surprised to read that the two teachers in this article had not received any negative feedback from administrators or parents. I’m not sure if that would be the case for many others because the gradeless classroom is so different and untraditional. I think you would have to win over the parents with this technique in order to be fully successful. I loved that the author said that “we need to teach students to be motivated and self-driven.” This idea can transform our whole classroom and will bring about an abundance of success among our students.
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Derrick Chariker
4/19/2017 03:45:45 pm
This a fantastic idea! I was kind of surprised when there was no opposition from parents, when I was growing up grades were the only way parents knew how I was doing in school. But I remember grades stressed me out and they still do, when I get a bad grade I get depressed and not want to do anything. I do believe knowledge should be assessed but what I learn in the beginning is not what I know in the end. Without grades, I believe this allows students to interact more with teacher. I feel they would be curious on if they are doing good or bad and want to know if they can do more. In a future workplace a student must know what is a good or bad job and know how to do better.
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Kaila Morris
4/19/2017 05:39:27 pm
I really like the teachers from Woodland approach to teaching a gradeless ELA class. Their approach is more like a workshop/portfolio based approach. I love that the students are given multiple chances to improve their work, in order to become proficient. With the grading system, students can do the bare minimum and not full comprehend the material that is taught to them to get a passing grade. Although the grade says "A or B," how is the student's learning and growth process measured? I love this approach because it holds the student accountable for their learning process and they are actually required to become proficient in their assignments. I think this is a good approach and it is possible that I would probably use it later on in my teaching career, once I have gained the experience necessary to do so.
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Alana Reynolds
4/20/2017 03:36:09 am
When I first came into this class, I would have appreciated the idea of a gradeless approach, but I just would not have understood how it could work. I grew up in a high school where teachers were expected to have a certain number of grades posted for students by a certain date. Grades are essential for measuring progress, after all, right? Wrong. As long as a district doesn't have a grade policy for teachers like mine did, this is definitely possible and a much worthwhile option for teachers and students. One thing I have consistently said this semester is that writing is an art. You cannot put a number on art or measure the worth of someone's writing with an A or a B. You can, however, determine if their writing is proficient or not based on their individual progress. This is where setting individual learning goals with students would come in, such as Atwell discussed. With this method, students aren't held accountable for a simple number, but rather for their learning process.
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Estefani Domingues
4/24/2017 10:49:13 am
I really like what they are doing here. They are prepping children to be prepared to use their writing skills for real life situations. As Blackwelder mentioned, no one is going to question the children ten years from now about Romeo and Juliet (unless they've landed themselves on Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire) , but their written argument skills will be resourceful. Conferencing with students is also highly important, it gives them a sense of security knowing where they stand in the classroom and what they can do to succeed. With the student conferences and the gradeless assignments, this really has students setting themselves up for what needs to be done in order to do well in the classroom. Their approach to having students rewrite their papers multiple times until they achieve proficiency is really interesting to me. While some of the students may hate that they have to rewrite their drafts, they are essentially learning how to revise and reorganize their thoughts in multiple ways. This will be beneficial to the student down the road as they inadvertently learn the drafting process. This also teaches students that there can always be improvements. They also understand how this can be difficult for certain students and I appreciate the fact that they give them another option to write about something else. Giving students this option allows easier writing for them, giving them a quick break from the workload.
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