The purpose of this blog is to enlighten anyone who is interested about the concept of ungrading, and to cause readers to think about the grading system in education.
Grading
I do not know who invented letter grades, or why the majority agreed that education should be an extrinsically rewarding pursuit, rather than intrinsic. Why isn’t the mastery of topics reward enough? The pride and feeling of accomplishment you get from realizing, “I know this!” Anyone?
No, rather than a group of people socializing together with camaraderie, “We did it! We know this stuff.”; we have introduced competitiveness which is not always a good thing. “I have an A, that is better than the A minus that you received.”
I suppose it is part of being an individualistic society. Everyone in it for themselves, no sense of group. Yes, I am a bit “bitter” about this. Letter grades can be a source of stress, anxiety, distress, and discontent. These problems are especially common when people have different definitions of what the grades mean. To some, “C” means average/normal, like most people. Making B and A grades degree means that the student knowledge or ability is above average/normal. But, to some people, A means you know the material, B means you pretty much know the material, C means you kind of know the material. Anything less means you do not know the material.
Adding to the confusion, different countries have different grading systems. I will attach a link to an article that goes over some of the differences in University grading.
https://foundation.ifma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/International-Grade-Equivalencies.pdf
Ungrading
Ungrading is a concept that has been making some headways. This theory is that the traditions surrounding the old grading system should be torn down, with new practices taking their place. Mastery of the subject being the goal, rather than a letter grade is the driving force. This movement seems to be trying to get intrinsic reward back in the game. It is sort of a natural segue into the unschooling movement.
Thoughts of an Educational Utopia
Learning should be enjoyable. Rewards should be intrinsic. Student from the earliest of days, should be mentored to develop a sense of accomplishment when they learn. The learning environment should be comfortable, and the teacher/student relationship should be interactional. Much like Drop-in hours at University, all grade levels/stages of development would benefit from feeling welcomed by their teacher/mentor and the communication between students and teachers would be beneficial to both. The student learns how to learn, and the teacher learns how to teach. Everyone grows.
Formative assessments would take place, as well as stealth assessments. There would be a rubric that determined what would constitute mastery of the subject. Students could receive letters of recommendation or summary notes at the end of courses or terms, which could be placed in their portfolio. That would lend a more personal feel to the grading system and would tell a more accurate tale than a letter-grade without feedback.
I hope this got you thinking/planning about the education of our future generations, Cheers!
Helpful Links
Resources
Brookhart, S.M. et al. (2017). A century of grading research: Meaning and value in the most common educational measure. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 803–848. download
Kostal, J.W. et al. (2016). Grade inflation marches on: Grade increases from the 1990s to the 2000s. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 35(1), 11–20. download
Newton, J. et al. (2020). Implementing non-traditional assessment strategies in teacher preparation: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Culture and Values in Education, 3(1), 39–51.
Popham, W. (2018) Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know. Pearson.
