Grades: the Carrot in Front of the Horse.
I would like to reflect on a quote from Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally by Van De Walle, Karp, Bay-Williams, (2012).
I am new to teaching physics this year and absolutely love it. [Physics experiments are much less finicky than biology experiments. Data collection is neater, simpler and students seem to be motivated by attempting to get as close as possible to the expected results. We can collect tons of data more cheaply and in a shorter period of time, whereas sometimes results in Biology take weeks to gather.] In my search for ideas, I have been reading from Frank Nochese’s blog after I saw his Ted Talk; he helped form my approach to teaching physics.
In one post, Mr. Nochese discusses standards-based grading (SBG) and the trouble he had implementing the system in his classroom. SBG, when implemented properly, does not include homework or practice into the final grade on the report card. The reason for this is to record learning and not just doing. Although homework pushes students towards learning, homework in and of itself is not a measure of learning.
I feel the struggle of trying to change/remove the pressure of grades that is already so deeply inculcated.
For me, my least favorite aspect of teaching is the grade. I sometimes struggle to see the educational value of assigning grades to learning. I do see the value of feedback, of reflection, of a student understanding areas for improvement. Seeing 82% on a report card does not communicate much to the students nor the parents.
Grades are harmful in other ways. Often students will either focus on the grade rather than learning. How often will you hear a student asking for a few percentage points because s/he is so close to that B? Or those that earn low grades may label themselves as a student who is perpetually and insurmountably low achieving. Or students will view the grade and disregard the feedback. Why would they have to reflect on their learning if that letter or percent tells them exactly how much they know in the class?
If what gets graded is what gets valued is unequivocally an undeniable truth, then maybe we need to re-evaluate the whole system. Focus on the learning.