Since the A+ circled on a third-grade multiplication test, grades have become tightly intertwined with our self-esteem. For many students, an A or B is cause for celebration, a C or D can ruin our day, and an F is almost unimaginable. We do not always work just for the sake of improvement or enjoyment, we work to attain a single symbol: A. Six letters of the alphabet wield extreme power over our mental well being and identity.
At the beginning of the year, I read Alfie Kohn’s “The Case Against Grades” in my English class. Kohn’s argument stuck with me. I realized that since late elementary school, I have worked on every single assignment with one main intention: to get a good grade. In second grade I wrote stories for my own enjoyment; now I write stories that fit a rubric. I no longer am very driven to work in order to improve or find interest in my education. I focus on getting an A.
Yet some teachers are trying new methods to motivate their students intrinsically. English teacher Jolene Heinemann, for example, uses an educational feedback method called “ungrading” in her classroom. Inspired by the book “Point-Less” by Sarah M. Zerwin, ungrading is a step away from grades and points, and towards engagement in the classroom.
Instead of a traditional A through F grading scale, Heinemann has students create goals at the beginning of each semester. Because they receive completion points in the gradebook, students still have to do the work. And they get extensive teacher feedback. But the subjective assessment of their growth is now their own responsibility.
Heinemann elaborated on exactly how she traces improvement or areas of concern in her students. She said, “Outside of the numbers in the gradebook, there’s so much other data that’s being gathered. My students set three goals at the beginning of each semester, and we do check-ins, and then at the end of the quarter or the semester they write a reflection on their goals… and we also keep track of all of their feedback in their feedback logs.”
In Heinemann’s AP English Language classroom, she provides free response question (FRQ) scores for essays, but those scores don’t go in the gradebook. Students keep track of those scores in a feedback log so that they measure their own progress.
With ungrading, students can be rewarded for completing the work and trying their best, while still learning how to improve. Teachers do not need to hold back from being completely honest in their feedback with students out of fear of giving a bad grade.
And most importantly, students can be creative and actually enjoy learning! “If you’re not worried about the grade, then you’re more likely to choose a topic that you’re actually interested in or a question that you’re really curious about…That messiness, that risk-taking, that is what leads to more learning,” said Heinemann.
In my opinion, letter grades are dangerous. Students who are accustomed to A’s are terrified of getting anything worse, while students who usually get D’s are discouraged from trying for anything better. And these letters, which are ultimately subjective, somehow become defining factors in a child’s life. They impact their opportunities for higher education, careers and most of all their self esteem.
Sometimes, it is necessary to measure students. What is school without feedback and data? However, the current grading system does not just measure students: it puts them in constant competition with one another. Students should get rewarded for improvement and effort instead of being expected to match the level of their peers. Every student is different. Each has their own learning processes, abilities and interests. But this grading system pushes all of us to be the same. We follow a specified essay format in order to receive an A. We all use the same mathematical method to arrive at our answer. We research, study and produce in unison.
Thus, in a system that makes students hyper-focused on getting a good grade, cheating is inevitable. Students do not value the learning process or think about what they will take away from the experience; they have instead learned how to work the system. And who can blame them? They have been conditioned to do so since third grade.
When you take away the letter grade incentive, cheating is unnecessary. Students learn to work for themselves: their own enjoyment and growth. Some may argue that without an incentive, students will just slack off. But students are still accountable for doing the work. “My students are working incredibly hard. And they are achieving goals. And…they’re learning a lot,” Heinemann said.
“The traditional grading system is already made up, and this is just another way of looking at it. To me, it kind of feels like why not try something more empathetic and gracious,” she added.
Grades have grown to define us as students and as people. A student with straight A’s is hardworking, smart, and organized. One with D’s is called lazy, inefficient and dumb. But intelligence and effort is not as simple as A, B, C, D, F. Every student is unique, capable, and worthy of a useful and enjoyable education. And if we begin to replace the antiquated letter grade scale, everyone will benefit. We can learn to learn for the sake of learning.
