Grades are temporary positions along a continuum at best. – Rick Wormeli
As I read Rick Wormeli’s latest post on AMLE’s website about grading, I ran across this quote. Grades are temporary!
They reflect just a moment in time. This moment can be impacted by so many events going on in life. It could be a great day where the learner ate a full breakfast, the parent drove them to school on time, and the locker opened quickly as friends greeted them. The night before, preparation was completed for the assessment, and an early bedtime was achieved. The teacher greeted them at the door with a smile as they walked in prepared with a pencil in hand. In this scenario, 10 variables impact the student’s outcome in learning.
Would the grade be different if a variable was changed? Students, parents, and schools must stop putting so much weight on temporary grades. Using a grade as a descriptor of a student is meaningless. What does “an A student’ mean anyway? The focus must be on what happens after the grade feedback is given. Do the students explore further? Do they examine errors and look for corrections? Or do they shruggle their shoulders and say it is good enough?
The focus on the temporary grade takes away from permanent learning. Learning is the goal of education, not grades. Schools need to find a way to shift from the temporary to the permanent. When talking about students and learning, grades should not be the focus. Focus needs to be on traits. Does the learning as questions? Explore ideas deeper? Seek to fix own errors? The feedback systems should include a dialogue about improving work or exploring ideas further.
Yes, grades are the quick and easy feedback system society is used to seeing. Grades are everywhere we look. There is a need to shift away from them to promote the learning process and give students better feedback on where they can improve. As a classroom teachers I have heard “but they are an A student” when discussing students learning in my classroom. I have tried hard to focus on skills and areas that need improvement. Sadly parents seem to focus so much on grades. How can we help parents understand grade carry little potable meaning? How can we get the focus on LEARNING?
Sweat to Inspire 